Elephants Don’t read PowerPoint

To effectively lead change, we need to change what we think we know about it. (Yep, to lead change, change what you think about change.) For example, when people won’t change, we often assume we haven’t explained the change or the reasons behind it well enough. So it’s back to the PowerPoint to add more data and sharpen the argument. And still nothing happens.

The problem is not the argument. The problem is elephants don’t read PowerPoint.

We can’t give up on change but we can change how we lead it.

Centuries ago, Plato described our efforts as a charioteer trying to control two horses, one responsive to reason and the other driven by appetite. Each of us has emotion and reason to wrestle. Jonathan Haidt improved that idea (and introduced a fundamental asymmetry) by describing our emotion as an elephant and our reason as the rider. Our rational intention is outmatched when trying to direct forces that do not necessarily respond to reason. (How much control can an elephant rider really have?)

This invites a recurring leadership mistake. We treat change as a rational event when it is often an emotional one. We believe that if people understand the facts, they will make the logical choice. When they don’t, we assume they need more facts. Oops.

We treat change as a rational event when it is often an emotional one.

Facts are important. Leaders need to establish what is happening and why change is necessary. But sometimes, facts won’t matter. When people are fearful, attached to the familiar, or worried about what they will lose, another PowerPoint is more rider fodder for the elephant to ignore. Fearful people don’t hear well. They are too busy protecting themselves to absorb another argument.

So change is impossible? It sometimes feels that way. We can’t give up on change but we can change how we lead it. There is a better way.

Start with listening. Not listening to respond but listening to understand. What is the person afraid of? What do they believe they are losing? What part of the current situation feels safe, familiar, or important to their identity? Before we can move the elephant, we need to understand what is holding it in place.

Before we can move the elephant, we need to understand what is holding it in place.

Then, show rather than tell. John Kotter tells a wonderful story about a company trying to reduce purchasing costs. Spreadsheets did not staunch the flow of wasted money. A wise student intern gave up on spreadsheets and instead piled dozens of pairs of gloves on the conference table showing the incredible disparity in prices the company’s various locations were paying for the same product. The executives could see, physically and immediately, the absurdity of what was happening.  That is the power of experience. The spreadsheet talks to the rider. The pile of gloves speaks to the elephant.

The question is not simply, “How do I convince them?” A better set of questions includes: “What does the elephant feel? What can I show rather than tell? What fear or loss is getting in the way? What is the smallest possible first step? How can I make that step easier?”

Change is an emotional event. You can devise it rationally but to lead it you must Address the emotions it stirs.

Before you build the one more PowerPoint, imagine how the elephant is feeling. Change is an emotional event. You can devise it rationally but to lead it you must address the emotions it stirs. Save the PowerPoint for the rider. Reach out to the elephant.

What change are you trying to lead? What emotions does it stir? Are you talking to the rider or the elephant?