How to use backward imaging to help conquer change

Backward imaging is a great tool for approaching change and one of my personal favourites. As with so many change management tools, it’s simple and very effective.

Backward imaging takes people on a journey to the future state and works back from this in preparation for change.

The starting point is to get the team to think forward to the future, describing what they see and feel. It helps to get everyone to close their eyes for this step but it’s not essential. Note down everything that the team have said about the future onto a flip-chart. This is the vision.

Once you have completed the description of the future, ask the team to describe the present and add each point raised to the flip-chart.

Now that you have the future and current state described, ask the team what they see as the barriers to them reaching the vision. In other words: what’s stopping them from reaching where they need to be? Add each point raised to the flip-chart.

Now ask them what skills and other attributes they have or could acquire that could help them on their journey to their vision. Add each point raised to the flip-chart.

Once you have completed this exercise, the team will have a clearly documented vision, full awareness of the current state versus the vision, an understanding of the barriers to change, an awareness of team strengths and a list of additional things that the team can do to equip them when approaching change.

I have used this tool to great effect on many occasions. I fondly recall a business change workshop that I facilitated for the easyJet maintenance management team during the Gatwick hangar project. I needed to prepare the team for the operational start-up of the new hangar. I used backward imaging and several other change management tools.

We had an informal discussion about the start-up and I used backward imaging to get the team to imagine that the hangar was complete and fully operational. I asked them what they would see when walking around each area of the hangar building and external office areas. Many points were added to the flip-chart.

I then got the team to talk about the hangar at present, which was still a building site. I noted down each point raised. We then talked about the challenges that the team faced including the fact that the site was still being constructed and it would at some point need to transition it to air-side. We then discussed the things that could help the team through the transition.

The outputs of the session included a comprehensive checklist for getting the operation equipped for success from day 1. The check-list prompted the ordering of various items of equipment and consumables. The check-list was then regularly reviewed and actions were checked-off when complete.

The business change workshop was held at the start of May. By mid-May, the hangar was successfully transitioned from a land-side building site on a Monday to an air-side operation on the Tuesday. We towed the first aircraft into the hangar on the Tuesday afternoon and the first aircraft maintenance was completed on the Thursday night of the same week. The hangar go-live and continuation of maintenance at Gatwick were extremely successful. It was a great team effort and a very rewarding experience.

I have also used backward imaging when coaching people. I ask them to describe where they want to get to or to describe a problem that they are trying to overcome and then go through the same process as above. They describe where they are now, what is stopping them and what they have got or could get to help them to move forward.

As I say, backward imaging is a simple and very effective tool!

So, now you know how to use backward imaging to help conquer change. Why not try it out for yourself?

I hope that this has been an interesting and useful read. Please feel free to contact me to see how I can help you approach change.