Some experts talk about getting people “onboard” with change.  To me, the concept of getting people “onboard” sets up the wrong visual image.  As a leader, you don’t want people who are along for the ride.  You want every individual in your organization to be doing everything within his/her power to make the change successful.  

In fact, I like to picture every executive, manager, supervisor, and employee as being drivers themselves.   Rather than sitting back and looking at the scenery, each person is making daily decisions about where to turn, how fast to drive, and whether to break or bend the traffic laws.  One person can stall a change effort.  A key stakeholder who is not engaged and supportive can end up being a roadblock.  

When working with organizations on a change effort or initiative, I like to ask employees to use the “driving” metaphor to describe what it feels like to be in the middle of the change.   Here are some of the metaphors I’ve heard: 

“It’s like bumper cars.  Everyone is running into each other.”

“I think we are like a demolition derby.  We’re just destroying everything that worked.”

“To me it feels like Reston parkway at 5pm in rush hour.  Stop and go.  Make a bit of progress, and then sit around and wait.”

Exploring the metaphors of people who are “in” the change can help us be better change leaders.  When we recognize that we aren’t driving, we can begin to see ourselves as being in the position of facilitating the journey for others.

In my next posts, I’ll use driving metaphor to explore some of the problems that slow and stall change.  I’ll also share some suggestions for overcoming these problems and making the ride smoother for everyone involved.