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Consultant opinion
We, Who Change More Than Others |
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Motto:
"I am changing, tryin' every way I can
I am changing, I'll be better than I am
I'm trying-to find a way to understand
But I need you, I need you-I need a hand"
(Jennifer Holliday, I Am Changing)
We live in a world of change. Every respected CEO has led at least one major turnaround in his or her organization. It is impossible not to, under the current market conditions. Most of them have come to grasp the concept of change management through practice, some still need the theory. One thing is certain, though: changes cause more changes. Under these circumstances, the purpose of this article is to take a sneak peek into how change can be managed effectively.
What exactly is change management?
The concept of change management describes a structured approach to transitions. Be it in individuals, teams, organizations and societies, it means going from one state to another one, often seen as an ideal one. Simply put, change management is a process for managing the people-side of change.
Research conducted with more than 1000 organizations from 59 countries shows that people must achieve five building blocks in order for change to be realized successfully. These building blocks are described by the ADKAR Model and include awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement.
1. Awareness - of why the change is needed
2. Desire - to support and participate in the change
3. Knowledge - of how to change
4. Ability - to implement new skills and behaviors
5. Reinforcement - to sustain the change
Raising awareness is the great ability of leaders and of whistleblowers. The desire to change underlies the laws of inertia and needs to be fueled with sustained communication and consistent action. People are more often than never reluctant to change because it affects them personally. It may be that they do not understand change or they understand it as threatening ("business reorganization" has become the metaphor for cutting jobs). I will come back to knowledge of change in the next paragraph. As for the ability and reinforcement of change, they go hand in hand. The operational leadership should be involved in any of these phases, which build mostly on the desire to implement change.
Are We Really Not Like Others?
I think that management models are great, as long as you don't try to feed them to the people in a company you are currently working on as a sort of universal panacea. A business consultant walking into a company today and trying to pose as a change agent is simply painting a target on his chest and can expect the tomatoes to squirt on his face. Change programs sound increasingly artificial, and resistance becomes harder to override as long as you come armed with a few standard solutions that seem tailored for every situation. Organizations radically differ. They only have in common perpetual change. In order to sustain that change you need to raise inner change agents, ready to adapt to the market as quickly as it moves and drag the others with their energy and commitment.
Change has long escaped the confines of consulting, of the HR department or of
the executive office. It has become the business of everybody, a matter of personal
responsibility towards oneself and towards the company. Change cannot be identified
in only one sector; the company itself is the change. The challenge for the people
is not to follow the steps of a change plan as if it were a project plan for
a peripheral to be added to the company. Change is inherent - and thus it must
be lived in order to be enacted.
Changing Doesn't Fit the Rules
As I see it now based on my project experiences, some rules of change can be
formulated. Just handle with care - they also can change!
1. Change is about the people, and people are always surprising.
Did you get raised in a good old business school that stuffed you with change management strategies? I have some bad news: reality is different. Change is more than establishing a vision, putting some values on the walls and hoping that everything will work out fine. People play a central part: they need to understand the change, the good it brings and really believe in it. You might find yourself amazed at how the situation shifts the information that it brings about to people, and the difference that trust makes.
2. Never underestimate the power of the network.
Your permanent message carriers are change agents situated in informal networks that you can reach. Building your personal network in a company leads to your having access to the opinion influencers and being able to steer the change from within.
3. Listen to the other side.
Opposition to change is never useless. It relies on ideas that can improve the change process or steer it to a benefic direction. Thus, opposition to change should be encouraged in open discussions. You will have it behind your back anyway, so bringing it into the open can only help. The other side's concerns are rarely unfounded.
4. Do not get people stand in line for change.
They won't. Just to destroy another business school and corporate management myth: people won't follow if they are forced to. They will say Yes and set up obstacles. They will stay and block your business. They will do the drill but bring down the performance. Instead, concentrate on changing their mindsets to absorb change. Never push them from behind, rather try to pull, to get them out of their comfort area. Encourage performance and be happy for the ones who drop out: they will be leaving for places where they will not feel pressured anymore.
5. Change yourself before trying to change others.
If you need to facilitate or enable a change, make sure you believe in it. You won't be able to convince others if you are not a believer. People who try to enable change, be they business people or consultants, much too often think they should hold themselves out of the game. Welcome to reality though: change is the new game. The rules are quite simple: if you don't play the game, you don't belong here.
6. Don't be a martyr on the altar of change.
Drama might have worked for the Greeks and Romans, but accepting a dagger in your chest for the sake of an idea is a bit overrated. Reasonable and persuasive is good, theatrical is bad. If you have made a stand of personal commitment that nobody gets fired and the decision from management comes to do so then ok, maybe you have a point in letting go of the assignment. However, choose your battles wisely. There is no point to talk three hours about a decision of no importance and overlook the ten minutes when the big decision is being taken.
At the good last, remember: it's either change and survive or freeze and die as a business today. What's your choice?
Dana Timar
Ensight Consultant
Published
in Revista
Cariere,
22 of March 2007
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