Our attention was drawn to an article that appeared in the Arizona Republic, dated July 19, 2020 entitled “How well is Arizona handling their virus?” Our interest was initially drawn to the article because David Adame, president and CEO of Chicanos Por La Causa, was interviewed. We view David as an outstanding leader as well as one of the true gentlemen we have been fortunate to know. And since we, Steve and Terry, spent over 80 years combined in a corporate environment, we have some experience behind our opinion. Two basic thoughts that inspire us about a recent article.
In reading the article, we were additionally impressed by a quote from Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. The article reads:
“There is great optimism that a vaccine could be out early next year. But some epidemiologists have warned that it is unknowable. Recent history has shown that vaccines can take as long as four to 40 years to develop.
Until we have that protection, we will need to learn to live in a pre-vaccine world. That means ‘making these tweaks on where the data is showing us that the populations are significantly impacted,’ says Christ. It means Arizonans must prepare themselves for the inevitable change ahead as policy adapts to the unpredictable nature of this pathogen. They’ll have to be ready for change ‘that may turn things off and on as we continue to move forward.
I think that will be the new normal.’”
We also want to draw attention to David Adame’s words in the same article:
The president and CEO of Chicanos Por La Causa is working diligently with other health groups and Latino organizations to get low-income people access to food and jobs, health care and rental housing money, he says.
Minority workers make up more than half of the “essential workers” who supply their fellow Americans with goods and services essential to their well-being. They are 53% of the people working in industrial, commercial, residential facilities and services, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and 50% of workers in food and agriculture.
Working outside the bubble means greater exposure to the virus, and many are getting sick. “We know Hispanics are No. 1 getting infected,” says Adame. “We need more testing in our communities.”
With so many people requiring help, Chicanos Por La Causa “didn’t just sit back and play defense,” he says. “We know our community needs us. We got involved from the get-go.”
He went to the governor for help. “I had to be aggressive … It took a few calls, but I’ve got to give him credit because he has been listening.”
You can criticize the leaders at the top for their blunders or you can pitch in and help, Adame says. “We’re not just sitting around whining. We set out to leverage what we have. We’ve been able to demonstrate we have the infrastructure to help out.”
“This is a war with this virus. Yes, mistakes were made. I’m not going to let anybody off the hook, but we’re not going to gain anything by just criticizing.”
We highlight these leaders for two basic needs in organizations, leadership and change management. Why did this resonate with us to the extent that it did? Because in our consulting business, one of our areas of focus, and the one that is most in demand today, is change management. We prepare people and organizations to prepare for and make needed changes. We use the Prosci methodology called ADKAR (™), and here are a few change principles that we think will be helpful for this article:
- Few people like change.
- People typically don’t like change because there is an element of the unknown. Change can be painful because change always brings loss.
- Organizations don’t change, people do.
- We all go through change at our own pace. We are individual persons, and how we process change is also an individual process.
- The principles of change management are not restricted to the work environment.
Change Management, done properly, requires a process. The ability to change begins with a knowledge of why the change is needed, and what it means to us as individuals. When awareness is established, it leads to a desire on our part to make the needed change.
Now, back to the quote from Cara Christ.
It is a well-known slogan in the business world that “people need to embrace change”. For the most part, that’s what is has been, a slogan, used when upper management is creating or forcing a change upon the organization. We believe we need to recognize that Cara Christ’s words implore us to take change seriously. It is no longer about embracing change, but rather accepting the fact that change is becoming a way of life. Please notice the word unknowable that we bolded above. Clearly, due to the nature of this virus, having an effective vaccine is the solution. However, we don’t know when we will have one.
Leadership in a Crisis
In the meantime, we do know that what we all need to do to protect ourselves and our loved ones will continue to change. We have already read and heard many, many different facts regarding the virus, many of which turned out not to be true as more information became available. We are still learning about how the virus works, and we believe that will continue to happen over the ensuing months.
So, we don’t know all we would want to know about the virus, and we don’t know when we will have a vaccine, and that equates to continuous change. And of course, to make this more challenging, we are trying to balance the economy and health concerns simultaneously. Businesses and individuals are hurting financially through the shutdown. In other words, we must, and we want to emphasize must, remain flexible, agile, and ready to change at a moment’s notice as we hope to survive.
Leading in a crisis engages the character of the leader at his/her core. Having a keen grasp of change management methodologies becomes mission critical. Leading through change holds intuition to do right, to do good, and to be matched with the methods of how to help bring others through change. David’s stance at pursuing the governor is commendable; leaders must leverage the resources around them. We love the fact that leaders with the right attitude do not criticize; instead they take action, and more action, and more action until they get it right. All along they are bringing themselves through change and inspiring others to do the same.
Remember the process—be aware of what is going on, have a desire to change, gather the needed knowledge to make the appropriate changes, refine the ability to change in the most effective way, and reinforce the change behaviors for yourself and your family. (ADKAR™)
Be well and be safe!
Steve Church and Terry Cain,
Pinwheel Partners, LLC
www.pinwheel.partners
for more information about ADKAR. www.prosci.com