INTRODUCTION Leadership is all about change and leaders are at the heart of making change happen in organisations and enterprises of all shapes and sizes. Learning the capability to understand, initiate and implement change is essential if you, as a leader, are seeking to make a significant impact on the shape and direction of your organisation. Change in today s organisations is rarely about marginal, incremental change - it is more likely to involve significant transformation, requiring the persuasion and realignment of significant numbers of people to a embrace new ways of doing things. In this Compass Point, part of the sequence on, we examine what it takes to initiate change as a leader. What are the leadership behaviours and practices that enable you to successfully build the business case for change, overcome initial inertia and align the key players behind a plan to change? THE CHANGE WHEEL Consolidate 8 The 1Case the new for Change Status 7 Quo 2 Change 6 5 Managing Winning Uncertainty Commitment Reviewing Success Implementing Action Vision and Urgency Overcoming 3 Inertia 4 The Learning Compass Change Wheel describes all the important stages of managing and implementing change - more information on this can be found in the Compass Point, How Do I...Implement Change? The early stages of initiating change are a critical foundation for the successful implementation of change; Building the case for change, creating a clear vision and a sense of urgency, and overcoming inertia are all critical components of kick-starting a change process. Without a thorough and systematic approach in these early stages, there is a strong likelihood that change will become derailed in later stages. The Change Wheel - Copyright Learning Compass Ltd 2011 EXERCISE Think about a period in your life when you experienced some kind of imposed change that had some uncertain consequences for you i.e. change that you didn t invite or expect. How did you feel about this change? How well was the change communicated? What actions did the leader(s) of the change take in the initial stages to help people understand and come to terms with the anticipated change? How well was the change activity led and ultimately, how successful was it?
RESISTANCE AND REACTIONS TO CHANGE These are some of the many ways in which individuals can react when faced with change that is unexpected and imposed upon them. Understanding these reactions and resistance is part-way to developing strategies as a leader to positively respond and deal with these when initiating change. Individuals will always look to see how they might be advantaged or What s in it for me? disadvantaged by change. Providing incentives and opportunities for individuals that flow from change is one strategy for lessening any resistance, as is quickly clarifying how the change impacts precisely on the individual. Why me? Individuals will question and challenge why the change should effect them and may overtly or covertly seek to avoid personal involvement and implications. Strategies that seek to explain clearly the business rationale for the change and involve individuals in early action will work best to lessen this resistance. It can t be true This is a form of denial that the change is happening and may involve all kinds of delay and resistance by individuals to being engaged or involved in the change. Strategies that show early symbolic actions can help overcome this resistance by demonstrating the clear intent to change. It will go away This is another form of denial that the change will not happen usually based on past experiences that if you keep your head down and don't cooperate then there is a good chance that nothing significant will happen. Early and direct involvement in the action of change will often minimise this type of resistance. It s not for me This is usually a reaction and resistance born out of a feeling of being out of control and unable to cope with the demands of the change. Coaching individuals to show how they might deal with the change and indeed might even positively benefit, will help lessen this resistance. THE CHANGE OR TRANSITION CURVE The Change Curve describes the range of emotions felt by individuals when experiencing significant imposed change. The greater the potential negative impact of the change, then the more significant the degree of emotional reaction. When initiating change, particularly difficult change, leaders can anticipate these reactions and plan to lessen or minimise the consequences for individuals. Positively coaching and communicating through periods of uncertainty is a major part of helping individuals deal with difficult change. Please see the diagram illustrating this on the next page.
Self-Esteem Based on John Fischer s Transition Curve (2003) STRATEGIES FOR INITIATING CHANGE OVERCOMING INERTIA The following actions or techniques can often be very helpful in unfreezing situations where change is required but, where there is considerable resistance or inertia to change: Broadcast the direction a clear description and communication of what you want to achieve and why will help focus on the issue of change. The more compelling you can make this articulation of direction, the more likely that people around will give you their interest and attention. You may have to constantly reiterate your determination to change. Master the data and information most people, in order to respond need to know and understand why they should change. Clear data and information which simply states the case for change can be a powerful way of unlocking individuals resistance to change. Analyse the obstacles be sure that you have assessed the scale and degree of resistance to change that you are likely to encounter. Keep your ear to the ground and make sure you are inviting feedback as you move into communicating and implementing change. Make a plan to tackle each main obstacle. In particular try and anticipate the people who will have most difficulty in absorbing or responding to change and target them for specific attention and support.
Sell the benefits remember that in any change situation you are looking to achieve a critical mass of people who buy in to the desired change. You therefore need to refine and restate your case for change to include clear statements of benefit for the majority of those effected by the change. Find allies look for people who can help you to sell the benefits of change and who can act as your ambassadors. Use them to help persuade others by giving them a very active role in your change process. Take actions most people will not believe change is really going to happen until they see tangible actions as evidence. It is vital therefore that early action is taken to show that your intent to change is real. Clear agenda to further demonstrate your urgency and determination for change, it is important to back up the direction and communications with a clear agenda of actions (with time scales) which shows how you will quickly move from intent into action. Open up for ideas give people the clear indication that whilst the direction of change may be set, there may be many opportunities for them to influence the nature of how the change is implemented. Individuals are more likely to be committed to the process of change if they believe that they can have some influence over how the change may turn out in practice. Involve people individuals will find it much harder to resist change if they are involved in the action. Giving individuals around you early accountability for achieving something that will help the change move forward is a strong way of turning people who are negative or neutral into positive supporters of change. EXERCISE Take a few minutes to reflect on the above list and your own role as a leader of change. How well do you go about initiating change? If you rank yourself out of 10 against each of the above practices how well do you do? Where do you most need to improve? BUILDING ALIGNMENT When initiating change, success or failure can often depend upon the degree of early alignment and commitment that can be won from others around you to the chosen direction. Below are some of the main tactics and actions that can help build alignment: Actively involve there is no better way of securing individuals commitment and alignment to change than by involving them in some aspect of the change process. It may be that individuals can have little influence over the direction of change (the What), but it is highly desirable that they have a direct input into the implementation of change (the How).
Consider the roles change often involves a redefinition of roles and accountabilities. The quicker this redefinition can be undertaken and communicated; the sooner individuals will have a clearer picture of what is expected of them and where they can begin to make a positive contribution. Identify quick wins spot opportunities for individuals to have early success in their new roles. The sooner people feel that they are making a contribution and being successful, then the sooner they will see what is in the change for them. Communicate progress let people know how the change is progressing. Give plenty of feedback on success and difficulties. Invite staff to contribute their views on how things are going and be prepared to modify your own thinking based on this. Broadcast success let your successes be known to both team members and other peers and colleagues. Creating a positive picture of forward momentum will keep people positively engaged and enthusiastic about change. Build capability change often requires new skills. Provide early training and coaching for individuals in areas where new capabilities are required. Encourage people to take more responsibility for their own learning and development so that can influence how they manage and cope with change. Recognise success make sure that those who embrace change more readily are recognised and rewarded ahead of those who are more resistant. This will both motivate those who have done well and provide incentive for those who are struggling with change. Confront setbacks honestly admit the areas of difficulty where the change is not working and seek ideas and input from others on how to overcome these obstacles and continue progress. Take personal responsibility act as a personal role model for the change. Make sure that you take your share of the actions and commitments and demonstrate by your own changes how others can also accommodate change. Review constantly and regularly stand back from what is happening and review how things are going and what new actions are necessary in the light of experience. Engage as many people as possible in this review process so that they continue to feel part of subsequent phases of change. EXERCISE AND ACTION Take a few minutes to reflect on the above list and your own role as a leader of change. How well do you go about initiating change? If you rank yourself out of 10 against each of the above practices how well do you do? Where do you most need to improve?
ACTIONS So what can I do now to follow through on some of the ideas, practices and techniques covered in this Compass Point? Here are a few suggested actions: 1. Look critically back at previous periods where you have initiated change - what lessons can you learn from these situations about how well you initiated change? 2. How aware and sensitive are you to the way others around you react to change.? Do you consciously take time out to coach people through periods of difficulty and uncertainty? What actions could you take to improve here? 3. How well do you articulate the need/reason for change? Practice different ways of describing why a change is necessary and how this will benefit the organisation. Try explaining it to someone else - ask them if it is credible and what might be missing. 4. How well do you involve people who are resistant to change in projects to implement change? Try giving a role to a known resistor and see how this might change their perspective on the change. OTHER RESOURCES Below are some of our personal recommendations for the next stage of your developmental journey. Learning Quest has an extensive library of resources tailored to those seeking to take control of the navigation of their development. You may want to try: How do I...Set Direction? How do I...Implement Change How do I...Sustain Change?