Behave for A Change

Office of State Personnel

Today’s Discussion

The Change Situation

Change and Transition

Why People Resist Change

Kotter’s 8 Stages

Popular Mistakes

The Change Situation

Change hasn’t changed

Change upsets our understanding of the the reality of things

Change requires risks

Change unhinges us – it requires new behaviors

Change threatens us on all levels

Change…

Is a process, not an event

Is made by individuals, then organizations

Is a highly personal experience for those involved

Involves gradual growth in feelings and skills

It Isn’t the Changes That Do You In... It’s the Transitions

Change is situational Move to a new site Reorganization of roles on the team Revisions to the pension plan

Transition is psychological

Has an emotional, feeling component

The Ending Begin with the ending Letting go; identify and acknowledge the

loss Give people something to take with them

The Neutral ZoneOpportunity, creativity, learning, involvement

The New Beginning Develop new identity

3 Phases of Transition

Why Do People Resist?

Feel they will suffer

Organization does not communicate clearly

Perceive more work with few opportunities

Required to give up ingrained habits

Organization lacks adequate rewards

Organization lacks sufficient resources

Solicit employee input

Script a clear, logical message

Provide rewards and incentives

Identify new behaviors to support the change

Develop rewards aligned with the change

Prioritize work based on available resources

Why Do People Resist?

Loss of job security

Employees harbor

unresolved resentments

Change has poor introduction

Organization has poor internal communication

Communicate how employees and the organization will benefit from renewed relevance

Allow employees to express their griefAcknowledge missteps; reaffirm commitment and clarify expectations & timelineDelegate communication tasks to one person/team

Producing change

Is 80 percent leadership- establishing direction, aligning, motivating, and inspiring people-

And 20 percent management - planning, budgeting, organizing, and problem solving

Unfortunately, in most of the change efforts, these percentages

are reversed

What is change management?

A structured process and set of tools

for leading the people side of change.

Change Management Improves Your Odds

More than 70% of change efforts fail because of failure to focus on people issuesWhy change efforts fail: Resistance to change 82% Inadequate sponsorship 72% Unrealistic expectations 65% Poor project management 54% Inadequate business case 46% No change management program 43%

Kotter’s 8 Stages of Change Management

Increase Urgency

Build the Guiding Team

Get the Vision Right

Communicate for Buy-In

Empower Action

Create Short Term Wins

Don’t Let Up

Make Changes Stick

Stage 1: Increase Urgency

Raise a feeling of urgency so folks say-“let’s go”!

What Works:Show others the need for change [use valid information and data]Never underestimate how much complacency, fear and anger may exist

Stage 2: Build the Guiding Team

Form a group that has the capability

to guide the change process

What Works:

Showing enthusiasm and commitment

Modeling trust and teamwork

Team Functions

Task Orientation – Set clear and simple goals.

Roles - Assign a unique job to each team member.

Share Ideas – Brainstorm methods

Feedback – Share positive, frequent feedback on progress

High Expectations – Challenge team members to produce the best work possible

Managing Team Meetings

Call meetings only when they are

needed

Invite only only those persons needed

Keep meetings on track

Prepare an agenda

Make your goal a short meeting

Stage 3: Get The Vision Right

Create the right vision and strategies

to guide action

What Works:

Trying to see -literally- possible futures

Vision so clear- it can be articulated in one minute or written on 1 page

Stage 4: Communicate for Buy-In

Communicate change vision and strategies to

create understanding and buy-in

What Works:

Keeping communication simple and heartfelt- not complex and technical

Know what your folks are “feeling”

Speak to anxieties, fear, confusion, anger

Communicating the Change

Identify the what and why of the change.

Target specific results.

Don’t dump information on people.

Welcome questions and feedback.

Acknowledge the feelings associated with

the change

Communication Tips

Give constructive feedback. 

Be tolerant of mistakes.

Praise in public, criticize in private.

Once you've delegated, never take it

back (except in impending disaster!)

Remember this…

TELL ME I will forget

SHOW ME I might remember

INVOLVE ME I will never forget

Stage 5: Empower Action

Deal effectively with obstacles that block

action.

What Works:

Find folks with change experience who can state “we won and you can too”

Stage 6: Create Short-Term Wins

Produce short-term wins to energize the changehelpers, enlighten pessimists, defuse cynicsand build momentum

What Works:Early wins that come fastWins that are visible to as many people as possibleWins that speak to powerful players whose support you need but do not yet have

Stage 7: Don’t Let Up

Continue with wave after wave of change,not stopping until the vision is a reality

What Works:Looking for ways to keep the urgency upAs always- show ‘em, show ‘em, show ‘em

Stage 8: Make Change Stick

Be sure the changes are embedded so

that the new way of operating will stick

What Works:

Not stopping at Step 7- it isn’t over until the changes have roots

The Four Most Popular Mistakes for Failure

Writing A Memo Instead of Lighting A Fire

Change efforts fail at the first critical step - establishing a sense of urgency

Too often leaders launch their initiatives by calling a meeting then expect people to “buy-in”

Talking Too Much and Saying Too Little

Most leaders under-communicate their change vision by a factor of 10

An effective change vision must include new, aligned behaviors on the part of senior executives

Leading by example

People watch their bosses very closely

Inconsistent behavior by a manager fuel the cynicism and frustration

Declaring Victory Before the War Is Over

It is important to celebrate results but underestimating the difficulty and duration of organizational transformation can be catastrophic

If you settle for too little too soon, you will probably lose it all

Celebrating incremental improvements is good to mark progress and sustain commitment - but don't forget how much work is still needed

Looking For Villains In All The Wrong Places

The perception that organizations are filled with managers who resist all change is not only unfair but untrue

People at every level are engaged in change processes

That's why it is crucial to build a guiding coalition that represents all levels of the organization

Points to Remember

Change takes time and persistence Individuals go through stages in the change process Individuals have different needs at different stages Successful change efforts require planning, organization, resources and action Change is more likely to occur when a team is given responsibility for managing implementation

References

Kotter, John P., (2002) The Heart of Change, Real Life Stories of How people Change Their Organizations

Bridges, William (2003) Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change 2nd edition

Good Luck !