John Doris 6 December Managing People Through Change

Transcription

1 John Doris 6 December 2016 Managing People Through Change

2 Change is always happening There is nothing permanent except change. Heraclitus (circa 500 BC) Sometimes change appears gradual. Other times change appears dramatic. But it is always occurring. In reality, dramatic changes occur as a result of an accumulation of small changes. In modern organisations, change is a way of life in the constant pursuit of delivering results that are faster, better, cheaper and friendlier. 2

3 Adapting to Change We are in a good position if we adapt quickly to the changes. We are in a better position if we can anticipate changes and transform ourselves before change is forced on us. We need to change ourselves in order to deal with external change. Trying to maintain the status quo is not an option. 3

4 Reactions to Organisational Change Most of us dislike organisational change. We had learned to live with and like the world as it was. We find it difficult to change our habits. The prospect of change makes us feel insecure. We may lose out economically or emotionally. 4

5 Readiness for Change The ability to change is based on readiness. Intellectual understanding is not the same as emotional readiness. Most people know that they need to work faster, better, cheaper and friendlier, but they may not be emotionally ready to do it. The challenge for leaders to make people ready for change. 5

6 Kurt Lewin s Three Stage Model of the Organisational Change Process Three Stage Model Stage 1 Unfreeze Stage 2 Movement/Transition Stage 3 Refreeze 6

7 Kurt Lewin s Three Stage Model of the Organisational Change Stage 1. The first phase is the unfreezing of the old behaviours or situation. This is an ending when the old way is over. 7

8 Kurt Lewin s Three Stage Model of the Organisational Change Stage 2 The second phase is the movement phase or the transition phase. There is a lot of turmoil and discomfort as changes are made. 8

9 Kurt Lewin s Three Stage Model of the Organisational Change Stage 3 The new behaviours are refrozen to make the change permanent. There is a new beginning, where things go back to a new normal. 9

10 Unfreezing Phase The unfreezing process involves convincing people that the current situation is undesirable, and that a change is needed. The unfreezing process is essentially about motivating people to change and helping them to view things from another perspective. 10

11 Schein: Unfreezing Occurs through Three Steps Three steps: Step 3 Cognitive Refinition Seek a better way Step 2 Induction of Guilt or Anxiety Step 1 Disconfirmation of previous beliefs 11

12 Schein: Unfreezing Occurs through Three Steps Step 1: Disconfirmation. The organisation encounters information that repudiates previous beliefs about the suitability of the current state. 12

13 Schein: Unfreezing Occurs through Three Steps Step 2: Induction of Guilt or Anxiety. When the disconfirming information is accepted, people in the organisation experience survival anxiety. This leads them to believe that if they do not change, they will not be successful in reaching goals. 13

14 Schein: Unfreezing Occurs through Three Steps Step 3: Cognitive Redefinition. The organisation has become unfrozen, and is able to recognise that there is a better way of doing things. 14

15 Refreezing Phase of Lewin s Model The new behaviours are refrozen to make change permanent. At this stage, the new behaviours should become more familiar and even habitual. The new behaviours become accepted as the norm. The new behaviours become the way we do things around here. 15

16 Implementing Change The majority of organisational change efforts do not flow through the three stages easily. They often encounter fear and resistance from employees. 16

17 Fear of Organisational Change Fear is a common reason for resisting organisational change. Fear of change. Fear of leaving a comfort zone. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of loss. Fear of losing power or prestige. Fear of losing our jobs. 17

18 Questions People Ask on Encountering Organisational Change (1) How is it going to affect me? (2) Is the pain of changing less than the pain of staying the same? (3) How does the change move me towards something that I want or need? (4) How much do I know about the change? 18

19 Questions People Ask on Encountering Organisational Change (5) Do I trust the person communicating the change to me? (6) How much influence do I have on the change process? (7) Does the change produce a result that is different and valuable? (8) Does this change add to or reduce my overall ability to cope? 19

20 Change Always Comes at a Cost Change always comes at a cost, even if we want it. We freely choose to make major life changes every day. We move house, get married, change job, learn new technologies. Generally, these changes are difficult and they all come at a cost. Most of the time we seek these changes and we deal with them satisfactorily. 20

21 Resistance to Change So why are people willing to make a change in one situation and not in another? 21

22 Resistance to Change (1) Most people will not resist change if they emotionally accept the reason for it! (2) In many cases, people resist being changed, rather than the change! 22

23 Buy In is Essential to Achieving Change Buy In Buy-in is the point when the people involved in the change are actively working towards its success. Absence of Buy In Benign apathy. Open questioning. Malicious obedience. Sabotage (overt or covert). 23

24 Achieving Buy In If people understand the reason for a change, they will find it easier to buy in. It is necessary to: Explain to people why the change is being made. Give people a clear compelling vision that describes the future. Lay out what is expected to be different. Explain clearly the disadvantages and costs of staying the same. 24

25 Achieving Buy In Be as specific as possible when dealing with people. Tell them how the change will impact on them. Give them genuine re-assurances. Individuals should be able to see what will be different for them and their teams and why that will be important for them. 25

26 Achieving Buy In Leaders need to demonstrate their own personal buy-in. People must trust: The integrity of the leader, The leader s ability to lead the change, The leader to provide the resources, tools and time to achieve success. The leader must communicate throughout the change process. 26

27 Resistance to Change Resistance to change is normal. Most people are willing to change if offered a persuasive reason to do so. People need a vision to be able to motivate themselves to change. The leader needs to: Have a clear vision of where he wants to go. Explain to people why it is necessary to go there. Communicate to increase understanding and reduce resistance. 27

28 Resistance to Change In their personal lives, people usually make their own choices. In organisations, they may feel coerced into change. People are inclined to resist coercion. To minimise resistance, the leader should give people back as much control as possible. Empowering people wll reduce resistance. 28

29 Empowering People Let people make decisions (Empower them). Step1: Set out the outcome you want. Step 2: Suggest a path to achieve it. Step 3: Allow people to reject the suggested path as long as they provide an alternative route to the same destination. 29

30 Overcoming resistance Many people may initially resist change, but when they are converted, they become committed to the change. They need to be persuaded of the benefits of the change, and if persuaded, they will then commit heavily to the change. They can become champions of the change. They become an asset in the change process. A strong vision and good communication is critical in converting people to the cause. 30

31 Power and Politics of Resistance (adapted from Senior) High Power to Block change A Potential problem Maintain satisfaction. C Few problems No immediate action B Definite problem Attempt to collaborate. D Potential problem Keep informed Persuade of benefits Low Low Motivation to block change High 31

32 When People Lose Out as a Result of Change Describe the change in detail in concrete terms. Someone may lose a role that gave him status or a sense of competence or chance of promotion. Tell people the truth. Don t sugar-coat the facts. Consider what each person is going to have to let go. 32

33 People Losing Out as a Result of Change Loss is a subjective experience, you cannot experience another person s sense of loss. Don t argue with people as they express their emotion. You will make your task more difficult if people think that you have no empathy for what they are feeling. Acknowledge the losses openly and sympathetically. Anger, anxiety, sadness and confusion, depression can occur. Help people to work through it. 33

34 People Losing Out as a Result of Change In order to make any loss acceptable, the team needs to see the vision of success. Others need to see themselves as playing an important role in the turn-around. Let people know that you need them. Define what is over and what isn t 34

35 Change in a Crisis Act quickly and decisively. You cannot over-communicate during a crisis. Recognise effort and give people feedback. Don t create a crisis to generate a sense of urgency. Creating a crisis will damage your credibility. Treat people decently that may lose out as a result of changes. If reducing numbers, do it only once, if possible, and assure the staff that remain that their positions are safe. 35

36 John P. Kotter: Eight Steps in Change Management Harvard Business Review (Mar/Apr1995). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail Koteer looked at the circumstances where change management projects were unsuuccessful and drew conclusions.. 36

37 John P. Kotter: Eight Steps in Change Management Kotter recommended eight steps to be taken for successful change management. Leaders who successfully transform businesses do eight things right (and they do them in the right order.) 37

38 John Paul Kotter: Eight Steps in Change Management 1. Establish a sense of urgency. 2. Create a guiding coalition. 3. Develop a vision and strategy. 4. Communicate the change vision. 5. Empower employees for broad based action. 6. Generate short-term wins. 7. Consolidate gains and make more changes. 8. Anchor the new approach into the culture. 38

39 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 1: Establish a sense of urgency. Define and highlight discontent. The status quo should be seen to be more dangerous than launching into the unknown. It is hard to drive people out of their comfort zones. Over 50% of the companies that Kotter studied failed at this first step. 39

40 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 1: Establish a sense of urgency.. Examine the market and competitive realities. Frank discussion about potentially unpleasant facts. Examine potential crises and major opportunities.... When the urgency is not pumped up enough, the transformation process cannot succeed 40

41 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 2: Form a powerful guiding coalition. A powerful coalition is required. You cannot do it on your own. Assemble a group with enough power to lead the change effort. The coalition may be small at the start but it needs to grow over time to gain traction. If the guiding coalition is not powerful enough, progress will falter and opposition will be able to block change. 41

42 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 3: Create a vision. The guiding coalition should develop a vision of the desired future to direct the change effort. The vision should clarify the direction in which the organisation needs to move. The vision gives a clear focus and strategy. If the vision does pass the five minute test, you need to re-work the vision. 42

43 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 4: Communicate the change vision to get buy-in. Hearts and minds need to be captured. People will not make sacrifices, even if they are unhappy with the status quo, unless they believe that useful change is possible. Every possible vehicle should be used to communicate the new vision and strategies. More than town hall meetings are required. Communication of the vision needs to built into everyday activities. If the senior executives don t walk the talk, cynicism will kill the process. 43

44 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 5: Empower employees for broad based action. Empower people to act on the vision. Encourage people to try new approaches, develop new ideas and to provide leadership. Encourage risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities and actions. The only constraint is that the actions are consistent with the vision. The more people involved, the better. 44

45 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 5: Empower employees for broad based action. Change any systems or structures that undermine the vision. Remove obstacles to change. If a senior manager pays lip service to the vision but his actions are not consistent with it, he needs to be confronted. If necessary, he needs to be removed but he should be treated fairly and in a way that is consistent with the vision. 45

46 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 6: Plan for and generate short term wins. Transformation takes time, and the process risks losing momentum. So there must be short term goals to meet and celebrate. Commitments to produce short term wins help to maintain the sense of urgency. People need to be striving for progress in the shorter term and need to see progress in the shorter term. Without short term wins, people can give up or join the ranks of the people that resist change. 46

47 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 7: Consolidate gains and make more changes. Until changes embed themselves into the company s culture, there is a risk of regression. Never let up. Maintain the momentum. Build on the change. Use increased credibility to tackle systems, structures and policies that don t fit with the vision. 47

48 Eight Steps to Transforming your Organisation: Step 8: Anchor the new approach into the culture. Incorporate the changes into the culture. The new behaviours can regress when the pressure for change is removed unless they are rooted in the culture of the organisation. Show people how the new approach, the new behaviours and attitudes have helped to improve performance. Ensure people who are promoted that personify the new approach. 48

49 Kotter s Eight Errors that Lead to Failure intransformations 1. Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency. 2. Not creating a powerful enough guiding coaltion. 3. Lacking a vision. 4. Undercommunicating the vision by a factor of Not removing obstacles to the new vision. 6. Not systematically planning for and creating short term wins. 7. Declaring victory too soon. 8. Not anchoring the changes in the organisation s culture. 49

50 Leadership and Change Leading means bringing people to a new place. The change process is about bringing people to a new place. We manage assets and processes but we lead people. 50

51 Essential Leadership Characteristics for Change Management Convincing people to follow is the essence of leadership. This is also the key to change management. Inspiring people is a key element of both leadership and change management. Displaying confidence so that others will follow is a key attribute of a leader. It is essential in change management Formulating the vision and communicating it is a key element of leadership and change management. 51

52 Leadership and Change Empowering people is a key leadership skill. It is essential for successful change management. Enthusiasm is a key attribute of a leader. It motivates followers. Integrity is a key attribute of a leader. People must trust their leader to accept change. Fairness is a key attribute of a leader. People must be treated fairly in a change process. 52

53 Leadership and Change Warmth is a key attribute of a leader. Loving what you do and caring for people are essential in change management. Toughness is a key attribute of a leader. Leaders do difficult things and change management is difficult. Humility is a key attribute of leader. The leader in change management must be willing to listen and must respect others. 53

54 Leadership and Management: Tom Peters The Leadership Challenge Leadership is different from management. Management is mostly about to do lists- cannot live without them! Leadership is about tapping the wellsprings of human emotion - and the fundamental relations with one s fellows. To be successful, the change process needs to tap into the wellsprings of human emotion. Leading people, not just managing them is essential to the change process! 54

55 Leading Change: Viscount Montgomery of El Alamien The leader must have infectious optimism and the determination to persevere in the face of difficulties. He must also radiate confidence, even when he himself is not too certain of the outcome. 55

56 Managing People Through Change Any Questions? 56