Why is Organization Change So Difficult? And What Can We Do About It Dr. David W. Jamieson Professor, Organization Development & Change, University of St Thomas President, Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc. MPPAW January 2017

Change is Hard Work! Organizations are complex socio-technical systems with numerous interdependent, moving parts They are human systems with a wide array of everything human Change usually needs to occur while an organization continues running in its current state The environment (larger system of organization) has become VUCA Some aspects of change can be planned, but many can not!

Tonight’s Overview Some Big Reasons Why Change Fails The Systems/Organization Perspective: stakeholders, culture, system principles The Individual Perspective: socio-emotional, motivation, personalities Change Process: strategy, path, design & execution 21st Century Drivers Making Change More Complex & Difficult I/O & OD: Sisters in Partnership Some Principles for Change in Complex Times Hopes for Our Sister Disciplines

Systems/Organization Perspective Social-technical balance & alignment moving parts, current to future, functioning Stakeholders and ‘stakes’ managed Internal, external, appropriate inclusion, ‘stakes’ & politics Culture eats strategy for breakfast (Drucker); and dominates ‘change’ at lunch (Jamieson)

Strategic Organizational Design/Alignment ENVIRONMENT Relevant outside forces influencing organization MISSION Purpose bridging organization & environment STRATEGY What the organization intends to do LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE CULTURE SYSTEMS The Values in Operation How work, technology & people are put together: Ongoing operating policies, processes and procedures VISION BEHAVIOR What people do that produces results © David W. Jamieson, 2009 © Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc. 2009, 2015

Individual Perspective People Don’t Do What You Want What, why, how to, want to & necessary resources Socio-emotional factors (ala Hawthorne) Fears, vulnerabilities, happiness, engagement Conflicting goals/motivations Individual needs, power distributions, “agendas” Performance behaviors: abilities, rewards, attitudes. etc.

Change Process Strategy & path Design Intervening vision, rationale, communications, clarity, understanding, resistance/commitment Design Whole-part-whole, order, simultaneous & sequential, system leverage Intervening Where, who, when, how Leadership and change facilitation

21st Century Drivers Making Change More Complex & Difficult Today we need new thinking & action Too many change theories assume relative stability-which is no longer true VUCA means our ability to understand an organization system fully, is lost Planning is still good to a point, but navigating deviations is essential Incremental learning and adaptive actions now needed to both understand and act Design organizations to execute strategy; now need more agility to move with necessary speed

I/O & OD: Sisters in Partnership There is a lot of overlap in our practice We generally draw from same disciplines (behavioral sciences) Yet our dominate foci & skill sets differ and are complimentary In organizational reality, many disciplines need to converge to get good results, e.g.. HRM, HRD, OD, PM, I/O, CM…. Next slide is highly simplified…

What are the similarities & differences between I/O Psychology and Organization Development?

I/O & OD: Sisters in Partnership I/O Psychology Organization Development Individual behavior & differences in orgs Measured, modeled, influenced, managed Job requirements, competencies, engagement, training. motivation Theory & research behind OB Much of HR policy & processes Assessing performance, potential, effectiveness, appraisal processes Leadership Groups & teams-understanding ‘What is’ Quantitative methods Whole system effectiveness & change Change theories & practice across human levels; org dynamics Systemic/strategic change-process, interventions, evaluation Consultation; use of self Action research Org theory & design Individual, group & cultural resistance Groups & teams-improving Leadership ‘What could be’ Qualitative methods

Levels of Human Systems Suppose We Took OD Seriously Levels of Human Systems Whole Organization Intergroup Group Interpersonal Individual Organization Network Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc.

Some Principles For Change in Complex Times People support what they help to create ownership, voice, participation, commitment All systems need aligned elements to function well current & future states, dynamically All organization change needs individual change people need to do things differently, individual differences All change involves learning something more unknowns, more new landscapes, new org dynamics, learning cycles All change needs intervention or disruption To jar any homeostasis, to align stakeholders All change needs process work linkages, movement, the ‘how’

Some Hopes for our Sister Disciplines Knowing ‘what is’ and ‘could be’ Moving from understanding to action Micro married with macro; individual and whole system Coupling assessment/measurement skills with process change skills Improving understanding faster & incrementally Understanding the human system is critical and changing Organization effectiveness & change are now seriously intertwined

Reflective Questions If I have more of an I/O background, what from OD could I use to improve my impact? If I have more of an OD background, what from I/O could I use to improve my impact? What can we do to make the partnership work better in practice? How might we integrate better during education programs?

“In school they told me practice makes perfect, then they told me nobody’s perfect, so I stopped practicing” -Steven Wright Comedian