By Godwin GADUGA
“Managing change is not an easy task. It requires commitment, effective communication, strong leadership, and a willingness to work through resistance. It also helps to have a sense of humour and a game plan” – Godwin Gaduga
To stay ahead of new technological advancements and economic developments, companies need to embrace change. According to research and advisory company Gartner, the average business has undertaken five major organizational changes in the past three years. A further 75 percent of those companies expect to pursue additional change initiatives in the coming three years.
Organizational change is typically pursued because it’s believed the transition will enable a business to operate at a higher level—becoming more efficient, productive, innovative, and profitable.
If the change is managed incorrectly, it can become a double-edged sword, leading to a loss of productivity, absence of innovation, and poor performance from employees. Gartner indicates that just 34 percent of all organizational change initiatives are considered a “clear success,” while 50 percent are deemed to be “clear failures.” A further 16 percent yield “mixed results.”
Organizational change depends a lot on perception. I came across a movie titled “Denial” recently, which is based on the book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier. The movie covers the 2001 court battle between American historian Deborah Lipstadt and Holocaust denier David Irving. Mr. Irving sued her for libel regarding how he was portrayed in her prior book, Denying the Holocaust. The movie highlights how humans interpret the world around them differently, which sentenced me to think about similar dynamics that occur during organizational change. How these dynamics play out affects both employee morale and the success of the initiative.
One is tempted to think of an organization as a single mass where everyone understands communications from leadership in the same way. We like to think that when the CEO speaks, everyone hears the same message. But, this is not the case. While the listeners may hear the same sounds, the meaning each person hears can be quite different. Thus, in an audience of any substantial size, it is likely that multiple, often divergent, interpretations are formed rather than a single, “true” interpretation.
Once the stakeholders communicate with each other, these alternative interpretations are in contention, and often one interpretation eventually dominates. Usually, the more accurate interpretation wins, but at times the myth prevails.
Denial of Organizational Change
One approach to threatening information is simply to deny its existence. In Denial, Mr. Irving has made a name for himself by providing books and speeches shining a positive light on Nazi Germany and Adolph Hitler. Because evidence of the organized, mass extermination of the Jewish people tarnished his viewpoint, Mr. Irving at first denied evidence of Hitler’s involvement. He claimed that there was no evidence of an order from Hitler, so it didn’t happen. He also referenced scientific reports that pointed to supportive conclusions, although those reports had been discredited.
Psychology researchers believe denial arises from a need to reduce anxiety about a situation. In the psychological theory of cognitive dissonance, individuals experience emotional turmoil when confronted with external situations that do not match their internal beliefs and values. So, when a job or status in the company is threatened and a person feels helpless, that person might be more prone to denial. Using denial can reduce anxiety about their own adequacy to perform the new work.
Many people are familiar with denial as part of the Five Stages of Grief Model. This model was described by Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. Based on observations of terminally ill patients, Kübler-Ross postulated that people normally move through the stages of anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While subsequent empirical research has provided some support for the model, other research suggested that human processing of grief is more complex than the model presents.
WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE?
Organizational change is the process by which a business alters key components of its strategy or operations. This may involve changes to company culture, essential technologies (systems), organizational structure, or major initiatives and goals. Depending on the objectives you’re trying to achieve, organizational change may be either continuous or intermittent.
Organizational change is typically categorized into two types: Adaptive and transformational change. Adaptive changes are small, incremental modifications that an organization undertakes to evolve over time. They can be thought of as the fine-tuning of processes and business strategies. Transformational changes, on the other hand, are larger in scope and scale and typically involve a radical shift in direction for the business. These changes are often the result of outside forces putting pressure on the company, such as the emergence of a new competitor, government policies, market regulators, etc.
Solving the Mystery of Leading People Through Change
“Change can be successful only when the usual characters in an organization combine their unique talents and consistently involve others in initiating, implementing and sustaining change”
I came across books on change management and I know that there may be many books on the subject of change management, but what sets “Who Killed Change” apart is its unconventional presentation approach. In a light-hearted and astute manner, the writers have brought attention to the complexities of organizational change while providing invaluable advice to managers of all sizes of businesses.
The story starts by describing a murder scene of yet another change. Agent Mike McNally, a Columbo-style detective, investigates the crime scene and makes a list of thirteen (13) suspects that he thinks are the most commonly involved culprits in the murder of anyone with the last name Change. He interviews all thirteen (13) suspects in detail to resolve the case.
How the author describes the suspects, personifies them, and relates them to the cause of Change’s death is quite engrossing. His description clearly shows an irony between what they are and what they should have been as far as change implementation is concerned. Another important insight provided by the author while these suspects are being interviewed is that most of them have to work in synchronization with each other, otherwise, failure is inevitable. These murder suspects are described as follows and in all similar cases, they are always the same.
Culture – Culture is the set of predominant values, beliefs, and norms that define an organization. Culture plays a critical role in the entire change process. If change is to be implemented successfully, then managers should make sure that the existing culture in their organizations supports and sustains change, meanwhile detecting loopholes where existing culture is not aligned with the proposed change and taking corrective actions.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders.
- If you want to implement Change, figure out how to leverage the current Culture to support, enable, and sustain Change.
- Use Sponsorship, Accountability, and Incentive to reinforce the Culture required to enable and sustain Change to thrive.
- Determine where your Culture currently stands concerning the proposed Change to determine what actions are needed to align Culture with Change.
- How would you describe your organization’s Culture?
- In what ways is your organizational Culture malleable in accommodating new Changes that are introduced to the company?
- In what ways could your Culture inhibit successful Change?
- How difficult will it be to Change your organization’s Culture?
- What can you do to align your Culture with Change?
Commitment – Commitment refers to the people’s motivation and willingness to change their behaviors as a result of a change initiative. This can be achieved only if people working in the organizations are informed about the change along with the knowledge as to how it will impact them. Any concerns regarding change should also be addressed and this is the responsibility of the leadership team. To make people see how change will affect their lives and how important it is for them to be committed can only be achieved through a clear vision, and through proper planning that will integrate change in their daily routines.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- In what ways can you offer people a way to express their questions and concerns about Change?
- How will you respond to people’s concerns in ways that would satisfy their hesitation or reservation towards Change?
- How are you providing the opportunity for those who’re being asked to Change to influence their long-term Commitment instead of short-term compliance?
- In what ways can you gain people’s Commitment instead of just their compliance?
- In what ways are you purposely designing opportunities to advocate Change that would help nudge people who’ve yet to make up their minds about Change?
- In what ways have the people who are being asked to Change expressed their opinions without fear of reprimand for voicing their opinions?
- What strategies can you use to increase conversation between advocates of Change and those who are sitting on the fence undecided?
Sponsorship – Sponsorship is a senior leader who is responsible and authorized for using necessary resources like time, money, and people, to ensure the timely implementation and eventual sustainability of change. The role of sponsorship is very important to the success of change in any organization and this role is not restricted to the mere introduction of change, rather it involves the continuous support of the change sponsor and commitment of the leadership through reinforcement of change via accountability and incentives.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- How are you aligning qualified and influential people at your organization to lead change on a day-to-day basis?
- In what ways are you addressing the concerns raised by those being asked to Change?
- How’re you involving those being asked to Change in the decision-making process to gain buy-in?
- How are you leading by example?
- How are you modeling the behavior that you want to see in others?
- How are your actions speaking louder than your words?
- How are you creating Incentives to recognize and reinforce the behavior that’s consistent with the Change that you’d like to see?
- How are you demonstrating to people that leadership is serious about Change?
- Are the Sponsors for Change at your organization using behavior or instructions to implement Change?
- If your Sponsors don’t know what is expected of them, in what ways will you inform them?
Change leadership team – The change leadership team comprises leaders who are close to the action and are responsible for managing and executing various change strategies on a day-to-day basis. After sponsorship, it is these leaders who can play a vital role in leading people through change. The author believes that it is important for this team to comprise people who have successfully implemented some change, who are respected by their peers, who can communicate effectively, who have the right skill set to lead, and who respect diverse viewpoints because they have worked at all levels both in formal and informal roles.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- Do you have the right people on your day-to-day Change Leadership team?
- Are the numbers of your Change Leadership team speaking with one voice or multiple ones?
- Have you created multiple Change Leadership teams to effectively carry out the Change in all areas of the organization?
- In what ways have you streamlined efforts from multiple departments to pour into the mainstream of the organization’s direction?
Communication – The role of communication is to create a dialogue between those who want to bring about change and those who will be asked to change. This dialogue should be consistent in its delivery irrespective of who is communicating, delivered through different media for effectiveness, and delivered by people who are known and well-respected. If communication regarding change is not effective, change will never survive.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- How are you creating a dialogue with people instead of having a one-way Communication channel concerning Change initiatives?
- In what ways are you consistent in your message regardless of who is Communicating it?
- How are you measuring the effectiveness of your Communication about Change?
- Have you addressed the questions and concerns raised by those being asked to Change? If so, how are you quantifying it?
- What tactics can you use to increase conversation between advocates of Change and those who are sitting on the fence or are outright resisting Change?
Urgency – Urgency is the need for people to understand the importance of change while accepting change. If they do not feel this urgency, they will accept the status quo and will make no considerable effort to change. The author believes that a sense of urgency is created only if leaders and leadership teams communicate with the people the gaps between what is and what should be, provide them with credible reasons to change, and more importantly motivate them to change by translating the sense of urgency into a cause.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- In what ways are you bringing people face-to-face with the reality of the situation to convince them that Change is good for them?
- In what ways are you involving people in identifying the gap between what is happening today and what could be happening tomorrow?
- In what ways are you providing believable reasons to answer the question: “What is wrong with the way things are today?”
- In what ways is the status quo no longer fit for purpose?
- In what ways can you frame Change initiatives to be both practical and motivating?
- Are the people being asked to Change seeing what’s wrong with the status quo? How can you make the problems more visible or tangible?
- Do people have a sense of Urgency about the need for Change or do you need to articulate it in ways that would appeal to them?
- If people’s sense of Urgency is lukewarm, what will you do to create a stronger case for Change?
Vision – A vision is a clear and compelling picture that allows people to see how they will succeed after integrating change. A vision cannot be created successfully by the leaders alone. Just as people expect to be part of the change process, similarly everyone in the organization needs to share a vision as far as change and its positive impact is concerned. A sense of urgency should be created to break the monotony of routines and allow change to set in.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- How are you working very closely with Urgency to break the inertia of the status quo?
- How are you going beyond slogans and pretty presentations to paint a clear picture of what the future will look like when Change is implemented successfully?
- How are you allowing people to see themselves being successful when looking at the futuristic picture that you’re painting for the organization?
- Can people articulate how their future role would be better than their current one?
Plan – Leading people effectively through change is only possible if the change is not only planned strategically and tactfully but also steps are taken to implement the change. Looking at the bigger picture for too long reflects that change implementation is not on the priority list of the managers. Therefore effective planning for change should involve all the people who are likely to be affected; the resistors and the early adopters both; and should outline all necessary details required to implement the plan. Once outlined, the right infrastructure should be developed to support the change.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- In what ways are you including people who are being asked to Change in the planning process, especially those who are resisting Change?
- How are you defining the metrics of evaluation that would help you gauge your level of performance?
- How are you appealing to early adopters who are willing to adopt Change without too much convincing?
- How are you developing the infrastructure necessary to support Change initiatives, so that you don’t trip over your tail?
Budget – Budget refers to the amount of money spent on change initiation. Unless the return on investment (ROI) is proportionate to the limited resources allocated for implementing change, financing change will always be difficult. For budgeting to be effective, it is important that the sponsors see the need and feel the urgency to bring about change and then allocate resources in the best possible way. Any necessary investments in infrastructure should not be withheld and managers should try to make the budget most cost-effectively.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- How are you making sure that your Sponsors are buying into the business case for Change?
- In what ways are you preventing Budget from intimidating your Sponsors at the first signs of trouble when Change is implemented?
- In what ways have you adopted cost-effective Change implementation strategies to gain buy-in?
- If your Sponsor didn’t commit the Budget required to enable Change, how would you get to the root cause behind their hesitation?
- Which departments within your organization are receiving larger Budgets than others, and why
Trainer – The role of a change trainer is very important as he is the one responsible for assessing people on whether they have the required skills to execute change and succeed. A trainer should be able to evaluate and address the concerns of the people expected to change by using a variety of change leadership strategies. He should possess the necessary expertise to mold the situation and partner with the people of the organization to influence and increase their commitment to change.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- How are you influencing the Change process to increase the Commitment of people by getting them involved as early as possible?
- In what ways are you competent and committed enough to become an effective Change leader or a coach?
- How are you providing job-specific training to give people the skills and knowledge that they need to adopt Change?
- What are the skill barriers that are preventing Change from being implemented, and what can you do to overcome those barriers?
Incentive – Incentives are the reward and recognition people get when they bring about the desired change through their actions and behavior. Incentives do not necessarily mean monetary rewards. A lot of many times, well-deserved recognition proves to be much more useful than mere money. The most important thing that the author has described as far as incentives are concerned is that different people need different incentives. Unless this is realized, employees will never embrace change willingly and effectively as their minds and hearts can only be tapped if it is known what motivates them.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- How are people aligned with the desired behavior and performance that Change seeks to address?
- In what ways can you avoid over-incentivizing people into adopting Change?
- Do you know what motivates each member of the team whom you’re trying to Incentivize beyond financial rewards?
- In what ways are you incentivizing people to adopt the desired behavior when implementing Change?
Performance management – Performance management is the process through which goals and expectations are set regarding people’s behavior towards change by tracking their progress providing feedback and guiding them on how to implement change.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- In what ways are you tracking progress toward your goal?
- In what ways are you providing feedback after coaching your team?
- How are you documenting actual results versus projected results?
- How are you clear about performance metrics?
- In what ways have you cross-linked KPIs between different departments to streamline effort?
- In what ways are you measuring progress and assessing inherent risks that need to be addressed?
- How are you sure that people who are being asked to change are clear about the behavior and results that are expected of them when adopting Change?
- What are the required adjustments to existing processes that you need to reflect to integrate Change?
- How are you measuring feedback, and in what ways are you developing the processes necessary to correct your path based on feedback?
- How can you confirm that those being asked to Change are clear about their Incentives and consequences of their behavior, and how are the results aligned or misaligned with Change?
Accountability – Once goals and expectations are set, it is then through the process of accountability that follow-up is done as to whether people’s behaviours and results are in line with the goals. The act of accountability should ensure that managers walk the talk especially when behaviours and results do not match with the change initiatives.
The role of accountability is very critical to the survival of change in any organization. Anyone, irrespective of their status and level in the hierarchy, should be held accountable for successful change implementation and managers should ensure two-way accountability where leaders and team members are partnered for performance.
Below are helpful questions to guide managers and leaders
- In what ways have you defined SMART goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound?
- What is the mechanism that you’ve put in place to check on progress to make sure that you’re on track?
- In what ways have you linked Accountability between leaders and their team members, where each party becomes accountable for the other?
- Are leaders leading by example or through lectures and instructions?
- In what ways are you rewarding and punishing people to get the desired behavior that you want?
In addition to all the above-mentioned suspects, the author talks about four more characters, the stakeholders, and how they view the death of change. According to the stakeholders, several barriers are mostly ignored by the middle and senior-level managers and only the front-line employees and supervisors can see them.
For example, managers and leaders show resistance to new ideas even if employees see the need to implement them. Accountability occurs in the form of reprimanding workers for a job done badly rather than incentivizing them not to make errors. This also acts as a barrier to successful change implementation. When leaders do not walk the talk, employees are unable to feel the urgency to embrace change.
I would conclude this article by applying the lessons of “Who conspired to Kill Change” to the organizations and institutions in our country. As mentioned above, each member of the organization is responsible for managing change.
No doubt CEOs and Managers have a more important role to play in implementing and sustaining change, but unit/department heads as leaders are no less important. If a certain change is necessary for the very survival of the organization, then managers and unit heads should create a sense of urgency in a manner that leaders feel the need to implement it and then provide all necessary financial and moral support.
This will show their commitment to change. However, even if any one of the team members in the organization fails to play its role, then it is eventually going to lead to the failure and death of change in the organization.
Members of the staff will accept the status quo, and like Haw, a character in the well-known fable on organizational change, Who Moved My Cheese, they will never look for new opportunities and make no effort to change themselves as well as the organization as a whole. Hence the more united the vision of change is, the more successful the organization will be in adopting the change.
Reference
- Ken Blanchard Companies; Who Killed Change? Solving the Mystery of Leading People Through Change
- On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
- History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier by Deborah E. Lipstadt
Godwin is a Ph.D. candidate, CEPA, Ch. ME, ChMC, CFIP, MSC, MPHIL, BSc, and LLB)
Contact: 0246390969 – Email: [email protected]
