Zapping, Mapping, Tapping and Capping: Managing Personal Paths to Change

Zapping, Mapping, Tapping and Capping: Managing Personal Paths to Change

Richard Propster, SPHR-CA

One way to visualize organizational change is as the distance from the “here and now” to the “there and then” — the route from the way things are to the way you choose them to be. It involves a complex set of transitions through a diverse set of organizational conditions.

The passage from a vision to a shared commitment to that new state involves as many paths as there are people involved — and each person involved moves at his or her own pace. The myriad, frequently subtle, personal segues that occur with organizational change are a challenge to manage, but far too critical not to be managed.

Organizational change leadership begins with envisioning some desired future state, regresses to current circumstances, identifies issues that must be reckoned with during transition, considers the full range of individuals affected and fashions a justification for the change in terms understandable to each of those involved. The personal loss inherent in change must be acknowledged and everyone involved must be considered during the trek to the desired future state.

During the change process, each individual affected likewise travels a personal path to the new reality. If they are involved from the outset, properly led and supported, individuals can make this transition with a minimum amount of friction and may even stake personal claim to a share of the new reality. Without this ongoing attention and support, many individuals will struggle and, all too often, get mired in a quest to “get things back to the way they were

My model for managing personal evolution consists of four overlapping stages: zapping, mapping, tapping and capping.

Zapping

While it seems a statement of the obvious, change must begin by relinquishing the current reality. The “old way” must be expelled before the “new way” can flourish. Change often assails personal comfort zones: familiarity, security and “the way we have always done it.” Actions that have always led to success may no longer do so.

Organizational change unseats a set of familiar measures and rewards with less familiar replacements. People cling to current practices because they form the framework for personal success — or at least a structure for avoiding negative consequences. Change calls upon every individual involved to put the familiar aside — to “zap” their comfort zone — in favor of an unknown future. This vital first step is a lot to ask. It requires a carefully developed schema that invites everyone to try to comprehend and embrace a view of the desired future state and to grasp their personal role in the success of that new reality.

Mapping

As the route for organizational change is selected and decisions firmed, a roadmap through the phases leading to the desired outcome must be crafted and communicated to all involved parties. This may require diverse deliveries of the plan for an array of audiences. Internal and external participants must receive continuous communication and their views solicited as the “map” from the “where we are” to the “where we want to be” is implemented. Acknowledging and respecting an assortment of viewpoints plus agility in making mid-course corrections during the process will permit the individuals involved to design personal courses that parallel and support organizational change.

Tapping

When the old way is abandoned, people find themselves in limbo. Old measures of success may no longer apply and the new measures for success are not yet fully in place. People are torn between urges to retreat to the past and taking a chance that the change holds positive potential. Leadership that encourages participation is essential at this juncture. Leaders who enlist the full range of talent through continual communication and inclusion come across fewer potholes along the road to change than those who seek to impose their will through edict and command.

While the desired organizational outcome may be clear to the leadership from the beginning, exactly how that desired outcome will be achieved is rarely so clear. It is when leadership “taps” into the full workforce that creativity reigns. Those most intimate with key processes, if they are engaged in early planning, will take possession of important tasks leading to the desired outcome and devote their expertise to those tasks. At this juncture, leadership must focus on blending views while guarding against stifling diverse opinions in favor of expedience. Earnestly considering contributions by both individuals and groups is neither easy nor fast, but the gains from honoring a diversity of voices working to a common end make it more than worth the effort. Additionally, community ownership realized through listening rather than dictating will linger long after the change has become “the way we do things.”

Capping

Just as a change effort has a specific start point — “zapping” the old way — it must also have a specific end point where the transition is declared complete. While milestones should be acknowledged along the way, a celebration demarking the “capping” of the transition effort affords individuals an opportunity to assess the new reality and its impact on their future success. Previously conjured fears are replaced by potentials.

Change is truly successful only when those involved throughout the organization affirmatively acknowledge the new reality. Positive feedback from those who have lived through the pain of the change process speaks well of the implementation strategy and bodes well for the future of an organization that has proven itself agile and “change-able.”

Disconnecting from the old (“zapping”), communicating the mutually designed flow the change will take (“mapping”) enlisting the full creative richness of the human talent pool touched by the change (“tapping”) and then concluding the change effort by celebrating the synergy and common ownership that comes with broad participation in the change process (“capping”) are all necessary stages in the change process.

Leading change takes courage. It necessitates the blending of personal initiatives to construct a collegially crafted future state. Organizational change is, in the last analysis, the sum of a series of personal changes. No one said it would be easy.