Leading Change – Guidelines for Managers

(Organizational Development)

This guide is designed as a working reference. It describes a generic approach to change that can be adapted and used in many situations, from small changes to major re-alignments.

The guide is designed to support the drive to achieve a consistent approach to change by:

• Raising awareness of the importance of effective leadership of change
• Highlighting the use of change management processes in general
• Highlighting the critical success factors for effective implementation

The guide draws on material from a number of sources, the main ones being listed in Appendix A.

CONTENTS

1. Executive Summary 3

2. Introduction 4

3. Setting the context 5

• What is change?
• The paradox of change
• Why success is not assured!

4. The human dimension 7

• Why do people see change the way they do?
• Fritz Roethlisberger
• Kurt Lewin
• The realities of change

5. An effective change management process 9

• Starting out
• A 6 step change process for change

6. Barriers to effective change 13

• Lack of a compelling case
• Ineffective employee involvement
• The criticality of effective implementation
• Failing to celebrate success

7. Change checklist 16

8. The criticality of effective communication 18

• Consistency and regularity
• Perception versus reality
• Best practice checklist

9. The role of the leader during change 20

• Visibility and accessibility
• Role modeling
• Leadership behaviors during change

Appendix - Primary data sources & Bibliography

1. Executive Summary

What do we actually mean by “change”? The word has become commonplace in organizational language, but it means different things to different people, and depends hugely on the perception of the person in question. To someone who has never been involved in change, a minor shift in work pattern may seem like the end of the world; but to an experienced and enlightened change champion, even large changes can seem like routine events.

In change situations, perception and attitude are everything. It is critical to address the so-called “soft issues”, as they are really the hard issues when it comes to successful change. The biggest single part of this is involvement – taking the time and effort to discuss why change may be needed, the overall environment and strategic position that is driving such change, and to give people the opportunity to discuss and share their views. To a large degree, preparation is everything in change situations; there is no substitute for developing and maintaining an environment and approach that will enable change to take place effectively. That means people involvement, effective and consistent communication and taking the time to explain the situation – even if not everyone likes the changes being proposed.

As a starting point 3 questions have to be answered that underpin the change process:

1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. How are we going to get there?

Answering these questions provides the basic scope that lays out the case for change, the benefits to be gained and a basic risk assessment that addresses the major unknowns.

An assessment of stakeholder perception is critical. This process defines all the stakeholders in the change process, and establishes their position and attitude with regard to the potential change. Without this there is no effective starting point to assess how significant the change is perceived – you may think one thing, but others may feel very differently!

This guide uses a simple 6-step process for effective change:

1. Establish a compelling case for change, involving employees in the discussion

2. Create clear ownership and leadership

3. Communicate the case for change and progress early and often

4. Create and maintain a workable change plan

5. Empower broad-based action and maintain momentum

6. Anchor new approaches in the culture

Effective leadership is critical during change, at every one of the 6 stages listed above. Leadership during change cannot be overstated – it is pivotal to success. But this means much more than “leading from the front” – it means personal involvement and engagement with the “soft issues”, involving people at each stage both to discuss changes and to get feedback about not only how people feel but also how to improve the overall chance of success.

The very best change programs will strike the right balance between quality leadership (employees look to leaders for guidance during change situations) and employee involvement. This is sometimes stated as leaders setting the framework for change (“top down”) with employees helping to establish both workable detail and effective implementation (“bottom up”).

Why does change so often fail to capture the intended results?

• Lack of a compelling case – often far too little effort is put into developing the “case for change”, particularly the effective involvement of employees
• Failing to understand what change really is – far too often change is still seen as a “single event”, effectively moving from one steady state condition to another. But this is rarely the reality today; change is nearly always a journey, and it can take several iterations to get to the right structure / alignment
• Failing to engage with employees – although the vision and case for change are normally developed by senior managers, involvement of employees or groups of employees is vital to effective implementation and also solutions that will actually work! An effective balance between “top-down” and “bottom-up” is critical
• Ineffective implementation – so often implementation is seen, erroneously, as the “easy part”. However in reality it is the most difficult part to get right. The real test of implementation is how robust the organization is to deal with the challenges and to re-adjust as necessary – flexibility is critical

2. Introduction

This guide has been developed to meet the specific needs of RGU, particularly with regard to consistent guidance around leading and managing change. It is not a comprehensive review of the subject, and nor does it aim to compete with the many good books written on the subject (see bibliography for some of these).

It is a reference guide that can help build understanding with regard to the many complex issues involved. It is a working document, built for regular use - a day-to-day road map.

We need to start with a basic understanding - what does change actually mean in an institutional context? The word “change” has become commonly used in recent years, but the first challenge is that it means different things to different people, and depends hugely on the perception of the person in question.

In some instances it is used to signify a single event, a move from one state to a new state, and is conducted with relative ease and minimal disruption. But more commonly it is used to mean a major shift in the organization affecting both people and processes, and taking weeks or months to complete.

This brings us to the first key point – balancing the significance of the change and its potential impact with the way it is perceived by the people involved. How people see change depends entirely on their past experience and degree of flexibility and adaptability. To someone who has never been involved in change, a minor shift in work pattern may seem like the end of the world; but to an experienced and enlightened change champion, even large changes can seem like routine events.

In change situations, perception and attitude are everything. We shall see later how important it is to address the so-called “soft issues”, as they are really the hard issues when it comes to successful change.

Equally important is the need to make a distinction between organizational change and running the business effectively. Some business decisions need to be made as a routine part of “running the business” and ensuring sustainability. Such events often need to be dealt with quickly, and employee involvement can follow. (You will get no thanks for letting the business fail because you felt it was necessary to wait 6 months to gather the opinions of every employee!)

So what does all this mean for someone leading change? For a start, if you are a manager in any kind of organization, the likelihood is that you will implement change at some point – and probably quickly. Much recent leading edge writing thinking about the role of leaders tends to agree that leading change is in effect the same thing as leading – i.e. leadership without effective change management skills is becoming ineffective as a core skill.

Not only that, but the ability to understand, believe in and role model effective leadership behaviors is crucial. During change situations people will only really believe and buy into what credible leaders tell them – and the reality is that many people in lead positions are not able to do this effectively? Why is this? It is simply because they have not put in the effort to develop their own leadership capability, particularly around key leadership behaviors.

The values that an organization adheres to in support of its mission and vision, and the leadership behaviors that evolve from them simply have to be evident and visible if effective and lasting change is going to take place.

Against this backdrop it is hardly surprising that “leading change” has been identified by the RGU Executive Group as a key organizational capability for all managers and one where significant development effort will need to be focused.

This guide does not go into detail about the legislative aspects of change – in particular regarding situations where changes in employment status may occur. This information is available from your HR Client Partner. It is critical that, in any change situation, the HR Client Partner is involved as early as possible in the process. Not only does this ensure the most effective advice and collective forward planning, but it also allows early planning for any legislative aspects of potential change situations.

3. Setting the context

What do we mean by change? Looking at some dimensions will help:

• In the 1990’s, nearly 50% of all US organizations were restructured

• In the 2000 – 2010 decade, it is predicted that:

• Working from home will increase 20-fold

• 25% of all knowledge will become obsolete
• Dual career families will make up over 60% of all families

What are the main sources of change?

• Societal / behavioral – e.g. life-style changes
• Technical
• Economic

So change comes from a variety of sources, and affects us all. People may tend to think of change as something that only affects them at work, but the reality is very different – just look at the life-style and economic changes that have affected everyone over the past 20 years.

Change is here to stay – and it going to affect us all. If we look back rationally at the last 200 years, this should be no surprise of course, but its how we see change at a personal level that really matters, and maybe more importantly how “in control” we feel.

When asked, over 80% of people will generally see change as a good thing, but this drops to 20% or less when it gets personal, and looks like it might in any way adversely affect someone, even if it won’t! In change situations, perception and reality definitely are not the same things!

The paradox of change

There is a major paradox about change, and it is that the best change programs are successful because they do things in a way that most people wouldn’t define as “change” at all!

In the words of Glenn Tilton, CEO of UAL (United Airlines)

“At least 70% of major corporate changes fail to capture the benefits ascribed to them. A big factor is that the soft issues are not understood to truly be the hard issues. Not enough attention is dedicated to the hearts and minds of the people in the organizations”

And to quote William Bridges (from Managing Transitions):

“It isn’t the changes that do you in, it’s the transition”

These two quotes are effectively saying the same thing – change is not really about the structural changes that are made to organizations, but about the way that people are guided and treated during the change process. But this is itself a challenge if the enduring culture within the organization is not aligned to good people management in the first place!

No wonder, then, that it is so often said that effective change is 20% structural change and 80% good people management.

Success is not assured

A very high percentage (roughly 70%) of change programs fail to meet their objectives.

For quality management initiatives it’s even worse – something like 80% don’t meet initial expectations.

This provides a very rich source of information about how not to do it, and there is a growing sense of organizations wanting to learn from best practice in order to minimize the chance of failure. What does best practice and the lessons of so many failures tell us? The key success factors are:

• A compelling vision of why change is needed
• Effective and consistent communication
• Adequate preparation and conditioning
• A thorough and lasting implementation process that deals effectively with peoples’ concerns and needs as they adapt to the new situation

The rest of this guide is focused on what best practice looks like, and how it can be applied effectively.

4. The human dimension

Why do people react to change the way they do? On the face of it, with so much change occurring and having so much impact on so many people, it might be logical to assume that people are generally getting more used to “change as normal”. Unfortunately logic and reality are far apart, as we shall see.

Firstly let’s look at why people tend to shy away from change – often to ignore what to others might seem obvious.

Most people, when confronted with a situation that challenges their deeply held inner beliefs, tend to “rationalize away” the new information in order to maintain their existing view of things. This is often stated as “rationalizing away” versus “being fully rational”. Technically this is known as “cognitive dissonance reduction, and is a well-documented psychological phenomenon.

Even in situations where the need to change is fairly clear and obvious, and may start to affect a persons ability to function effectively, people often still rationalize away the new information. This phenomenon is probably best demonstrated in Spencer Johnson’s excellent book “Who Moved My Cheese”? This is a light-hearted book but with a very significant message for today’s fast-changing world.

Fritz Roethlisberger

Why do people do this? Psychologist Fritz Roethlisberger developed a theory that each change situation is interpreted by each individual according to their attitude. He developed this into a diagram known as Roethlisberger’s X chart:

CHANGE RESPONSE

ATTITUDE

PERSONAL HISTORY SOCIAL SITUATION

In effect our attitude to change and the response we make is heavily influenced by the way we “see” the situation – in effect the “psychological advantage” (or not) within any given situation.

Generally speaking the principle factors that cause resistance to change are:

• Loss of security or status
• Inconvenience
• Distrust or uncertainty
• Cognitive Dissonance Reduction (as explained above) – in effect rationalizing the “new reality” of the situation away and sticking to “firmly held” (but quite possibly seriously flawed and outdated) beliefs

Consequently anything we can do to reduce the level of uncertainty and to dispel rumors that have no foundation will help to reduce resistance to change.

Kurt Lewin

Social psychologist Kurt Lewin likened the process of change as going from one steady state to another. He recognized that change, whenever conducted too quickly and without due regard to the people involved, tends to “shatter the equilibrium” and lead to (almost inevitable) resistance.

He proposed an ideal 3-stage process:

• Unfreezing old attitudes
• Introducing the change
• Re-freezing attitudes around the new approach

“Unfreezing” is the process of preparing for change, which may involve:

• Greater dialog with employees
• Leadership guidance on the reasons for change
• A simple, compelling case as to why change is needed
• Why the “status quo” is not a satisfactory situation, longer term

In essence it is about helping as many people as possible to understand the realities of the situation and the need for change, even if people don’t like the possible implications for them personally.

Once the organization understands the need for change, then the changes can begin – but this does not mean that all resistance ceases. During the period of change people in the organization will watch key leaders for signals, and also look for information about “what is in it for me”. The key to success is for management to be open, honest, and candid, never attempting to hide bad news.

For many managers there is a natural reluctance to be open and honest – often because they fear the reaction of employees. But the overwhelming evidence from case studies is that the situation is much worse when information is withheld, versus releasing information in a timely manner.

“Re-freezing” is the process by which the “new way” becomes regular behavior and practice. However this can never happen by simply telling people to change. The only effective way is leading by example, with supervisors playing their part to create an environment that constantly and openly reinforces the new behaviors and hence the desired change.

“I wouldn’t start from here”...

One of the more unfortunate realities of management is that when the need for change becomes apparent, the organization is often not in the best state to accept it. This can be characterized by the statement...”if I was going to change things, ideally I wouldn’t start from here”!

This is the real paradox of change; it really isn’t about organizational diagrams and structures. It’s about how people are managed, how well-informed they are, and how well they understand and support the longer-term vision and “compelling case for change” within the organization. But this simply doesn’t happen overnight; it is a process that takes years to do well.

The real “breakthrough thinking” around change tends to occur when the so-called soft issues are recognized as the real change issues. In effect this is saying that there are two paths open to anyone conducting change:

Path 1 – overly focused on results and short-term benefits, and generally failing to recognize the human dimension and team development need

Path 2 – focused much more on how the people in the team are going to achieve the results expected, and how they need to be managed and developed to achieve that

Many businesses, driven by a desire to meet short-term financial objectives, tend to choose path 1 by default. But overwhelmingly senior leaders are recognizing now that path 2 is the only way to ensure sustainable and longer lasting change.

5. An effective change management process

So far we have seen that change is much more about people than process, and lasting change has a lot to do with good leadership and people management skills.

So what does an effective change management process look like, and how is it implemented? The following 6-step framework is a good basis to start from for any organizational change program, regardless of size or impact.

The starting point is the recognition that a change program has to be defined well enough and have outcomes clear enough and valuable enough to make it worthwhile doing at all. (This may seem intuitively obvious, but its one of the main reasons why so many change programs fail to achieve their expected targets).

In effect we have to answer 3 questions that underpin the change process:

4. Where are we now?
5. Where do we want to be?
6. How are we going to get there?

Answering these questions will provide the basic scope – a short document that lays out the case for change, the benefits to be gained and a basic risk assessment that addresses the major unknowns.

This then provides the starting point for the project management process that is needed as an “umbrella” or overarching process inside which the change process fits. (This guide does not go into the details of the project management process, other than where it overlaps directly with the change process. It is assumed that such a multi-stage process for managing projects is available for use).

Secondly, an assessment of stakeholder perception is necessary. This process simply defines all the stakeholders in the change process, and establishes what their “position” is with regard to the potential change. This covers how they see it, how they might react, and any alternative positions they may hold. Finally it addresses how positive or otherwise they may be to the overall change agenda.

A degree of data collection through focus groups and informal meetings is likely to be needed to establish the true stakeholder positions.

Stakeholder analysis is essential at the start of any change. It helps establish the impact and degree of acceptance to it – and this is critical if we are to know how hard we have to work to make the change happen. There is no point in designing a huge change program for a change that everyone accepts and is more than happy to do anyway!

The 6-step process for effective change

7. Establish a compelling case and a sense of urgency

8. Clear ownership and leadership

9. Communicate the case for change early and often

10. Create and maintain a workable change plan

11. Empower broad-based action and maintain momentum

12. Anchor new approaches in the culture

Step 1: Establish a compelling case and a sense of urgency

For any change, no matter how small, it is essential to have a clear and well thought out understanding as to why change is necessary.

For many leading edge organizations this tends to be less of an issue, because they put so much effort into establishing and maintaining a culture of continual change – in effect for them “change” becomes part of the lexicon of everyday work.

However for most organizations this is not the case. For them the starting point is about creating:

• A clear case for change, approved at the appropriate level
• A compelling and reasonable argument, laid out in the form of a directional paper or memo
• An understanding of the timescale involved, even if its not fully defined
• An understanding of the urgency for change, and the consequences of not changing
• The right climate for change – the ground work with stakeholders to create an initial sense of involvement and engagement with the challenge

Step 1 cannot be rushed. It is fundamental to effective change, and the dialogue with key stakeholders is critical to shaping a comprehensive and viable approach. Often this step takes place over several weeks or months, and is highly iterative – homing in on the most appropriate approach and ultimately to the compelling case for change.

One of the biggest issues to be addressed in step 1 is how to create enough urgency without overly stressing people – in effect ensuring it is taken seriously but at the same time making sure the outline implementation timeframe is reasonable.

People have a natural tendency to relegate things they perceive as unnecessary to the bottom of their “to do” list. If this occurs with the key people who are essential for early engagement and buy-in, then nothing will happen. So creating the collective sense of urgency and priority with key stakeholders is critical to getting a good start at all.

In some cases, particularly where change is necessary as a prerequisite for effective business continuation, then senior leaders will often have to declare the situation as urgent and high priority with limited discussion and feedback, in order to ensure early action and progress.

Step 2: Clear ownership and leadership

The next step in the process is to ensure that there is clarity around who is leading the process and who will approve the actions to be taken. For most major changes there will also be a leadership team, reporting to the project manager, that needs to be briefed, fully engaged and have the capacity (i.e. time and priority) to contribute to the process.

As well as establishing the management (or governance) process, it is also essential to establish the guiding principles and vision that all stakeholders involved in the change process can buy into. This defines how the team will work together, how they will communicate to other people, and how they will explain the issues to others when appropriate. It is crucial that this is done with a common message and language. People will simply not follow the lead of a team that is perceived to be divided and acting as anything other than good role models to them.

It is also good practice at this stage to identify who the “champions of change” might be. The reality is that it’s the champions, the people who will take a positive approach and use the right constructive and visionary language, who make lasting change happen. There is a critical mass element to this, and a basic “rule” of change is that there needs to be enough change championing occurring appropriate to the magnitude of the change, if such changes are going to be made in a reasonable timeframe. The reality is that having fewer champions translates into a longer change transition period, and this can have a major impact on the ultimate effective change.

Finally it is critical that ownership for the change process is with the relevant line managers. Consultants, HR and other support teams can all help managers to develop and implement successful change but line management ownership has to be clear from start to finish.

Step 3: Communicate the case for change early and often

One of the biggest barriers to effective change is poor communication – or to be more accurate poor perceived communication. An effort may well have been made to communicate, and the leadership team may well have felt they had done a good job at this, but its perception that counts. If the message was poorly understood or misunderstood, particularly where no effort has been made to clarify around concerns, then resistance can be expected, and it might be serious!

It is never too early to start the communication process. Section G) below contains a comprehensive guide to effective communication during times of change.

Step 4: Create and maintain a workable change plan

So far we have focused mainly on people issues, mainly because those are the ones most likely to cause implementation challenges if not handled correctly.

However it is important to build and maintain a project plan for change that includes all the normal project elements – major tasks, deliverables, timeline, who does what, risk assessment, logistical issues, etc. This will also include the more traditional elements of change plans, such as:

• Scope, i.e. what is included and what is not
• Organizational structure
• Roles and responsibilities
• Selection, recruitment and / or separation issues
• Implementation plans
• Progress review methodology

It is important that the change process is recognized and planned as a project, and one that includes all aspects of implementation as part of the project. (Typically for instance this might include any necessary training and development – so often forgotten in change programs).

Although a general project planning process might be used, it is important that the project plan has the following key elements included:

• Initiate the project (including defining project board, team, manager)
• Define alternatives
• Select alternative and plan for detailed implementation
• Execute the approved plan
• Operate and make additional improvements

Step 5: Empower broad-based action and maintaining momentum

Once the decision has been made to make the change, then it is critical to “do something” – in effect making it clear that there really will be a change and it will have lasting benefit. Generally speaking there is a “window of opportunity” to do this, because if people see no changes and no action then they start to believe, wrongly, that the change itself (and more worryingly the need for change) has gone away.

Typical actions are:

• A clear implementation plan with realistic timescales and milestones
• Changing structures and processes
• Establishing clear new reporting lines
• Focus on new team development and individual development needs
• A culture of empowerment, trust and support
• Setting up measurement processes – with clear targets
• Focus on dealing with problems and potential roadblocks
• Role modeling good leadership behaviors

Step 6: Anchor new approaches in the culture

No matter how effective the introduction of change may be, ultimately the “proof of the pudding” will be how the new culture develops and embeds and how visible this process is.

This will typically take the form of:

• Continual reinforcement of the shared vision
• Encouraging and recognizing reinforcing behaviors in others
• Recognizing and taking with us “the best of the past”
• Openly recognizing people who do well
• Celebrating as a team
• Embed a team approach with appropriate development and support
• Clear linkages between individual objectives and organizational success
• Realistic yet challenging goals and objectives
• A strong sense of “ we will succeed or fail together”

It is crucial to make an early effort to make the “new way the normal way”. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of continuing to work in the same ways as before, and to treat the changes as something that will be done “when we have time”. This in effect makes the change process a “bolt-on” rather than “core”.

The language, behaviors and actions that leaders (at all levels) take will shape the overall implementation and determine how effective it is. The key message is to reinforce a “we” culture and avoid “they / them” language.

6. Barriers to effective change

So far we have built up a comprehensive picture of what organizational change entails, but we have not looked at the realities of the situation – in effect why so many change initiatives fail to meet their objectives. This section looks at why change so often fails to make the impact expected.

The compelling case for change

Many change programs in effect fail right from the outset, because they do not create an adequate sense of direction. Far too little effort is put into “painting the picture” as to why change is necessary, the impact of market forces and what will happen if we changes are not made. Organizations often fail to involve employees enough in the story of how the competitive landscape is changing, and what the medium-long term outlook options might be.

In particular, managers need to be exposed to the situation and possible outcomes as early as possible because they carry the responsibility of cascading the case for change to other employees, and doing so in a way that promotes buy-in and team inclusiveness.

Developing the case for change is not a simple process, and generally requires months of discussion and re-working to get it to a viable state. Early employee involvement and discussion can be hugely influential in overcoming resistance to change later on.

Not understanding what change is

Because the background to change may often be not well understood by employees, then a sense of change as a “single event” may emerge. In effect change then becomes seen as a step change to a new “steady-state” situation. This may have been true 20-30 years ago, but not now. Change is a journey, not a destination, and this applies as much to managers leading change as to employees having to come to terms with the consequence of change.

It is also critical to understand how “change as a journey” nearly always brings development opportunities, particularly when working with new systems and in new ways. At a personal level this is often overlooked.

Timescales

All change requires a clear timescale to work to. Without it there can be no commitment to change, because people simply won’t know when things are going to happen (or in some case if they have happened) and hence know how effective the changes were.

Right at the outset there is a need to set some timescale, even if it is an estimate. Why? Because once a compelling case has been communicated, then people naturally will ask when any change is likely to happen. As we shall see later in the section on effective communication, once the process has started and “the meter is running” so to speak, then consistent communication is critical. A key part of this will be to gradually improve the timescale and end-point estimates.

There is a second reason why a timescale is so important, and it is that change can be a highly stressful experience for some people. Hence it makes good business sense to go as fast as reasonably practical and in line with effective decision making. Although this might appear to increase the stress levels, in reality it is far worse to “keep people waiting” than to “get on with it”.

Ownership confusion

In any change situation it is critical to be very clear about roles, particularly with regard to who is responsible. Typically this breaks down into:

• Who approves the overall project?
• Who owns / manages the change process (if different from above)?
• Who is involved in shaping the new organization?

This is a critical first step because the communication process throughout any change requires to be continually managed, and as we have seen already, in many ways is the key to successful implementation. But without a clear understanding of roles there is also likely to be confusion about who owns the whole change and communication process.

So often in change programs consultants (sometimes internal support employees) are used to help develop the case for change and planning stages, and this often helps to develop a better overall understanding of “why we have to change”. However this is not the same as owning the change process. Only the line managers concerned can do that – and only they can be effective at communicating change to employees.

Employee involvement

In any change situation the compelling case and vision can only be developed by senior management – after all, that is what they are paid to do.

However there is a big difference between developing the case and implementing it, and implementation invariably involves a wide number of people at all levels.

In many major change situations managers fail to involve employees in change teams. Why? Because so often senior managers fail to see the importance of having the very people who will have to work in the changed organization work out the details of how it will actually operate in practice.

This so-called “bottom-up” approach not only brings wider involvement and hence greater buy-in, but it also creates far greater opportunity for new and innovative ideas within the framework of the “top-down” strategic vision.

Ineffective implementation

There are countless stories of change programs where there was an excellent business case, a good plan, but poor implementation and follow–up, leading to lower than expected results. So often implementation is seen as “the easy part” and sometimes is not even seen as part of the change process!

In reality implementation is the hard part – it is where the whole organization gets involved probably for the first time, and it is where assumptions made during organizational design get tested in practice, and in many cases found to be inadequate.

The real test of implementation is how robust the organization is to deal with the challenges and to re-adjust the organization and revised processes early enough. Flexibility is everything, and although the overall strategic framework needs to remain in place, many detailed steps may well change during implementation.

Although it is difficult to design a generic change implementation checklist, it should contain some essential elements:

• A clear understanding of who is organizing the implementation process – in effect an implementation coordinator
• A fair, equitable and fully transparent selection process
• A clear handover plan if roles are changing, including how to deal with unfinished work
• A detailed move plan if people are moving location
• A detailed communication plan which keeps all staff involved and updated
• Clear understanding that, to some degree, everyone’s role changes
• Recognizing that some changes will be needed and maintaining flexibility
• Early alignment of the senior management team around a set of team behaviors and an agreement to role model such behaviors
• Regular team meetings with a standing agenda item around change implementation
• A clear understanding (by all) of when “transition” should evolve into “normal running”

Why “the way we do things” may not be good enough any more

During boom times or periods of relative economic stability, managers can become overly confident of their management capability – in effect believing that results are all down to their abilities. But in many cases the situation is far more complex than this.

The general business or political environment may be playing a huge part in the overall success, and when something happens to challenge this (such as a major economic shift) it can be doubly hard for managers to realize they have to change. In some organizations it is only when this happens that they realize that their management capability was rather less well developed than they thought!

Failing to celebrate success

Knowing when to stop and declare victory is important because it is a key part of establishing the new culture as “normal running”. In effect this is moving out of “change transition” and into “continuous improvement”, and a judgment call is needed to establish when to do this.

7. A change checklist

The following checklist for change is adapted from “Human Resource Champions” by Dave Ulrich. It provides an effective benchmark against which to assess progress:

As part of the measurement of effective implementation, it is a good idea to review progress against all 7 stages of the checklist on a regular basis, typically every 3 months. A simple qualitative measure of process quality, on a scale of 0 to 100, will suffice.

8. The criticality of effective communication

“The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished”

George Bernard Shaw

Effective communication is the central factor in managing change. But it is also the main area of change that has traditionally been neglected or poorly handled.

The quote from Shaw gives a clear insight into why this is – differing perceptions as to what has actually been achieved. All too often the message delivered does not come across as intended, and what isn’t said tends to speak just as loud if not louder than what is said.

One thing is certain where communication is concerned, and that is communication occurs whether you want it to or not! That is a real dilemma for a change manager, because in effect everything they say and do becomes part of the overall change “jig-saw puzzle” as far as the employee in concerned. Every word, raised eyebrow, nod of the head, smile, raised voice etc provides information, so the key is to know that and manage it as best you can.

Consistency is critical – what you said a week ago must link into what you say today and what you plan to say next week. Errors and inconsistencies will be seen by employees as a sign of uncertainty and confusion, which invariably gets received as “they are hiding something”, or “they don’t know what they are doing”!

So how can you overcome these challenges and use communication as an effective change tool?

• Recognize that everything you say and do is part of the communication process
• Use every opportunity (formal and informal) to communicate the “case for change” - it is better to introduce the idea of change through informal discussions, focus groups, updates on the business outlook and wider business environment, etc

• Develop a communication plan that includes how and when you will tell people what, and by which medium
• Use written (memo, e-mail) media to communicate formal things that you want everyone to see
• Use verbal means to set the context and explain why, etc
• Be as open as you can and tell the truth – even if this means saying you don’t know yet or can’t say yet
• Consistency is everything. People will look at the sequencing of communication for any hints or hidden messages, and read in things that were never intended! It’s critical to maintain a consistent message, and to ensure continuation from one communication to the next
• Communicate on a regular basis, even if there is little to say. It is much more important to “keep the regular channels open” than to “only say what you need to say when you need to say it”. Also remember that a gap in communication will always be interpreted as “bad news”
• Ensure the right level of urgency is communicated along with the compelling case
• Work with the leadership team for the area concerned to ensure a consistent message is conveyed
• Focus on the benefits of change and the consequences of not changing
• Tune in to different stakeholder groups’ needs and preferences
• Seek feedback at every opportunity to encourage involvement

Benefits of effective internal communication are:

• Good communication processes help people to understand where they fit in the big picture, and how their job and team contributes towards achieving the organization’s goals
• Good leaders are often good communicators - great communication skills and practice helps leaders set direction and maintain morale. They are more credible to their team as a consequence
• People have more opportunities to speak up about concerns, as well as ideas and suggestions. A more trusting relationship can be created with colleagues and managers as a result
• Since employees are the organization, if they’re well informed and motivated it stands to reason that the organization’s internal and external reputation can only benefit
• Change is never easy to deal with, but good communication makes it easier for people. They understand what’s going on, why, and (as far as possible) how it will affect them. It won’t make everyone like change, but people will feel more comfortable, and better able to continue with their job while change happens

The diagram below helps explain the various stages and different means of communicating.

Employees will progress through the stages - from awareness to understanding to acceptance to commitment - at different paces. It is vital that leaders use the most effective and appropriate communication media to complement what’s required of employees at each stage. The process is not linear, and iteration or recycle is essential to get full understanding. For example if you want to inform employees of a change which will not require their involvement, (i.e. a change to a process which does not directly concern them, but is important to the organization) then use a newsletter or bulletin to advise them.

At the other end of the spectrum, if the change you’re proposing will require them to work in a different way in the future, it is critical to involve them in its design, via workshops, discussion groups or project teams.

I) The role of the leader during change

By now it should be apparent that change has much more to do with the so-called “soft” issues and much less to do with hard, structural issues. In effect leadership and change are one and the same thing – change will simply not happen without effective leadership, and anything less than good leadership will lead to ineffective change. Very few organizations can afford that – which is why leading change is such a huge issue.

One of the challenges is that people generally perceive change to be 80% structure and 20% people issues, whereas in reality it is the other way round – and most organizations only find this out the hard way, by making mistakes and learning from them.

So change is predominantly about:

• Good communication
• Personal desires
• Alternative culture and culture change
• Anxiety and loss of control
• Hidden agendas

To some degree these are all leadership issues. Leaders, at all levels, can do something about these issues and hence make change happen more effectively - but only if they choose to do so.

The role of leaders during change cannot be overstated – they play a pivotal role in making change happen. What is more, employees look to leaders for guidance particularly when situations are uncertain and change is likely. In fact employees watch leaders for any signs, whether intended or not, and read into them whatever they feel they need to.

Consequently it should be no surprise that the ability to understand, believe in and role model effective leadership behaviors is crucial. During change situations people will only really believe and buy into what credible leaders tell them – and the reality is that many people in lead positions are not able to do this effectively.

Why is this? It is simply because they have not put in the effort to develop their own leadership capability, particularly around key leadership behaviors.

The values that the organization adheres to in support of its mission and vision, and the leadership behaviors that evolve from them simply have to be evident and visible if effective and lasting change is going to take place.

What are the leadership behaviors most relevant to change situations at RGU?

• Understands the wider context and can explain them effectively
• Communicates a clear vision with commitment and passion
• Brings ideas to life for others, seeking to engage and gain buy-in
• Listens to others, shows interest in other perspectives
• Encourages contributions and shows appreciation
• Treats people with respect, recognizing achievements
• Able to persuade without resort to authority
• Sets and adheres to high standards
• Takes ownership of issues, ensuring resolution
• Encourages individual development, instilling self-belief in people
• Gives constructive feedback
• Build high performing teams
• A highly effective communication style that promotes team working

(This is a sub-set of the RGU leadership behavior model).

The danger under these circumstances is that leaders do less, not more, because of the concern that they may do something wrong, or get caught up in a debate they are not prepared for. But the reality of the situation is that if they do this they make the situation worse – a classic “catch 22” situation!

So what should leaders do to help make change more effective?

• Recognize that you are a role model, whether you like it or not!
• Be visible, and listen to concerns - encourage constructive debate and feedback
• Even if you don’t “buy-in” fully to what is happening, you still have a responsibility to help employees through the process in a supportive, positive and constructive way
• Be consistent in what you say, and never speculate – if you don’t know or can’t say, then say so
• Be empathetic to concerns, and help people understand what is actually happening, not what they think is happening
• Ensure that business keeps running smoothly during the change process – keep your “eye on the ball”
• Go out of your way to involve people and explain what is happening
• Focus on team working and team development needs

Everyone, no matter how enthusiastic they may be, will at some point experience the “performance dip” shown in the diagram below. Leaders at all levels need to be aware of this and handle each situation as appropriate.

Leaders at all levels need to be aware that people respond differently to the change, and hence a different approach may be needed. For instance “change champions” may only need occasional encouragement and support, but people struggling with the changes are going to need much more time and effort invested to help them come to terms with the “new way”.

Above all, leaders need to remember that people can never be “told to change” – this may appear to bring short-term benefit but invariably brings no lasting value, and in many cases leads to a worse situation than existed in the first place.

Only by guiding people and role modeling the kind of behaviors and culture needed can leaders make change work effectively.

Appendix

Primary data sources & bibliography

1. “Change / project management” by Professor Jim Penman (Dec 2000)

2. Leadership program Change Workshop (run by Pena, August 2003)

Bibliography

1. Why Transformation Efforts Fail. (Harvard Business Review on Change) J.F. Kotter, 1998

2. The Reinvention Roller Coaster. (Harvard Business Review on Change) Tracy Goss, 1998

3. Changing the Mindset of the Corporation. (Harvard Business Review on Change) Roger Martin, 1998

4. Successful Change Programs Don’t Produce Change. (Harvard Business Review on Change) R.H. Schaffer, 1998

5. Why Change Programs Don’t Produce Change. (Harvard Business Review) Michael Beer, 1990

6. Leading Change. J.F. Kotter, 1996

7. The Accelerating Organization. Arun Maira, 1997

8. Blur: the Speed of Change in the Connected Economy. Stan Davis, 1999

9. Human Resource Champions. David Ulrich, 1997

10. Real Change Leaders. J.R. Katznebach, 1996

11. Teaching the elephant to Dance: The Manager’s Guide to Empowering Change. J.E. Belasco, 1990

12. Intentional Revolutions. E.C. Nevis, 1999

13. The Dance of Change. Peter Senge, 1999

14. The Fifth Discipline Handbook. Peter Senge, 1994

15. Managing on the Edge. R.C. Pascale, 1990

16. Turning Goals into Results. (Harvard Business Review) Jim Collins, 1999

17. Managing Transitions. William Bridges, 1998

18. Who Moved my Cheese? Spencer Johnson, 1999