We have a lift-off!
Alright, gather ‘round, folk! I’ve got a story to share about celebrating a small win in the world of change management. And let me tell you, sometimes the best way to bring about change is by tackling something everyone’s already fed up with, like those dreadfully boring monthly staff meetings.
Picture this: We were all tired of those monotonous meetings that suck the life out of us. So, instead of announcing it as a “change management initiative,” we decided to spice things up a bit and take away the pain. It was a genius move if I do say so myself.
I sent out the invitation to attend our very first popcorn session. Now I knew that the concept of popcorn sessions aka simple classic brainstorming was a new concept for this system. To make it memorable I added an image of popcorn on the meeting invitation. With the help of the Facilities team, we created a 4D experience by serving bowls of fresh hot popcorn on the day. Up went the volume on a classical relaxation playlist before anyone arrived. Imagine walking into a room that you usually associate with the kind of meetings most of us are used to. Everyone agreed to start 10 minutes later to give some late arrivals the chance to find their way and participant wholly from the start without having to catch up. I don’t usually wait for late arrivals but this was an opportunity to have the music fill the air, ears and souls. The truth is I was enjoying the energy in the room and the lighthearted exchanges. Imagine the delightful surprise upon entering the room where the chats and laughter about one particular song was about 2 people who heard it as a soundtrack to a Barbie movie and some who know it has a huge classical…we’re talking Chopin, Beethoven and Alexander Litvinovsky. I can’t recall the precise work that was playing but here’s the link https://youtu.be/pxEj6m_7Qfk What happened next was I turned down the volume to the level of an “audio backdrop” because it was important to hold the energy in the room at the level that was created. One of the participants arrived just after I announced that the music would stay on. About 20 minutes into the session he asked “Why is everyone was so calm about the music”. Some of us thought he was referring to the calming effect of the music but when I scratched the surface just a bit he shared that what he meant was why we were all so unperturbed by the music going on while we were in a meeting (insert warm-hearted LOL emoji here). This setting was a clear first for him in the system that he’s come to know and we knew this because he thought the music was filtering through from the space next door. But I digress!
Together, we jazzed up the format and added some interactive elements centred around the call for “connection”, “deeper connection”, “our values”, “trends”, “challenges”, “artificial intelligence” and my favourite “value”. We want to make meetings worth attending, something people would genuinely look forward to. And boy, did it work! My philosophy about meetings: “If you don’t have value on your agenda you should send an email”.
Little did they know, this was just the beginning. By tackling something they were already invested in, we gained their trust and showed them that change didn’t have to be a scary thing. It was like a catalyst, opening the door for even more change interventions.
With the newfound enthusiasm and open minds, we will start introducing other changes, one step at a time. I am committed to involving the staff, asking for their input and ideas. The popcorn session was a demonstration of what is possible through collaboration, and everyone felt like they had a say in shaping the future of our organization.
To close the meeting I ended with “I am not promising you perfection or 100% alignment to every point on our flipchart paper but I am promising you that all-important 1% improvement month on month”. I can safely say that there are about 20 of 200 staff members looking forward to the next staff meeting.
It all started with those good ol’ staff meetings.
So, my friends, let this be a lesson in change management. Sometimes, the best way to bring about change is by addressing the things that people are already itching to change themselves. By taking away the pain, we create a positive ripple effect that opens doors for further transformations.
Let’s celebrate the small wins, no matter how trivial they may seem. They can be the stepping stones to something much bigger and more impactful. So, here’s to shaking up those boring meetings and sparking a wave of positive change. Cheers!
