This is the third of a five-part series, Working with COVID: A Five-Part Guide to Work-Life Integration during the Pandemic.
Over this period of the pandemic, one of the activities that helped me keep my balance was exercise. When the shutdowns started in 2020, I started with at-home workouts and runs outside. As facilities began to safely re-open in my area, the gym was the only place I went where I would regularly see a full face without a mask. It was a little bit of normalcy, and I found it stabilizing.
Like many gyms, the Orange Theory facility I frequent has a series of phrases around the wall to inspire you while you are working out.
One day, I was looking at the phrases above my treadmill and I noticed that by reading down the words, it said “Sweat Every Change.” As a change management professional, I found this a little alarming. Was that right? Should I really sweat (or struggle) through every change?
Now, first a little context. That is not how the words were meant to be read. In truth, they belong to a series of phrases running left to right along the wall:
- Good things come to those who sweat
- Everything you need is already inside
- Change from the inside out
The good people of Orange Theory were not trying to get me to question my profession. I was reading something into their words they did not intend — something that happens quite often to those of us in the “change” world. At a minimum, it made me wonder if I should take a fresh look at the way I think about change management. Maybe I really do need to Sweat Every Change.
When people and organizations are asked to change, they often balk. But they may not always be resistant to the proposed change. Instead, they may be having a biological response to the change — known as attachment. They are attached to the past way of doing things. Specifically, they are attached to something we call MEL — their memories, emotions, and learning from the past. The only way to really help people change is to help them re-wire MEL with new memories that build new emotions through learned behaviors.
What does this have to do with my misreading of the wall at Orange Theory? I think the wall may have been right. I think change leaders do need to Sweat Every Change. The process of getting into a workout routine is very similar to the process of change management. It happens in the same part of the brain and requires activating the same muscle memory. Just like habit formation, it takes conscious work to figure out what new behaviors will produce the desired outcome, and it takes repetition to ensure those behaviors become the new norm:
- Sweat: This is the sweat part. Change leaders need to look at the MEL related to the change. We need to identify exactly what is changing and how it will challenge the memories of the organization. These memories may be connected to the culture of the organization — or to the processes or structures, or maybe the IT systems or reward structures. Then, we need to review the emotions associated with these memories — the positives as well as the negatives. The positives represent the areas that team members may attach to in a time of change; whereas the negatives may be potential opportunities to demonstrate positive improvements for the new solution. Last, we need to determine how we will create new memories with positive emotions through learned behaviors or experiences.
- Every: Is it really every change? Yes, it is. As a leader, you never quite know what will create resistance in an organization. I remember working with one group that liked to mythologize the past and their representation of “better days” — which was when there were M&Ms offered in the break room. In a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 company, were the M&Ms the place to save money? Did the leaders appreciate how valued those simple sweets were to the team?
- Change: What constitutes a change? This could get into a weird space. Not every little thing that happens in an organization is a change. Some things are just operations. However, as Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez noted in the Harvard Business Review, more of our business is defined as a project each year. These projects or initiatives, with a clear beginning, middle, and end that include a statement of objectives and an outcome, will likely yield change in the organization. In this way, much of our corporate work is about managing change.
The need for effective change management is growing annually. Like many of us pushing at the gym, organizations like to say that “This will be the year we get it right” at the start of each new year. But change is hard work. It requires sweat. It requires understanding the memories, emotions, and learning of the entire set of team members who need to change their behavior to drive change across the organization. So, if you are serious about driving change in an organization, get your towel, get your water bottle, and get ready to Sweat. Every. Change.
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Patrick McCreesh, PhD is the Managing Partner of Simatree, a strategy, analytics, and technology consultancy. He leads teams through digital transformations and has developed analytics programs across the public sector and Fortune 500 clients. He also serves as adjunct faculty at Georgetown University and George Mason University Business School. Along with Dr. Victoria M. Grady, he’s the author of Stuck: How to Win at Work by Understanding Loss.
