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Change Management

From GTwM

"No one has to change. Survival is optional." Deming

Organizational change management is the process of developing a planned approach to change in an organization. Typically the objective is to maximize the collective benefits for all people involved in the change and minimize the risk of failure of implementing the change. The discipline of change management deals primarily with the human aspect of change & company culture; implementing new procedures, technologies, and overcoming resistance to change are fundamentally human resource management issues.

Change management can be either 'reactive' or 'proactive'.Management is responding reactively to changes in the macroenvironment (that is, the source of the change is external), or proactively initiating the change in order to achieve a desired goal (that is, the source of the change is internal).

Change management can be conducted on a continuous basis, on a regular schedule (such as an annual review), or when deemed necessary on a program-by-program basis.

Change management can be approached from a number of angles and applied to numerous organizational processes. Its most common uses are in information technology management, strategic management, and process management.

Attitudes towards change result from a complex interplay of emotions and [cognitive] processes. Because of this complexity everyone reacts to change differently. On the positive side, change is seen as akin to opportunity, rejuvenation, progress, innovation, and growth. But just as legitimately, change can also be seen as akin to instability, upheaval, unpredictability, threat, and disorientation. Whether employees perceive change with fear, anxiety and demoralization, or with excitement and confidence, or somewhere in between, depends partially on the individual's psychological makeup, partially on management's actions, and partially on the specific nature of the change.

Contents 1 History of Change Theory 1.1 Freeze / Unfreeze / Refreeze Model 1.2 Kubler-Ross Model 1.3 The Kotter model 2 The Fifth Discipline 3 TOC and Change

History of Change Theory

Freeze / Unfreeze / Refreeze Model

An early model of change developed by Kurt Lewin (1951) described change as a three-stage process.

• The first stage he called "unfreezing". It involved overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing "mind set". Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed.
• In the second stage the change occurs. This is typically a period of confusion. We are aware that the old ways are being challenged but we do not have a clear picture to replace them with yet.
• The third and final stage he called "refreezing". The new mind set is crystallizing and one's comfort level is returning to previous levels.

Kubler-Ross Model

The Kubler-Ross_Model_(Five_Stages_Of_Grief) first published in 1969, argues that an individual's attitude toward a change tends to evolve as they become more familiar with it. The stages a person goes through can consist of: apprehension, denial, anger, resentment, depression, cognitive dissonance, compliance, acceptance, and internalization. This emotional framework is a derivative of work by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her book "On Death and Dying" which dealt with the phases people experience when faced with the loss of family member or friend. Many employees, however, may not experience these phases, as their attitude toward change is heavily dependent on their view of the current state. When employees have a negative view of the current state they may anticipate and embrace change early in the process.

The Kotter model

In the 90s Harvard-professor John P. Kotter had been observing this process for almost 30 years. In his book Leading Change he argues that to make big changes significantly and effectively, there are generally eight basic things that must happen:

1. INSTILL A SENSE OF URGENCY. Identifying existing or potential crises or opportunities. Confronting reality, in the words of Execution-authors, Charan and Bossidy.
2. BUILD A GUIDING COALITION. Assembling a strong guiding coalition with enough power to lead the change effort. And make them work as a team, not a committee!
3. CREATE A VISION AND SUPPORTING STRATEGIES. We need a clear sense of purpose and direction. In less successful situations you generally find plans and budgets, but no vision and strategy; or the strategies are so superficial that they have no credibility.
4. COMMUNICATE. As many people as possible need to hear the mandate for change loud and clear, with messages sent out consistently and often. Forget the boring memos that nobody reads! Try using videos, speeches, kick-off meetings, workshops in small units, etc. Also important is the teaching of new behaviours by the example of the guiding coalition
5. REMOVE OBSTACLES. Get rid of anything blocking change, like bosses stuck in the old ways or lack of information systems. Encourage risk-taking and non-traditional ideas, activities, and actions. Empowerment is moving obstacles out of peoples' way so they can make something happen, once they've got the vision clear in their heads.
6. CREATE SOME QUICK WINS. This is essential for creating momentum and providing sufficient credibility to pat the hard-working people on the back and to diffuse the cynics. Remember to recognize and reward employees involved in the improvements.
7. KEEP ON CHANGING. After change organizations get rolling and have some wins, they don't stop there. They go back and make wave after wave of other actions necessary for long-term, significant change. Successful change leaders don't drop the sense of urgency. On top of that, they are very systematic about figuring out all of the pieces they need to have in place before they declare victory.
8. MAKE CHANGE STICK. The last big step is nailing big change to the floor and making sure it sticks. And the way things stick is through culture. If you can create a totally new culture around some new way of managing, it will stay. It won't live on if it is dependent on one boss or a couple of enthusiastic people who will eventually move on.

We can divide these eight steps in three main processes. The first four steps focus on de-freezing the organization. The next three steps make change happen. The last step re-freezes the organization on the next rung on the ladder.

Kotter avoids any discussin re how this high level approach ties into Project Management. Anderson & Anderson (The Change Leaders Roadmap) adopt a similar high level approach however do tie it into the lower level by adding in alot of trad. PM items.

The Fifth Discipline

At around the same time Peter Senge developed perhaps the most convincing theory of change. Rather than seeing the process as largely top - down in The Fifth Discipline and later writings he argues for a process of learning fleshing out how to move to what W Edwards Deming had called the 6th level of organisational maturity in his Learning Stages model. Also his framework offers some help in indentifying potential obstacles (Personal v Organisational Learning / Business Philosophy / Tools & Methods / Infrastructure) and his work on archetypes flags another set of common issues that if unrecognised will derail change efforts.

(see also Appreciative Inquiry)

TOC and Change

Another really compelling approach to change management is provided by Francis Patrick in his article "TOC and Resistance to Change" (see agileBase Document Library)
 

Questions	Objectives	Layers of Resistance
What to change?	Situation assessment, description of “current reality,” and identification of the core problem or conflict and assumptions that sustain it. Diagnosis, systemic root cause analysis.	1) Lack of agreement on the problem
To what to change to?	Verbalization of vision/solution, description of strategy to attain the desired state, and avoidance of undesirable side effects. Prescription, decision-making, and solution development.	2) Lack of agreement on a possible direction for a solution 3) Lack of agreement that the solution will truly address the problem 4) Concern that the solution will lead to new undesirable side effects (“Yes, but…”)
How to make the change happen?	Development of detailed plans and tactics that will clarify what needs to happen. Synchronization of the efforts of the group in the implementation of the strategy. Planning, team-building, and leadership	5) Lack of a clear path around obstacles blocking the solution 6) Lack of follow-through even after agreement to proceed with the solution (unverbalized fear or concerns)