{"id":2300,"date":"2011-09-21T10:37:36","date_gmt":"2011-09-21T17:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breyeschow\/?p=2300"},"modified":"2011-09-21T10:44:48","modified_gmt":"2011-09-21T17:44:48","slug":"what-leaders-can-learn-about-change-from-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/breyeschow\/2011\/09\/21\/what-leaders-can-learn-about-change-from-facebook\/","title":{"rendered":"What Leaders Can Learn About Change From Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>


\n<\/a>[Photo: drurydrama<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Tickers, blue corners and close friends oh my.<\/p>\n

Yes, Facebook has done it again. Not since the great \u201cRounded Corners Kerfuffle of 2008\u201d has there been such an uproar over changes to the design and architecture of our beloved Facebook. I know that there are a variety of reactions to the recent changes, but it seems as if many of the people who are pitching the biggest fits are folks who, in other contexts, consider themselves agents of change. So\u00a0yeah, for all of you who genuinely seem pissed off about the recent slew of changes, I am unapologetically pointing my bloggy Judgey McJudgerson fingers at you!<\/p>\n

All of the outrage reminds me of a quote that I heard at some point and have adopted for myself . . .<\/p>\n

I love change . . . for other people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

. . . because when it comes right down to it, most of us do not easily embrace change as much as we would like to think we do. Most of us like to guide the change, be part of the change-making and be comfortably on dry land when the waves of change arrive. So on those occasions when change happens TO us we let the status update wrath rain down. Love you all, I really do . . . but sometimes we need to take a step back and lighten up or at least be a little more playful about our disdain for Team Zuckerberg.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the outrage over the changes offers us a unique opportunity to examine our own leadership in times of change. For those of us who are in the business of helping organizations: churches, boards, etc. navigate change, this episode can offer some insight into how we lead the daunting task of communal change.<\/p>\n

If you have no idea what the heck I am talking about check out this Washington Post article about all of the recent changes<\/a>. Basically Facebook has just kicked Google+<\/a> in the [choose your own body part] and duplicated some of the things that made Google+ the cool new kid on the block in terms of how you see what you see and from whom you see what you see. You see?<\/p>\n

But back to change leadership. Here are a few thoughts\u00a0about change that leaders can take from all of this. These are not stand-alone ideas, but a few\u00a0postures\u00a0of\u00a0leadership\u00a0that can be woven together in order to create meaningful change.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. People do not like to be surprised <\/strong>\u2013 Excluding the occasional\u00a0surprise\u00a0party, unexpected clean kitchen and\/or an unsolicited\u00a0show of affection from a loved one, human beings do not like surprises. Now I am not sure that Facebook, with its scale, can completely inform the masses, but generally speaking, most of the\u00a0conflict\u00a0that happens in smaller organizations occur when people are\u00a0surprised by change. Good leaders to not catch people off-guard. Genuine notification and interaction during all stages of a process of change can inspire even the biggest detractors to get behind the idea of change.<\/li>\n
  2. We like to control the change<\/strong> \u2013 Related to number 1, most people want to be part of the change. Even the best leaders are willing to be lead, but when left out of the loop, those same leaders, who might otherwise welcome change\u00a0have the kind of negative visceral reaction that we are seeing about Facebook changes. Again, it\u2019s\u00a0economy\u00a0of scale, but be it Facebook or a board of directors if the change process\u00a0engages\u00a0those for whom the changes will impact in a way that shapes and forms the changes there will generally be more buy-in from those might not even agree with the specifics of the change.<\/li>\n
  3. Trust must never be taken for granted<\/strong> \u2013 One of the biggest mistakes that new leadership makes when trying to lead change is overestimating the social capital that he\/she has and needs with the body that is being lead. Yes, you can sometimes take\u00a0advantage\u00a0of honeymoon periods of leadership, but overall even the most drastic and surprising changes can be buffered if folks trust the leader. Apple is a great example of this. Because \u201cthe cult\u201d trusts the Apple brand so much, we eagerly await the next surprise. Sure, we want to be the first to know, but there is such a high level of trust that Apple can almost dismiss numbers 1 and 2 as they think about the next changes.\u00a0Facebook does not carry that same kind of trust, recently even seeming like a necessary evil in the world. Organizational leaders must be able to discern those times when building trust must take\u00a0precedent\u00a0over the\u00a0immediacy\u00a0of the change and eventually must be able to use the process of change itself in a way that builds trust.<\/li>\n
  4. Sometimes you have to go for it <\/strong>\u2013 Sometimes, we must go big or go home. The shadow side of a\u00a0deliberate\u00a0process of change is that \u201c\u2026sometimes we talk about something so much that we think we have\u00a0actually\u00a0done it.\u201d* We follow rabbit trails of\u00a0engagement or\u00a0discernment\u00a0that lead to a wasteful use of resources,\u00a0avoidance of making decisions and\/or catering to those who would prefer that things always stay the way things are.<\/li>\n
  5. Our response to the reactions to the changes can be just as important as the changes themselves<\/strong> \u2013 With numbers 3 and 4 firmly in my mind, sometimes how<\/em> we respond to bad change decisions can help build trust in a way that makes future changes that much more meaningful. Leaders who can deftly and genuinely apologize for mistakes without abdicating their role of leadership build a culture where people are not afraid of failure and think about change in a different way. Individuals and organizations can then be seen not as\u00a0monolithic\u00a0decree makers, but as places where the complexities of change, success and failure can be handled without anxiety and panic.<\/li>\n
  6. Remember that this too shall pass <\/strong> \u2013 Without seeming to have a heart of stone, in the face of change good leaders do not add to the anxiety of the body or let outrage drive a faithful vision. While leaders must do all possible things to make sure that change is\u00a0received\u00a0well, most leaders know that it rarely is to the extent that we would like it to. Taking the parachute view of the life and\u00a0rhythm\u00a0of an organization allows\u00a0leadership\u00a0to avoid jumping from crisis to crisis to the detriment of the larger movement of the organization. Crucial to keeping the long view is knowing that most crisis are really not crisis at all and that once people can vent a bit, most change handled well will be embraced. Take for instance the\u00a0aforementioned\u00a02008 Rounded Corners change. Facebook is now back to square corners and here is their explanation why<\/a>. Yes, passionate at the time, but from a wider point view, just an evolution of the culture.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I am sure there are more things that we can learn, so please feel free to offer them up here.<\/p>\n

    * I stole that from someone who stole it from someone else.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [Photo: drurydrama] Tickers, blue corners and close friends oh my. Yes, Facebook has done it again. Not since the great \u201cRounded Corners Kerfuffle of 2008\u201d has there been such an uproar over changes to the design and architecture of our beloved Facebook. I know that there are a variety of reactions to the recent changes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[814,8852],"tags":[354,358,5094],"class_list":["post-2300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-community","category-media-technology","tag-change","tag-facebook","tag-leadership"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Leaders Can Learn About Change From Facebook<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tickers, blue corners and close friends oh my. Yes, Facebook has done it again. 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