Managing Organizational Change for Today’s Leaders

Notes for FountainBlue Presentation 8/24/06
by Pat Obuchowski

How can we, as change leaders, manage change and what skills do we need to make the change smooth (as much as is possible)?

According to William Bridges, author of Managing Transitions, when management introduces change, it needs to provide employees with the four P’s: the Purpose (the reason behind the change), the Picture (what will the expected outcome look like?), the Plan (how will we get from here to there), and the Part (what part will the employees play?).

• Involve everyone…especially yourself. Jump in….you must be involved.
• Clear sense of purpose and mission. The simpler the better.
• Be Committed as the leader
• Be the watchdog and fire up people for support
• Find Allies and Build ‘Change Champions’ and "Paradigm shifters" in your top managers and others. Do not leave it up to HR to manage this change
• Maintain a flat organization team structure. Rely on minimal and informal reporting requirements
• Make plans, but hold your plans loosely. Know they may need to change
• Build a cross-functional team to monitor the change and to see where the problems are.
• Ask for volunteers. You’ll be surprised at who will show up. This team is a great place to put the ‘nay-sayers’ of the change.
• Remember resistance is a natural part of change. People fear uncertainty. The questions always arise: Why do we have to change if the old way is working? What will happen to me after the change? What if I don’t fit into the new way? What if I become obsolete?
• Deal with questions honestly and if you don’t know…say so.
• Acknowledge people’s fears. Let them get used to the new situation and encourage and reinforce them for their efforts. Don’t force acceptance.
• Realize there’s a tension between getting ready for the change and implementing quickly.
• Don’t stretch out the ‘getting ready’ phase.
• Win Employee’s support Provide considerable amounts of training and staff development for those involved. These activities can include everything from skills training to ‘on-the-move’ coaching.
• Be flexible and toss out the rule book. You must have the ability to drop what you’re doing and move to something more critical. Treat everything as a temporary measure. During this time, it is.
• Find a common language.
• Reward ‘problem finding’. (Fred Nikols, Change Management 101) A situation requiring action but in which the required action is not known. (Problem vs. opportunity) Identify and settle on a course of action.
• Concentrate dispersed knowledge. Start and maintain an ‘issues’ log. Let anyone go anywhere and talk about anything. Keep communications barriers low and information flowing fast.
• Treat everything as temporary. Don’t ‘finalize’ until the last minute and then insist on your right to change your mind.
• Be prepared for implementation dip. Know things often get worse temporarily before improvement begins to appear.
• Assess. Assess. Assess. Keep assessing the situation. Keep assessing what’s being said and what’s not being said. Keep assessing your effectiveness as a change leader.
• Acknowledge the mess. Remember, managing change is about bringing order to a messy situation. It is not a time to pretend that it is already organized and disciplined.
• If things look chaotic, relax! Trust they are.
• Reinforce the change. Some people may relax back into old ways. Keep the pressure up until you are sure the new habits are well-established.

CONCLUSION: How do you Manage Change? The same way you’d manage anything else of a turbulent, messy, chaotic nature. You don’t really manage it, you grapple with it. It’s more a matter of leadership ability than management skill.
QUOTE by Robert C. Gallagher: "Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine."
QUOTE by Andre Gide "One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Other Words of Advice on Managing Change from the Executives in attendance at the 8/24/06 meeting:

• Create Trust and Credibility with Frequent and Honest Communications (needs to happen first)
• Look to the leader to drive change:
• Leaders Articulate the Vision
• Vision comes from the top, tactics from the bottom
• Leaders Change course as necessary
• Leaders Plan and prepare but are flexible
• Leaders Walk the talk
• Get Buy-In
• Explain why change needs to happen
• Consider 'WIIFM', the 'What's In It for Me' Syndrome
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Road Map
• Mutual Benefits
• Leaders consider multiple factors when managing change - Consider the size and state of the organization when managing/planning/executing change
• There's a difference between collaborative and unilateral change