Saturday, October 16, 2010

Conducting Business in a Fast-Paced World: The Importance of Change Management

Today companies strive to find new strategies and ways to dominate their markets. With the rapdily changing technological realm, companies are faced with a great many options of how to conduct their business. This also means that enterprises that have been around for a long time need to change to accommodate these new advances and improve their own workflows. How these companies choose to face these changes falls under the topic of change management.

Analysis of the Field

Change management is becoming an increasingly popular field of study. One researcher, David Frantz (2004) cited many reasons for the increased focus on change management. Table 1 lists some of the reasons that Frantz identified.

Table 1: Changes in Business Environment


With these significant changes in the business environment, it is not surprising that a number of new theories have surfaced in the field of change management. Frantz (2004) suggests that these new theories fall under two categories. The first of these categories is called the organic models. According to Frantz (2004), these models encompass new approaches that focus on natural phenomena as an explanation for how organizational change takes place. Included in this grouping is the widely discussed complexity theory which focuses on the complex interactions between components of the system.

Another collection of theories in the field of change management fall under the category of organizational stage models. According to Frantz (2004), these models focus on the life-cycle of products and services. Specifically, these theories propose that change should be handled differently based on whether the product is close to the introduction phase or close to the obsolescence phase (Frantz, 2004).

In addition to characterizing the change management models, another key to understand this field is to understand the forces that bring about change. Frantz (2004) summarizes three methods to classifying these forces. The first of the change forces is referred to as technical versus adaptive approach. This approach explains that technical problems may require more traditional remedies and that other problems may require more adaptive leadership skills (Frantz, 2004).

The second force is called the systems approach. The systems approach is an organizational behavior-based approach. It concentrates more on organizational learning and systems thinking. Specifically, the focus of the systems approach is to study the interdependency of all of the actions an organization takes (Frantz, 2004).

The last change force is called the incremental versus discontinuous approach. This approach concentrates on the pace at which changes and impacts take place. For instance, those organizations that face incremental change see a starting place and a stopping point for each period of change. On the other hand, a company with discontinuous change find themselves in a constant state of change and transition (Frantz, 2004).

As mentioned previously, several models and theories have been proposed in the area of change management. With change such an important topic for companies, it is important that companies have the right people to management change. It is important that companies look to internal leaders to help them through the change process.

The Study of Change Management

Within this area of study are several subsectors that help to define the role of change management. One of these subsectors is the study of leadership. Leaders are a valued asset to companies for several reasons. They are the key employees that help to shape an organization’s values and image. And for this reason, leaders are an important part of implementing change in any business. Researcher Kimberly Boal (2004) points out in one of her recent writings that there are several a couple of different kinds of leadership skills. Supervisory theories focus on person-oriented and task-oriented skills of leaders. Strategic leadership theories focus on the skills of those who have overall responsibility within an organization.

Whether considering the role of the supervisory leader or the strategic leader, both play a large part in the successful implementation of change. Managers and leaders that fall under the category of supervisory leaders can have a direct impact on the motivation and attitude of their subordinates. In a recent article, Robert House (1996) revisited his study of the path-goal theory of leadership effectiveness. His theory suggests that managers and leaders have a direct effect on the motivation of lower-level employees and those employees’ satisfaction with their job (House, 1996). With such a direct impact, it is apparent that these managers and leaders could shape and mold the attitudes of their subordinates through their showing of approval and positive attitude towards changes that are made.

Strategic leadership roles also play an important part in implementing change in a business. According to Boal (2004), strategic leaders are able to affect the behavior of the entire organization as a whole. These are the leaders and managers who dictate corporate vision and set the rules for how the organization will run. In this position, these managers and leaders are the ones that will set the tone for the change to come. They will start the process of building a positive image of the change that will occur and reinforce the direction the company will go strategically.

As companies move forward and strive to enforce change, it becomes increasingly important to identify those employees that are, or can become, leaders. In order for companies to identify these leaders that can manage changes, they need to understand what characteristics to look for. Boal (2004) identified three categories of cognitive ability that leaders should have. The first skill that leaders should exhibit is the ability to learn (Boal, 2004). According to Boal (2004), the ability to learn is referred to as the capacity to absorb new information and use the new information. Furthermore, the ability to absorb and use this new information is affected by a person’s cognitive complexity (Boal, 2004). Cognitive complexity is the terminology that describes the amount of categories and dimensions a person uses to understand stimuli and understand relationships between these categories and dimensions (Boal, 2004). This ability to learn could be valuable to companies as these leaders will be more skilled at learning and understanding new ideas and reasons for change.

The second skill needed by potential leaders is the ability to change (Boal, 2004).

This skill is evident in a person when they show flexibility and adaptive capacity. Like the previously described skill, the ability to learn, the ability to change also requires a person to be cognitively complex and also, behaviorally complex (Boal, 2004). This ability to change within a person plays a crucial role in a person’s ability to accept and understand change as dictated by their employer. If a person exhibits the characteristic of flexibility they will perform better through changes.

A third skill in Boal’s (2004) list is referred to as managerial wisdom. Essentially, managerial wisdom encompasses the concept that some people have a stronger ability to perceive when change needs to happen (Boal, 2004). These are the people that are commonly said to have “good business sense.” They can tell when the business environment is changing and they act accordingly to accommodate these changes. This skill will help businesses manage change. Companies have an advantage when they have managers and leaders in place that are particularly skilled sensing when change needs to happen.

In addition to Boal’s (2004) list of skills that are present in leaders, other theories exist that aim to show specific personality traits that contribute to the success of leaders in the workplace. Several researchers have pinpointed one trait specifically that helps employees to shine at work. That personality trait is charisma. Charismatic individuals are often natural leaders as people are drawn to those individuals. Charismatic people are often good at persuading others to share their opinion (Conger, 2004). This makes them particularly powerful if they are in the high managerial positions within the company.

While it is obvious that charismatic individuals can be valuable to companies because of their persuasiveness, researchers have identified other important aspects of the charismatic trait. In their recent study, De Hoogh and Hartog (2009) tested the ability of charismatic leaders to withstand the pressures of their job. They looked at the incidence of job burn-out among managers and found that those who are characterized as being charismatic were less likely to burn out (De Hoogh and Hartog, 2009). This means that it is likely that these individuals not only are able to help persuade other employees to accept changes but they also deal well with the pressures and other negative aspects of change in the workplace.

The charismatic trait within company leaders looks to be beneficial. However, managers need to know how to identify which employees have this trait. Conger (2004) points out that charismatic leaders show certain behaviors that point to the existence of the trait. The first behavior that is shown by charismatic leaders is sensitivity to their environment (Conger, 2004). Charismatic leaders are able to pinpoint problems and inefficiencies with the company. Conger (2004) also points out that these managers are often involved in starting the change process and even seek to implement small changes in slow times. When change is needed, they demand it.

The second type of behavior shown by charismatic leaders is the search for an idealized future (Conger, 2004). And, they not only search for this ideal situation but they strive to implement their ideas and bring about change. The important part of this characteristic of charismatic leaders is that they have the ideas and work to implement them. Some leaders fall short and have great ideas but are unable to follow through and have the plans to implement the ideas. This is where the charismatic leader can be especially valuable to a company.

The third type of personality trait and behavior that sets apart a potentially successful, charismatic leader from other managers is the ability to achieve their vision. Conger (2004) points out that charismatic leaders need to be able to follow through with their plans for change and inspire their coworkers. They also need to show that they have the confidence in their own abilities to help reach the shared company goal (Conger, 2004). Through their natural magnetism and confidence, these leaders play a valuable part in companies because they are able to convince other employees that change is good and that is can be successful.

After looking the many advantages of having charismatic leaders in management positions, there is one potential negative side that companies need to consider. While the appeal of these leaders can be used in a positive way to campaign for change within the company, there is the danger that these leaders could be against a change that management wants to make. With their high appeal among their coworkers, it would be easy for a charismatic leader to push anti-change ideas among the workforce. If the other employees decide to follow this leader, the company will experience a strong resistance to change and face a situation where it may be difficult to successfully implement the change. In simplistic terms, company leaders and upper management will want to make sure that the charismatic leader is on their side.

Future Directions in Change Management

The study of change management has seen a number of transformations over the past several years. As companies continue to build their presence on the internet and through other modern forms of business, the need for managers to lead and implement change will continue.

They always say that the only thing certain in business is change and, with that, comes the need to successfully manage and implement change.

While business processes have changed significantly due to the internet, one of the biggest underlying areas of change is the structure of business. As companies see greater efficiencies and new ways of doing business via the internet and other technologies, they are also striving to create structural efficiencies and to reinvent structures that are flexible enough to work under these new conditions.

For years, businesses operated under the typical hierarchical, top-down structure that was popular and worked well for brick and mortar companies. Several researchers over the years have introduced new structures that differ slightly from the hierarchical structure. However, in the most recent years is when companies have been the most experimental (Gonzales, 2006). In fact, Gonzales (2006) summarizes four types of organizational structure. Chart 1 illustrates each of the four types of organizational structure and what each structure focuses on. The first type of structure is the mechanistic type of structure. This structure is characterized by vertical coordination and high task specialization (Gonzales, 2006). This form might best be utilized by a company that focuses on a narrow product line and does not diversify into complicated forms of doing business. The second structure described by Gonzales (2006) is the organic structure. This structure is characterized by multitasking, lateral coordination and facilitative leadership (Gonzales, 2006). The type of business that may use this structure is a business startup company with a trendy, innovative product that is marketed through several venues. Another type of business structure is the matrix (Gonzales, 2006). The matrix structure is best illustrated through its use of project-oriented teams that are made up of members of the company from several different divisions (Gonzales, 2006). The type of company that may use this structure is a success, stable company that is looking to reinvent the way they do business. They might use this team-oriented structure to help uncover new ideas and strategies. The final form of organizational structure is the M-form (Gonzales, 2006). The M-form organizational structure is classified by multiple divisions that are organized by the product they produce (Gonzales, 2006). Companies that use the M-form structure might include companies that have several, established divisions that make diverse products.

Chart 1: Types of Organizational Structures


After studying each of these newer forms of business structure, it is obvious how leaders could play an important role in helping companies to organize these new structures or transition to these structures from more traditional structures. A significant change like this will require strong leaders that can build confidence and influence others.

Change management is an ever-changing field of study. As the business environment continues to evolve and change, companies will need to be able to successfully implement changes. A key part any change management program is to utilize strong leaders within the company to plan for the change, implement the change, and operate after the change. Through the identification of these leaders, companies can hope to make change management a smooth process.

References

Boal, K. “Strategic Leadership.” Encyclopedia of Leadership. 2004.

Conger, J. “Charismatic Theory.” Encyclopedia of Leadership. 2004.

DeHoogh, A. & Hartog, D. (2009). Neuroticism and locus as moderators of the relationships of charismatic and autocratic leadership with burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 1058-1067.

Frantz, D. “Change Management.” Encyclopedia of Leadership. 2004.

Gonzales, A. “Organizational Structure.” Encyclopedia of Governance. 2006.

House, R. (1996). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory. Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), 323.

http://studentpulse.com/articles/299/conducting-business-in-a-fast-paced-world-the-importance-of-change-management#

The psychology of change in organizationsIndividual behavior change drives organizational change

Individual behavior change drives organizational change

Leaders today must understand and apply the knowledge of behavioral psychology and the lessons from brain science to manage organizational change successfully. In the past, efforts at organizational change which has focused on the structural aspects of organizations have systematically failed because they have neglected the reality that change doesn't happen without individual people changing their thinking, beliefs and behavior.

In an article in the McKinsey Quarterly, Emily Lawson and Colin Price argue that change success in large organizations depends on persuading hundreds or thousands of groups and individuals to change the way they work, a transformation people will accept only if they can be persuaded to think differently about their jobs. In effect, CEOs must alter the mind-sets of their employees—no easy task.

I would add to their conclusion that individuals in organizations, to embrace change, must also engage in a process that changes how they think about themselves, not just their job.

Lawson and Price ask what if the only way a business can reach its higher performance goals is to change the way its people behave across the board? Suppose that it can become more competitive only by changing its culture fundamentally—from being reactive to proactive, hierarchical to collegial, or introspective to externally focused, for instance. Since the collective culture of an organization, strictly speaking, is an aggregate of what is common to all of its group and individual mind-sets, such a transformation entails changing the minds of hundreds or thousands of people. Although breakthroughs have been made in explaining why people think and behave as they do, these insights have in general been applied to business only piecemeal and haven’t had a widespread effect, Lawson and Price contend.

Lawson and Price identify four conditions for changing employee mind-sets: Employees will alter their mind-sets only if they see the point of the change and agree with it—at least enough to give it a try; the surrounding structures (reward and recognition systems, for example) must be in tune with the new behavior; employees must have the skills to do what it requires; and finally, they must see people they respect modeling it actively. Each of these conditions is realized independently; together they add up to a way of changing the behavior of people in organizations by changing attitudes about what can and should happen at work.

It's been well established in psychological research that a distressing mental state arises when people find that their beliefs are inconsistent with their actions--something called cognitive dissonance. The implication for this finding for organizations is that if people believe in its overall purpose and it's in alignment with their own life purposes, they will be more inclined to change their individual behaviors. People must also understand the role of their actions in the unfolding drama of the company’s fortunes and believe that it is worthwhile for them to play a part. It isn’t enough to tell employees that they will have to do things differently. Anyone leading a major change program must take the time to think through its "story"—what makes it worth undertaking—and to explain that story to all of the people involved in making change happen, so that their contributions make sense to them as individuals.

Organizational designers broadly agree that reporting structures, management and operational processes, and measurement procedures—setting targets, measuring performance, and granting financial and nonfinancial rewards—must be consistent with the behavior that people are asked to embrace. When a company’s goals for new behavior are not reinforced, employees are less likely to adopt it consistently; if managers are urged to spend more time coaching junior staff, for instance, but coaching doesn’t figure in the performance scorecards of managers, they are not likely to bother.

Much of the research in management sciences and organizational behavior from the past has been criticized for lacking in relevance and meaning, and focusing too much on the technical aspects of organizations, akin to "rearranging deck chairs." Researchers Thomas and Vincent Wright, writing in the Academy of Management Journal argue that the reason for the apparent lack of relevance and negative focus on the workplace has been the failure of much organizational research to focus anything other than cost-benefit analysis or efficiency, epitomized by the committed-to-management (CMR) perspective. This perspective has emphasized the excessive focus on shareholder value as the only measure of organizational performance.

Thomas Wright in his article in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, argues that management and organizational studies should focus on cost-benefit analysis from a human asset perspective, on issues such as positive emotional states of employees, and on employee strengths rather than weaknesses.

Psychologist Barbara Frederickson's "broaden-and-build" theory of positive emotions is relevant here. She states that a number of positive emotions, such as joy, contentment and happiness all share the ability to broaden individuals’ thinking and action. In addition, these positive emotions assist in building the individual’s enduring personal resources. This expanded capacity is central to an individual's ability to grow and prosper, and add value to an organization.

Aubrey C. Daniels, one of the world's foremost authorities on management and human performance, outlines management practices that are destructive to organizations during boom or bust times, in his outstanding book, Oops! 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money (and what to do instead). Daniels points out that few managers look for behavioral data to affect employee performance because most manager know very little about the science of behavior and recent brain science or neuroscience, and very few business programs in universities teach it. He says another reason why organizations are fundamentally flawed from a behavioral perspective is that they were designed by people--those with financial expertise--who have only one purpose in mind, to make money. He says that "how employees are paid, appraised, rewarded, and recognized have financial implications," but when designed without an understanding of human behavior, the results can be destructive. For example, there is a mountain of research to show that employees are not primarily motivated by financial rewards over the long term, yet we continue to use that as a management motivational strategy.

Some valuable insights come from John Medina, a molecular biologist, published in the Harvard Business Review in May 2008. Medina is an author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles For Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School. Medina says "the brain is so sensitive to external experiences that you can literally rewire it through exposure to environmental influences." For example, we know that stress hurts the brain and that has a huge impact on productivity. Medina says that enduring continuing stress is like trying to fly an airplane under water.

"Neuroleadership,” is a term coined by David Rock, a leadership consultant and author of Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Leadership At Work. Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz, a research scientist at UCLA, are applying neuroscience concepts to leadership. For example, by emphasizing mindful, focused attention on new management practices, rather than fixing old habits that don't work, leaders can actually rewire their brains. McKinsey and Company is now incorporating their ideas into client workshops. An article by Rock and Schwartz published in Strategy and Business Journal, was the publication’s most downloaded article in 2006.

Improvements in brain analysis technology has allowed researchers to track the energy of a thought coursing through the brain in the same way they can track blood flowing through the circulatory system. Change lights up the prefrontalal cortex, which is fast and agile. Overloading the prefrontal cortex can generate fatigue, fear and anger, because of the cortex's connection to the emotion center of the brain, the amygdala.

Rock and Schwartz state:

"The traditional command-and-control style of management doesn't lead to permanent changes in behavior. Ordering people to change and them telling them how to do it fires the prefrontal cortex’s hair trigger connection to the amygdala. The more you try to convince people that you’re right and they're wrong, the more they push back. The brain will try to defend itself from threats. Our brains are so complex that it is rare for us to be able to see any situation in exactly the same way as someone else. The way to get past the prefrontal cortex’s defenses is to help people come to their own resolution regarding the concepts causing through their prefrontal cortex to bristle."

Dr. Robert Cooper, of Stanford Business School writing in Strategy and Leadership Journal, points out that we actually have three brains--the one in our head, the one in our gut and the one in our heart, all of which have massive number of neurons. He claims that the highest reasoning involves all three brains working together.

What does all this add up to? This: Traditional change in management tactics in organizations are based more on animal training than on human psychology and neuroscience. Leaders promise bonuses and promotions (the carrot) for those who go along with the changes, and punish those (the stick) who don't with less important jobs or even job loss. This kind of managerial behavior flies in the face of evidence that shows that people's primary motivation in the workplace is neither money or advancement but rather a personal interest in their jobs, a good environment to work in and fulfilling relationships with their boss and colleagues.

Why change management fails in organizations

Organizational change must tap into psychology and brain science.

Leaders today must understand and apply the knowledge of behavioral psychology and the lessons from brain science to manage organizational change successfully. In the past, efforts at organizational change which has focused on the structural aspects of organizations have systematically failed because they have neglected the reality that change doesn't happen without individual people changing their thinking, beliefs and behavior.

In an article in the McKinsey Quarterly, Emily Lawson and Colin Price argue that change success in large organizations depends on persuading hundreds or thousands of groups and individuals to change the way they work, a transformation people will accept only if they can be persuaded to think differently about their jobs. In effect, CEOs must alter the mind-sets of their employees-no easy task.

I would add to their conclusion that individuals in organizations, to embrace change, must also engage in a process that changes how they think about themselves, not just their job.

Lawson and Price ask what if the only way a business can reach its higher performance goals is to change the way its people behave across the board? Suppose that it can become more competitive only by changing its culture fundamentally-from being reactive to proactive, hierarchical to collegial, or introspective to externally focused, for instance. Since the collective culture of an organization, strictly speaking, is an aggregate of what is common to all of its group and individual mind-sets, such a transformation entails changing the minds of hundreds or thousands of people. Although breakthroughs have been made in explaining why people think and behave as they do, these insights have in general been applied to business only piecemeal and haven't had a widespread effect, Lawson and Price contend.

Lawson and Price identify four conditions for changing employee mind-sets: Employees will alter their mind-sets only if they see the point of the change and agree with it-at least enough to give it a try; the surrounding structures (reward and recognition systems, for example) must be in tune with the new behavior; employees must have the skills to do what it requires; and finally, they must see people they respect modeling it actively. Each of these conditions is realized independently; together they add up to a way of changing the behavior of people in organizations by changing attitudes about what can and should happen at work.

It's been well established in psychological research that a distressing mental state arises when people find that their beliefs are inconsistent with their actions--something called cognitive dissonance. The implication for this finding for organizations is that if people believe in its overall purpose and it's in alignment with their own life purposes, they will be more inclined to change their individual behaviors. People must also understand the role of their actions in the unfolding drama of the company's fortunes and believe that it is worthwhile for them to play a part. It isn't enough to tell employees that they will have to do things differently. Anyone leading a major change program must take the time to think through its "story"-what makes it worth undertaking-and to explain that story to all of the people involved in making change happen, so that their contributions make sense to them as individuals.

Organizational designers broadly agree that reporting structures, management and operational processes, and measurement procedures-setting targets, measuring performance, and granting financial and nonfinancial rewards-must be consistent with the behavior that people are asked to embrace. When a company's goals for new behavior are not reinforced, employees are less likely to adopt it consistently; if managers are urged to spend more time coaching junior staff, for instance, but coaching doesn't figure in the performance scorecards of managers, they are not likely to bother.

Much of the research in management sciences and organizational behavior from the past has been criticized for lacking in relevance and meaning, and focusing too much on the technical aspects of organizations, akin to "rearranging deck chairs." Researchers Thomas and Vincent Wright, writing in the Academy of Management Journal argue that the reason for the apparent lack of relevance and negative focus on the workplace has been the failure of much organizational research to focus anything other than cost-benefit analysis or efficiency, epitomized by the committed-to-management (CMR) perspective. This perspective has emphasized the excessive focus on shareholder value as the only measure of organizational performance.

Thomas Wright in his article in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, argues that management and organizational studies should focus on cost-benefit analysis from a human asset perspective, on issues such as positive emotional states of employees, and on employee strengths rather than weaknesses.

Psychologist Barbara Frederickson's "broaden-and-build" theory of positive emotions is relevant here. She states that a number of positive emotions, such as joy, contentment and happiness all share the ability to broaden individuals' thinking and action. In addition, these positive emotions assist in building the individual's enduring personal resources. This expanded capacity is central to an individual's ability to grow and prosper, and add value to an organization.

Aubrey C. Daniels, one of the world's foremost authorities on management and human performance, outlines management practices that are destructive to organizations during boom or bust times, in his outstanding book, Oops! 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money (and what to do instead). Daniels points out that few managers look for behavioral data to affect employee performance because most manager know very little about the science of behavior and recent brain science or neuroscience, and very few business programs in universities teach it. He says another reason why organizations are fundamentally flawed from a behavioral perspective is that they were designed by people--those with financial expertise--who have only one purpose in mind, to make money. He says that "how employees are paid, appraised, rewarded, and recognized have financial implications," but when designed without an understanding of human behavior, the results can be destructive. For example, there is a mountain of research to show that employees are not primarily motivated by financial rewards over the long term, yet we continue to use that as a management motivational strategy.

Some valuable insights come from John Medina, a molecular biologist, published in the Harvard Business Review in May 2008. Medina is an author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles For Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School. Medina says "the brain is so sensitive to external experiences that you can literally rewire it through exposure to environmental influences." For example, we know that stress hurts the brain and that has a huge impact on productivity. Medina says that enduring continuing stress is like trying to fly an airplane under water.

"Neuroleadership," is a term coined by David Rock, a leadership consultant and author of Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Leadership At Work. Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz, a research scientist at UCLA, are applying neuroscience concepts to leadership. For example, by emphasizing mindful, focused attention on new management practices, rather than fixing old habits that don't work, leaders can actually rewire their brains. McKinsey and Company is now incorporating their ideas into client workshops. An article by Rock and Schwartz published in Strategy and Business Journal, was the publication's most downloaded article in 2006.

Improvements in brain analysis technology has allowed researchers to track the energy of a thought coursing through the brain in the same way they can track blood flowing through the circulatory system. Change lights up the prefrontalal cortex, which is fast and agile. Overloading the prefrontal cortex can generate fatigue, fear and anger, because of the cortex's connection to the emotion center of the brain, the amygdala.

Rock and Schwartz state:

"The traditional command-and-control style of management doesn't lead to permanent changes in behavior. Ordering people to change and them telling them how to do it fires the prefrontal cortex's hair trigger connection to the amygdala. The more you try to convince people that you're right and they're wrong, the more they push back. The brain will try to defend itself from threats. Our brains are so complex that it is rare for us to be able to see any situation in exactly the same way as someone else. The way to get past the prefrontal cortex's defenses is to help people come to their own resolution regarding the concepts causing through their prefrontal cortex to bristle."


Dr. Robert Cooper, of Stanford Business School writing in Strategy and Leadership Journal, points out that we actually have three brains--the one in our head, the one in our gut and the one in our heart, all of which have massive number of neurons. He claims that the highest reasoning involves all three brains working together.

What does all this add up to? This: Traditional change in management tactics in organizations are based more on animal training than on human psychology and neuroscience. Leaders promise bonuses and promotions (the carrot) for those who go along with the changes, and punish those (the stick) who don't with less important jobs or even job loss. This kind of managerial behavior flies in the face of evidence that shows that people's primary motivation in the workplace is neither money or advancement but rather a personal interest in their jobs, a good environment to work in and fulfilling relationships with their boss and colleagues.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201009/why-change-management-fails-in-organizations?page=2

President Obama and Effective Change Leadership

Nearly two years after Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on the promise of hope and change, many Americans are reportedly disappointed that hope and change hasn't yet reached them.

Fair or unfair in this assessment of his first 20 months in office, I believe there are lessons to be learned in terms of effective change management. And though this is not meant to be a political blog, I believe there is much to be learned in the politics of business and the business of politics.

According to John Kotter, Harvard Business School professor, best-selling author and widely regarded as an authority on leadership and change, "great leaders help people get in touch with their own aspirations and then help them forge those aspirations into a personal vision."

In Kotter's 1996 book "Leading Change," the author provides a step by step process for successful change initiatives. Though our government is not run the same as a business, there are definitely lessons that can be learned from the business world with regard to implementing effective change.

Kotter's Eight-Stage Process

1. Establishing a sense of urgency
2. Creating the guiding coalition
3. Developing a vision and strategy
4. Communicating the change vision
5. Empowering employees for broad-based action
6. Generating short-term wins
7. Consolidating gains in producing more change
8. Anchoring new approaches in the culture

The central challenge in every one of Kotter's eight steps is in changing people's behavior: what people do and the need for significant shift in what people do. Changing this behavior is not a matter of more analysis to influence their thoughts as it is helping them see a truth to influence their feelings.

"People change what they do less because they are given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they are shown a truth that influences their feelings," says Kotter.

President Obama is often perceived as overly cerebral and perhaps that explains why he primarily focuses on analysis in order to shift thinking. Unlike his predecessors Bill Clinton and especially Ronald Reagan, I believe Obama has been less successful in presenting truths to influence the kind of feelings necessary to accelerate change.

In spite of the deep domestic recession and two unpopular wars he inherited, Obama has made significant changes in financial regulation, health care and troop removal from Iraq. Republican resistance to these changes has focused on their belief that the first two of these changes are too far reaching and expensive.

The rising popularity of talk radio and sensational television news programs rely heavily on emotion with little hard facts or balanced analysis to support what may or may not be a truth. Regardless, the feelings provoked are what motivate change and that change may now mean a dramatic shift in congress with the upcoming mid-term elections.

In Kotter's eight stages, it seems there are steps Obama may have skipped. What Obama did so well during his campaign was in developing a vision, but the strategy is where he may have fallen short once elected. Communicating a vision for hope and change--which he also did well during the campaign--seems to have little resonance after nearly two years in office.

One could certainly make an argument that Obama should also have established some shorter term wins than financial regulation and health care reform but, of course, he needed to play the hand he was dealt and that included some unpopular decisions during a crisis and in a very divisive environment.

In Kotter's later book "The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations," he states that successful change leaders need to employ the see-feel-change method.

See – Identify the problem or solution to a problem and enable others to visualize this in a way that creates a change in behavior.

Feel – Dramatize and make a compelling image that catches people's attention, and ensure that this results in feelings that include passion, faith, trust, pride, hope, excitement, enthusiasm, urgency and/or fear to necessitate needed change. Emotions that can undermine change include anger, false pride, pessimism, arrogance, cynicism, panic, exhaustion, insecurity and anxiety.

Change – Different feelings--a change of heart--are what transform behavior. "The feelings change behavior," says Kotter. "And with this change people are able to move through the eight necessary stages of large-scale change despite often huge difficulties."

Obama was so effective at the see and feel parts during his presidential campaign, but navigating the challenges of governing with a fiercely divided congress during a time of war and recession has proved especially difficult. Perhaps revisiting Kotter's eight stage process as a guide, Obama can then reclaim his leadership skills to affect the kind of change this country so desperately needs.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/workplacewrangler/archives/224508.asp

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Raising the Bar for Our Profession

October 5th, 2010 by Luc Galoppin

For an organizational change practitioner, lacking safety shoes is symptomatic for not being in touch with the reality of things. There is no chance for your expertise to get used as long as you stay inside the boardroom. Getting your expertise used – and the change to last – means raising the bar in two steps: relationship management and social architecture.

The profession of organizational change management is changing. And it is going in the right direction: clients no longer accept that 70% of the changes fails. And neither should you.

The arena of organizational change practitioners is packed with experts, tools and degrees. We could even add certification and other rituals, all to no avail. Being an expert is not sufficient anymore.

To make a difference, we need to raise the bar for our profession, by adding relationship management and social architecture to the requirements list. (click on the drawing to enlarge)



Level One: Your Expertise
Let’s face it: the days of boardroom consulting are over. Reality is no longer restricted to the 150 slides of your PowerPoint-Conference-Room-Pilot-Presentation. Slowly but surely clients are starting to understand that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and that we should put our beautiful models to the test on the shop floor.

The moral of the safety boots is that you need to ‘go local’ in order to make a connection. If you really want to practice organizational change management you need to step out of your project cocoon, right into the field. You need to sit on the handrail with the people who will eventually execute your bright ideas.

Also, you need to sit through the long (and often very technical) discussions of problem solving. Be there when they share war stories and tinker with a solution until it fits. That’s really tough, because 99% of the time you are the dummy in the group. To most consultants that is total agony. Certainly, when your raison d’ĂȘtre is based upon being the expert in the room.

You are no longer the expert once you are on the shop floor.

Get over it.

Level Two: The Relationship
No matter how up-to-date your knowledge is; no matter how state-of-the-art your model is; you should always remember that implementation is the last 99%.

And implementation is a relationship thing. Thus, the first thing you need to be aware of is that you start as a foreign element, so pushing your expertise down the throats of people will not amount to great things.

But then how do you build a relationship? You listen. You zoom in on ‘What are they committed to?’ Then, you commit to their commitments. It’s the only way to win their hearts.

Major Jim Gant knows about relationships. His work on TTE – Tactical Tribal Engagement is unprecedented for counterinsurgency tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan. His contention is to work with tribalism, not against it. In his free ebook ‘One Tribe at a Time’ he talks about an “acceptable level of integration.”:

There is nothing (and I emphasize nothing) that can prove yourself and your team to the tribe more than fighting alongside them. That is the ultimate testament of your team as warriors and your commitment to the tribe. It will create the foundation for influence without authority that is the key to success in tribal engagement.

My ultimate test of relationship management is based on Major Jim Gant’s insights: do you have influence without authority? If yes, then you are ready to raise the bar to the next level.

Level Three: Social Architecture
Ask yourself: What will people be creating when you are gone?

This third level is about building a platform in order to sustain the change. It will require you to get out of the way and to allow a community or a club of people to take over.

Building such a community is not easy because it is not done with the pressure of authority. Rather, it is done through the gradual and consistent work of going local, being there, and connecting (the previous level: relationship management).

Typical examples of a platform include:

a community of key users of different plants who connect with one another based on their domain of expertise;
a community of learning architects who make sure that the best practices from different countries get spread all over the organization;
a community of training administrators who cater for the continuous training and authorization updates that are necessary after the implementation of an ERP project;
a support community that prides itself on a new support process and continuously improves it.
The only thing you need is an element that helps people to connect and share their knowledge: after a while, they declare this as their platform.

Raising the Bar
We are always told to start with the end in mind. As it turns out, the end we have in mind when we are stuck on the first level results in a 70% failure rate. Raising the bar to the level of relationship management and social architecture will urge us to think about different ends.

This, in turn, will shift our vision and influence our execution radically. But make no mistake: these three levels build upon one another.

You need expertise in order to get the job done. This gets your foot inside the door;
Next, you need to consistently prove that you are worthy of people’s trust;
Finally, when people allow you a landing slot on their airport of trust, you are ready to build a platform.
In the end, what does this mean for you as an organizational change practitioner? Consider the following entry criteria in order to enter the next level:

Be an expert, that is the bottom line;
Then, let go of the attachment to being an expert and do the emotional labor that builds trust;
Finally, in order to build a platform, you will need to get out of the way and allow the community to take over.
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I would like to thank Daryl Conner for challenging me to refine this concept.

http://www.reply-mc.com/2010/10/05/raising-the-bar-for-our-profession/