as easy as... spring cleaning

Who doesn’t love a bit of spring cleaning?

Me. It’s me. I don’t love it.

I want there to have been spring cleaning, but I certainly don’t want to actually go through it.

Because I’m kicking off a change leadership cohort this month, it’s easy for me to draw a ready connection here. I often want change to have happened, but not necessarily to experience the chaos and mess that is change.

Clean house? Awesome! Wait? I have to clean?

Weight loss? Yes please! Just give me the lower number on the scale. Don’t make me change how I eat and exercise!

Start a business? Great! I want to be wildly successful. But please don’t make me undergo the major changes involved in becoming self-employed after a career in a corporate world.

Transform a culture? Naturally. Culture drives performance. Just don’t make me change and have to be different.

I know I’m not alone. It’s human nature to want the results of change without expending the effort of making change happen. And none of us is bad or lazy because of this. While the human mind does crave novelty, it pursues security. This means that we are often in a game of tug-o-war with ourselves—seeing the benefits of new ways of working and being while clinging to our old and familiar habits.

We can make this whole process easier for ourselves, though. Whether it’s a spot of cleaning or a culture transformation, there are a few truisms, ways to tackle the work that will lead to success and not more mess.

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Make a simple plan.

Yes, no plan survives contact with the enemy. But starting a change without a plan is like starting a trip without a map. The good news is that most change plans can be simple. There may be more complexity and moving parts as you scale the change effort, but you can start with just a few key concepts. Think what you want to accomplish, when you hope to be done, and what success will look or feel like.

Let’s stick with spring cleaning and culture change as two examples.

If I’m planning for spring cleaning, I want to accomplish the annual tasks that make my home ready for warmer weather and clean up the clutter of being indoors through the winter months. I hope to be done by the middle of May. Successful spring cleaning will feel like we are comfortable in our home and ready to entertain throughout the spring and summer.

If I’m approaching a culture change, it could be that I want to accomplish a transformation that will result in higher retention, engagement, and productivity. I recognize that this will likely be ongoing, but want to see the first signs of change when we do our next employee survey. When the culture begins to change, I will see fewer customer complaints, reduced absenteeism, and increased margins.

While each project will have its own specifics and particulars, what a simple plan will gift you is a sense of the direction and scope of the change. And it will prepare you to start taking action.

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Keep it small.

Most change brings steps and stages—lots of activity and responsibility. So, to avoid overload or burnout, keep the various tasks you need to accomplish bite-sized.

When spring cleaning, I may want to reorganize and deep clean my kitchen and throw out expired pantry goods, but if I have dozens of cabinets, shelves, or other surfaces to address, “Clean and Organize the Kitchen” is too big. Best case scenario, I’ll lose motivation and never finish. Worst case? I contemplate burning down the entire house.

Seriously, though, we need to set ourselves up for success. Task size is the simple way to do this. Rather than setting the big, hairy task for yourself, break it down into small pieces that you can and will complete. So, instead of “Clean and Organize the Kitchen,” start with “Clean and Organize the First Kitchen Cabinet to the Left of the Sink.” Or even make it smaller: “Clean and Organize the Bottom Shelf of the First Kitchen Cabinet to the Left of the Sink.” This approach lets you rapidly accumulate wins—increasing motivation and energy.

The same concept can be applied to a bigger project like culture change. Instead of “Reduce Turnover,” think about all of the various factors that are involved in employee retention and turnover and tackle one thing at a time. For example, consider identifying one department with high turnover and another, similar team with high retention. Evaluate turnover data and exit survey feedback for the first unit. Analyze stay interview, engagement survey data, and other key metrics for the 2nd. Compare the results and identify one tactic to trial with the high turnover department. Each of these is a small step that can, over time, lead to the big result you want.

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Celebrate progress.

There is a reason we incentivize the results and behaviors we want. Bonuses, rewards, premiums. They all work to motivate and keep us on track. Whether you’re cleaning out your garage or fundamentally changing the way your organization does business, celebration will amplify progress.

You don’t have to wait until the end when the goal is complete. You don’t have to go all out. Small and frequent celebration is ultimately easier and can lead to a faster finish. They do more than motivate. They reinforce the change you’re trying to achieve. They demonstrate appreciation for the effort people have made so far. And they create positive associations with the change itself. You build skill, recognition, and community when you celebrate progress.   

If I’m regrouting my bathroom this spring (I’m totally not doing that, but if I were), I might choose to celebrate the point when the last of the old grout is gone with a massage. Or I might promise myself a little break and a glass of iced tea when the first shower wall is ready for fresh grout.

If I’m leading a culture change, there are countless opportunities to celebrate progress. Say part of this change is intended to improve customer ratings. The first time we receive a positive review, survey, or other rating response, I could send a personal thank you message to the team and have flowers or cookies delivered, as well as publicizing the win to the whole company. Or I could turn a monthly review of customer ratings into a way to spotlight individual or team wins. Not only does this recognize and celebrate progress, it’s baking celebration into the new culture as you build it.

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Change is rarely glamorous. It is messy. It’s not always fun. It often takes more time and effort than you can anticipate. Despite all of this, change is a worthwhile investment. The key is to keep moving—one simple plan, one small task, one celebration at a time.  

All of this is why I’m starting a new “as easy as” series for the remainder of the Spring and through the Summer. These articles will expand on the ideas covered here and introduce new ways to think about the work of leading change. Be on the lookout for the next article where we’ll talk about what I like to call, “The Physics of Change.”