In the previous article, we described the concept of mindset as a mental paradigm determined by the five components of influences namely; Blindspots, Assumptions, Complacency, Habits and Attitude.  In this concluding article, we will discuss the various ways to break this mental paradigm and influence the mindsets of people towards positive and productive change in organisations.

In the 60s or 70s, the acronym POW was very well known in the battlefield and taken to stand for Prisoners Of War.  Today, the acronym POW should also be well known in the corporate world as it should more appropriately stand for Prisoners of Work.

I mention prisoners of work not with the intention of leading you to believe that people are locked up and forced against their will to work.  I use this term in the context that employees today build their own prisons in the way they work.  They build the walls of constraints, barriers and non-collaboration which prevent them from change and improvement.  I have run into many situations whereby people justify away their inability to change.

Many argue that while they want to change, they really cannot.  They will explain that their hands are tied, they are short of resources, they lack committed and competent staff.  Or that the top management may not agree with the changes and there are problems and obstacles not within their control.  In short, one thousand and one reasons why they cannot change.  Many have become prisoners of their own making.

Changing mindsets must begin by breaking the prison of their minds.

The following six critical ways that leaders can take to break the mental paradigms of people and achieve positive and productive changes are:

Eliminate Blindspots

As mentioned in the first part of this article, there are blindspots in the car mirrors which often cause a driver to crash into the side of a vehicle coming from behind.  How do drivers eliminate these blindspots?  By having a wide-angle mirror which provides a much wider coverage.  Likewise, to eliminate blindspots in organisations, leaders need to develop a wide- angle view of things.  They need to consider a wider range of issues and problems.

To do this, they must encourage a participatory approach in their management style.  They should make themselves accessible to staff and information as far down the organisation as possible to prevent distortion of the real issues.  Leaders should get direct and accurate information about customers, suppliers, government regulation bodies, competitors, the economic conditions and the environment.

To eliminate blindspots in the organisation, leaders should develop a conducive environment whereby staff can speak up without feeling intimidated.  People should be rewarded for highlighting blindspots in the organisations.  Leaders need to put their ego and pride aside and get on with the critical task of eliminating blindspots and strengthening the organisation.

Challenge Assumptions 

Allowing people to challenge assumptions sends a powerful signal as it depicts the openness of the organisation towards change.  Allowing people to challenge any assumptions will also increase their commitment towards improvement.  No assumptions should go unchallenged.  Challenging any assumptions may come in the form of questions.  The following are some example:

• Does the quality of the company's products or services meet the expectations of the customers?
• Is the company producing the right products or delivering the right services?
• Are there weaknesses in the organisation which has not been identified?
• Are there strengths which the company has not capitalized on?
• Are there threats in the market place which the company is not aware of or has not addressed, especially with the emergence of  currency and economic problems?
• Does the company have a competency gap which is critical?
• Is the company vulnerable in the market place?
• Is the morale of the staff critically affecting the productivity of the organisation?
• Is the company's projected growth rates realistic in view of the economic slowdown?
• Is the current marketing strategy of the company effective?

Each of these questions should be followed with: How do we know that?  The challenging of any assumptions must lead to the search for answers.  Some of the answers may not be forthcoming in one session of discussion as time is needed to collect the necessary information.  However, the lack of information should not prevent one from questioning any assumptions.  The value of challenging any assumptions comes from ensuring that the company is not vulnerable due to wrong assumptions or assumptions that are no longer valid.

Reduce Complacency

Complacency arises from a sense of contentment.  Organisations which have achieved a continuos growth year after year tend to become over-confident, careless and arrogant.  There can be under the delusion of their superiority.  They assume that the streak of good performance will continue with minimum effort as they have built up the momentum and they rationalize that they can now enjoy the ride.

But the truth is that momentum will soon be halted by friction, just like success will be stopped by failure, if there is no continuation of effort.  To reduce complacency, leaders need to paint a true and reflective picture of the latest scenario in the market place.  Too often, a company's success attracts many competitors in the market place.  Bench-marking against the best performing competitor in the industry will help prevent the sense of complacency from bloating. Even small players in the industry may become more innovative and they may differentiate their products with better services.

Getting closely in touch with the market place and providing the latest information about the competitors' superiority may help reduce complacency.  Drawing the implications from the market study and assessing the impact on the business if it continues to operate the same way is another way to help companies reduce their complacency.  Organisations can also decrease complacency by setting higher goals.

And tying the rewards to the performance will certainly provide the drive to break down complacency.  Building a sense of discontent is a sure way of ensuring continuous change and improvement.  To quote Oscar Wilde, "Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation."  And if  I may add, an organisation.

Break Unproductive Habits

To be able to break unproductive habits requires one to be aware of those habits first. People must be convinced that their old habits are no longer productive or serving its purpose as effectively as it should.  They must see the benefits of change.  To break old habits requires the substitution of new and productive habits. An employee may have the habit of doing things in a reactive mode rather than in a proactive manner.  He may be aware of some potential problems that may arise but will wait till the problem arises before he reacts to it.  For example, there is a supervisor who is in charge of equipment maintenance.  He normally waits for the machine to break down before repairing it instead of taking preventive measures.

To change his habits, he must first see the value of being proactive.  If he is shown that by taking a reactive approach he may end up with more problems, he will be more likely to break his old habit.  In this case, one must convince him that by focusing on preventive maintenance rather than repair maintenance, he will end up with less work, less complaints and more job satisfaction.

Inculcating Positive Attitude

To inculcate a positive attitude requires more than just a state of mind.  It requires positive action.  In other words, if a leader wants to inculcate a positive attitude in his staff, he must first be seen to be taking the first step himself.  He must be seen to value and be enthusiastic about that change.  He must be seen taking appropriate actions to depict the urgency and seriousness of the change.  Pure optimism on its own will not create a positive state of mind in people.  A leader who is positive in his thinking, feeling and action wields the most influence in getting people to inculcate a positive attitude.

Victor S.L. Tan is an international consultant and authority on change management.  He is the author of 4 books and the CEO of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. He can be contacted at 603-90741129 / 90742219 or email: victorsltan@klscc.com