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 Zone Opportunity, 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 grief Acknowledge missteps; reaffirm commitment and clarify expectations & timeline Delegate 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 issues Why change efforts fail: Resistance to change82% Inadequate sponsorship72% Unrealistic expectations65% Poor project management54% Inadequate business case46% No change management program43%

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 change helpers, enlighten pessimists, defuse cynics and build momentum What Works: Early wins that come fast Wins that are visible to as many people as possible Wins 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 up As 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 2 nd edition

Good Luck !