.....Strategy without action is a day-dream;
action without strategy is a nightmare"
old
Japanese proverb
Leadership is the key in change management. Successful change management requires a large
commitment from executives and senior managers, whether the change is occurring
in a department or in a complete organization. A change effort cannot be
optional for any staff but either they
must lead or get out of the way. The new system will ultimately have to stand
on its own feet, but every new system needs support and nurture from every
individual in the organization. Today
and into the near future, organizational change will occur with increasing regularity.
Organization-wide changes such as mergers and acquisitions, restructurings,
leadership changes, and changes in technology are the rule, not the exception,
in a world where change is the only constant.
It generally involves a paradigm shift — a fundamental change in
thinking — about the way an organization is structured, organized, or managed.
The key is that the change is planned.
In any change, one could never expect one
hundred percent support from any individual who was not personally involved in
devising a change which had an impact on his work. Quantum uses its
six-stage Cycle of Success to help organizations manage change. The Cycle of
Success change management model is a planned approach to addressing the
broad-based change that businesses and other organizations constantly face. The
six stages are Identifying, Discovering, Understanding, Envisioning, Planning,
and Sustaining which could be adeptly applied in my organization. The following are the details on how to
approach each stage:
Issues and outcomes are the two critical elements of the first stage in the model, Identifying. The first question that must be addressed is: “What is the presenting issue?” Once a business identifies the cause of the issues of concern, it must decide on outcomes, that is, what will be different about the organization as a result of the change process.
An internal and external scan of the organization and its environment takes place during Discovering. The primary goal of Discovering is to create a common, shared picture of the organization’s current reality among all stakeholder groups, including management, employees, and owners.
Understanding provides a bridge for the organization between Discovering its current reality and Envisioning its ideal future. One purpose of this stage is to collectively determine why the organization must change. The analysis must also move from “why” to “how,” as the organization determines what changes are needed for it to operate at peak efficiency.
The fourth stage is Envisioning, during which the firm develops a picture of its desired future. One way to begin the Envisioning dialogue is for a leadership team to present a “working” vision, based on what has occurred to this point in the change process. A larger group, representative of the entire organization, can then use the working vision as the starting point for a more detailed vision of the future based on the information that has been collected and analyzed.
Issues and outcomes are the two critical elements of the first stage in the model, Identifying. The first question that must be addressed is: “What is the presenting issue?” Once a business identifies the cause of the issues of concern, it must decide on outcomes, that is, what will be different about the organization as a result of the change process.
An internal and external scan of the organization and its environment takes place during Discovering. The primary goal of Discovering is to create a common, shared picture of the organization’s current reality among all stakeholder groups, including management, employees, and owners.
Understanding provides a bridge for the organization between Discovering its current reality and Envisioning its ideal future. One purpose of this stage is to collectively determine why the organization must change. The analysis must also move from “why” to “how,” as the organization determines what changes are needed for it to operate at peak efficiency.
The fourth stage is Envisioning, during which the firm develops a picture of its desired future. One way to begin the Envisioning dialogue is for a leadership team to present a “working” vision, based on what has occurred to this point in the change process. A larger group, representative of the entire organization, can then use the working vision as the starting point for a more detailed vision of the future based on the information that has been collected and analyzed.
The purpose of Planning is to design and build the path from the
organization’s current reality to its envisioned future. “Too often,
organizations want to jump right into planning,” says Joyce. “That’s like
trying to plan a trip when you don’t know your starting point or your
destination. You have to understand where they’re at now and where you want to
be in the future before developing an action plan.”
Once a plan has been implemented, the final stage is Sustaining. The purpose of
this stage is to monitor the change process and adjust the action plan.
Sustaining any change effort is a continuous process that should occur throughout
the life of the action plan.
In order to pacify some resistance, the following should be observed:
- Provide as much information
as possible, to as many employees as possible, about the business. Share
financial information, customer feedback, employee
satisfaction survey results, industry projections and challenges, and
data from processes you measure. Assuming
decisions about needed change are made based on relevant data, an informed
workforce will understand and agree with the need for change. (They may
not agree on the how and/or what, but you are miles ahead if you have
agreement on the why and the whether.)
- Create an urgency around
the need to change. Project, for your workforce, what will happen if you
don’t make the needed changes. Communicate this information honestly and
use data whenever it is available. You do have compelling reasons for
making the changes? Right?
- Spend extra time and energy
working with your front line supervisory staff and line managers to ensure
that they understand, can communicate about, and support the changes.
Their action and communication are critical in molding the opinion of the
rest of your workforce.
- Align all organizational
systems to support needed changes. These include the performance
management system, rewards and recognition, disciplinary approaches,
compensation, promotions, and hiring. A consistency across all Human
Resources systems will support faster change.
- Align the informal
structures and networks in your organization with the desired changes. If
you can tap into the informal communication and political network, you
will increase change commitment. (As an example, eat lunch in the
lunchroom and discuss the changes informally. Spend extra time
communicating the positive aspects of the change to people you know are
“key communicators” in your organization.)
- Help employees feel as if
they are involved in a change management process that is larger than
themselves by taking these actions to effectively involve employees in
change management.
Effective change requires constant vigilance to resist slipping back
into the old, comfortable ways of doing business. Here are some change management tips to avoid
it:
- Deal with people
involved in the change process with patience, gentle humor, grace,
persistence, pragmatism, respect, understanding, and support.
- Take a long and
broad view of change, and think about the impact of changes over one,
three, and five years.
- Continue all of
the behaviors and processes discussed in the articles below until change
has the “opportunity to become anchored in the culture.
- Set up changes so
that people in you organization experience some early wins.
- Recognize that
effective change is usually a realignment of the “world view,” rather than
a program or flavor of the month.
- People involved
in change will need to recognize that change is risky; change can be
scary; change can often entail the real desire and need to slip back into
the comfort zone.
Finally,
as much as employees need to celebrate new beginnings, you will need to provide
opportunities for employees to mourn the past, to let go of familiar ways of
doing work. Even as change is, hopefully, a gain for your organization, it is
also always a loss. People lose coworkers, comfortable work processes, known
ways of doing things, communication networks, security and stability, or
confidence in their own capability. Recognize their loss, and you will assist
people to move more quickly with you into the brave new world.
"Change is difficult, but complacency and stagnation are
showstoppers..." Walter Derzko
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever
has." - Margaret Mead
Bibliography
Books
Antoines, E. P. and Bento, R. F. (2004) ‘Methods of “Learning
Leadership”:
Taught and Experiential’, in J. Storey
(ed.) Leadership in Organizations: Current
Issues and Key Trends, pp. 81–102. London
Dorris, M. (1995) ‘Organizational Transformation and Renewal: A Case
for Reframing
Management Development?’, Personnel
Review 24(6): 6–18.
Foyle, Joan (2005) ‘Change, Change,
Change’, Current Trends in Change
Management, pp.43-
50. New York
Journals
McDelta, R. R. (2000) ‘Organizational Responses to Complexity: The
Effect on Organizational
Performance’, Journal of
Organizational Change Management 13(6): 577–94.
Betty, R. (1995) ‘The Dominant Logic: Retrospective and Extension’, Strategic
Management
Journal 16(1):
5–14.
Internet Webpage
Edwards, Robert. ‘Dealing with People in
Implementing Change’, www.acsconsultancy.com.uk/stanford/paper/changemgt
Heather, Susan. ‘The Organization in a Change Management’,
Roosenthum, Mary. ‘Constant Change but
Constant Purpose’,
Scott, Jenny. ‘Middle Managers in a Change
Management’,
Vilmox, Edmund. ‘Quantum Change Management Styles’,
White, Shawn. ‘Stability in the Changing
Times’,
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