May 2006 FAQ:

Question: We are in the midst of a change. I have a game plan all laid out, and I have delegated day-to-day change actions to my managers…just like it says in the management books. Nothing is happening; we aren’t moving on the change. What am I doing wrong?

Answer:

There are times in business when the mantra of “delegate, delegate, delegate” works well. Unfortunately you are not in that situation.

While delegation works for routine “run the business” situations, the mantra for “change the business” needs to be “elevate, elevate, elevate.”

Elevate in “change the business” has several meanings:

1. Leaders can’t delegate change, they must keep it elevated…at their level…taking the day-to-day responsibility of “seeing to the change”
2. Leaders can’t handle change late in the day. Seeing to the change is a 7am exercise, not a 7pm exercise
3. Change must be elevated to the top of the leaders priority list, not “get stuck at the bottom”

Bottom line: When in change, elevate, not delegate. Elevation will raise your organizations chances of change success!

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