Transcript How to Handle Change in Your Organisation

How to Handle Change
in Your Organisation
Breakfast presentation
for
Society of Business Communicators (Qld)
by
Bill Synnot
at
The Chifley at Lennons, Brisbane
May 2, 2007
Topics to be Covered

Framework as a road map to create a peakperformance, innovative & agile organisation

Analyse you and your organisation’s current
capability in meeting the change challenge

How to turn around an unsuccessful change
process and/or keep a successful organisation on
track
Topics cont.

Identify, explore and overcome the most
common pitfalls and management errors in
organisational change that can result in an
ineffectual process

Address the challenge of implanting the change
process permanently into your organisation’s
culture (including behavioural change)
Six Characteristics of a
Peak-Performance, Innovative, Agile and Robust
Organisation
1 Customer–focused
2 Concentrating more on leadership & less on
management/administration
3 Entrepreneurial (based on innovation)
4 People–orientated
5 Tightly Focused on “decisive opportunities”
6 Resilient
(for more details see article on web site: www.billsynnotandassociates.com.au)
Change
means experiencing something different and/or doing something
differently
Usually with the basic aim of
“…Increasing the organisation’s capability to adapt to and
adopt new ways of doing business…”
“…organisation today - has to be designed for
change as the norm and to create change rather
than react to it …”
Peter Drucker, 2001
“…it is not the strongest of the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is the
most adaptable to change…”
Charles Darwin as quoted in Harvard Business Review, 1998
“. . .you can resist change and win one or more battles, but
you will lose the war...”
Noel Tichy, 1999
(quotes cont.)
“…Few goals are more challenging to achieve than
significant change in adult human beings…”
Howard Gardner, 2006
“…Three things can be said about change in today’s
increasingly competitive environment: it’s hard, it’s
necessary and most people are bound to resist it…”
Noel Tichy, 1999
(quotes cont.)
“…change does not come from a slogan or a speech.
It happens because you put the right people in
place to make it happen…”
Jack Welch as quoted in Jack Welch et al, 2001
“…An organisation is a web of interconnections; a
change in one area can throw a different part of
the organisation off balance. Managing these
ripple effects and the unexpected outcomes is the
challenge of change…”
Harvard Business Review, 1998
(quotes cont.)
“…The real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeking new lands, but in seeing with new eyes…”
Marcel Proust as quoted by David Osborne in “Re-Inventing Government”, 1993
“…Given the choice between changing and
proving that change is not necessary, most people
will get busy on the proof…”
John Kenneth Galbraith quoted in Australian Financial Review, 1999
(quotes cont.)
“…When the rate of change inside an institution
becomes slower than the rate of change outside,
the end is in sight …”
Jack Welch, 2001
“…it has become a truism that the only constant is
change; with one change overlapping with
another, the time-frame to accomplish change is
shortening…”
Harvard Business Review, 1998
(quotes cont.)
“…the question that faces the strategic decisionmaker is not what his/her organization should be
tomorrow. It is what do we have to do today to be
ready for an uncertain tomorrow…”
Peter Drucker as quoted in AFR Boss, 2000
“…Change programs often seem like they’re
being shot out of cannons. They start with a
bang, then quickly fall flat…”
Harvard Business Review, 1998
(quotes cont.)
“…the challenge of unpredictability can be met by
remaining flexible at all times, recognising change
as inevitable and an opportunity, and not locking
yourself into a set path…”
Michael Chaney in AFRBoss, 2002
Change involves “… combining “inner shifts” in
people’s values, aspirations and behaviours with
“outer shifts” in processes, strategies, practices
and systems…...It is not enough to change
strategies, structures, and systems, unless the
thinking that produced those strategies, structures
and the systems also changes…”
Peter Senge, 1999
Levels of Change
Personal
Group
Organisational
Environmental
NB:
There is overlap & interaction between the different levels
Competition comes from
“where you least expect it”
In a survey it was found that
“…industry newcomers – not the traditional
competitors – had taken the best advantage of
change over the past ten years...…by profoundly
changing the rules of the game…”
Gary Hamel, 1997
eg Murdoch, Branson, Gates, etc
“…an outmoded belief, assumption, practice,
policy, system or strategy, generally invisible, that
inhibits change and prevents resources being used
for new opportunities…”
Robert Kriegel et al., 1996
Remember:
“…Over 50% of technological breakthroughs
that influence an industry or organisation come
from outside that industry…”
Peter Drucker, 2001
Point of Diminishing Returns
This involves organisations trying to wring the
last efficiency out of business models that have
reached their use-by date; their strategies are
indistinguishable from their competitors
Why Do Some
Organisational Transition
Efforts Fail ?
In many organisational transitions, the gap between expectations and
achievements is very large
The J-Curve
What We Expect
Desired
Organization’s
Performance
Status
Quo
What Actually
Happens
Change
Initiative
VOD
Time
Most Common Management Errors
“…generally social and behavioural causes
frustrate change initiatives rather than
technical problems…”
Patrick Dawson, 2005
Each table to identify some common
management errors
(most common management errors cont.)

Not understanding the organisational culture
and imposing your views

Lack of ownership or emotional “buy-in” by
staff at the start of the process

Not “co-creating”, ie staff and management not
working together

Structural inertia - most organisations are
designed to promote stability
(most common management errors cont.)
 Ignoring that
change will be a threat to the
status quo, ie balance of power
 Law
of unintended consequence - overacting
& doing the wrong thing
 Not
psychologically ready, ie importance of
timing
 Ignoring
that change is a personal journey, ie
human aspect of change (dealing with people)
(most common management errors cont.)

Underestimating the importance of intuition
(gut feeling) and story telling, while overfocusing on conventional measurement

One Size Fits All/Silver Bullet/Instant Coffee/
Magic Wand/Cure-all Recipes/Quick Fixes/
Management by Best Seller (the boom theory
of change)

Too much complacency (paying “lip service”,
organisation too successful, not holistic
approach, etc)
(most common management errors cont.)

Not realising that change is a continuous
process that needs regular reviews

Lack of a sense of urgency (not shared)

Not focusing on the correct issues, such as
- concentrating on the tangibles (hard options
eg economic incentives, organisational
structure, etc)
- ignoring intangibles (soft options eg corporate
culture, values, beliefs, relationships, personal
journey, etc.)
- concentrating on symptoms rather than causes
(shifting-the-burden)
(most common management errors cont.)

Change fatigue - too many/multiple change
projects

Need to achieve balance between
- hard and soft approaches
- present (short-term) and future (long-term)

Too many fiefdoms/silos/stovepipes/cocoons/
kingdoms allowed to exist/prevail

Not appreciating the power of leverage, ripple
effect, interdependence, time delays and
holistic approach
(most common management errors cont.)

A previous failed change effort is not
acknowledged or addressed or learnt from

Past not treated with respect

Technocratic approach to transitions, i.e.
linear (cause and effect)

Lack of resources (time, money, etc.)
The formula for success now
is no guarantee
of success in the future
The Hardest Organisation To
Change is a Successful One
(or one which perceives itself to be successful)
ie why dabble with the formula for success?!!
BUT
“…over 40% of the businesses listed in the 1985
Fortune 500 are not in business today…”
Karlson Hargroves et al, 2005
Active Inertia

Strategic frames become blinkers
 Processes become routines
 Relationships become shackles
 Values become dogma
Important question is “…what is hindering us?…”
Definition of insanity!
eg - happy the way we are (zone of comfort)
- custodians of the traditions, etc
The combination of cultures that resist change
and managers who support the status quo is
lethal for any change process
“…Status Quo: Isn’t that Latin for the mess we are in now?…”
(AIM 2000)
ATTITUDES TO CHANGE
“…Change creates fear in established
organisations and paranoia in the minds of
executives hired to protect the status quo…”
 Working harder
and harder
Gene Landrum, 1996
“…like driving a car and putting your foot
down harder on the accelerator when you
should instead change gears…”
 Seen
as a threat unless staff have ownership
 Trust
is one of the first casualties
(attitudes to change cont.)

Encountering change too often
“…alternates between short bouts of radical
surgery and long doses of studied
inattention…”

Conflicting messages of change, ie staff are
encouraged to realise their aspirations but basic
needs such as job security are threatened

Code word for “something nasty”

Pushes people outside zone of comfort
(attitudes to change cont.)

People feel that they are not in control of
what is happening (learned helplessness)

Indications of resistance – mistrust,
resignations, transfers, absenteeism (includes
phantom), lateness, lower productivity, loss of
quality, slowdowns, wildcat-strikes,
sullenness and quarreling

WIIFM, ie gains and losses

Creates conflict and chaos
Most Models Over-Simplify the Situation
Change is very
• contextual
• situational
Most Models Are Like Supernova
Quotes
“…All models are wrong – some models are
useful…”
Edward Deming (1980)
“…The value of the model is not in its predictive
power but in its power to catalyze reflective
conversations…”
Andrea Shariro (1999)
“…There is no science of transformation, only an
art…”
Fortune Magazine (1996)
Limitations of Overseas
Models for Australia
Australia’s situation is different from other
countries like USA, Europe and Japan.
Seven Ingredients for Effectively
Handling An Organisational Change
(see hand-out)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Laying a foundation for new ways (includes
building on the past)
Establishing a sense of urgency
Forming a transitional team
Creating alignment
Maximising connectedness
Creating short-term wins
Consolidating performance improvements
There is overlap between the ingredients, and different degrees
of emphasis needed in different situations
Resistance to Change

It is normal
 People are concerned about loss (real &
perceived)
 Need to understand what is under-pinning
the resistance
 Minimise time in this area by focusing most
attention on supporters of the change
Communications

Communication Formula
Words (20%)
Body Language (40%)
Tone (40%)

Make communications receiver-friendly
Culture is Complex, Powerful,
Deep & Stable

Change challenges current culture. It requires
“unlearning” and “relearning” which can be very
painful and slow
 Three parts to culture
i) behaviours, ie action, words, relationships, etc
ii) symbols, ie physical environment, recognition
concepts, etc
iii) systems, ie reporting, performance management,
etc
Change will not Last if Management
is Hypocritical






Preaches teamwork but rewards individual contribution
Preaches customer service but rewards adherence to
rules
Preaches risk-taking but rewards an absence of errors
Preaches feedback but rewards no criticism
Preaches entrepreneurial flair but rewards only narrow
job perspectives
Preaches decentralised and/or delegated authority but
congratulates “hands-on” management
Workshop
(Successful Organisational Transition)
Partnership with Centre of Executive Education,
Bond University
Locations
Brisbane
Adelaide
Darwin
Sydney
Perth
Melbourne
Dates (2007)
August 21 & 22
August 28 & 29
September 5 & 6
September 18 & 19
September 25 & 26
October 3 & 4
For more details visit web sites
- www.bond.edu.au
or
- www.billsynnotandassociates.com.au
Book (on sale here)
Toolbox for Change:
a practical approach
by Bill Synnot & Rosie Fitzgerald
Are you feeling bewildered by the pace of change
today’s world?
 Do you want to understand and change behaviours
and attitudes to improve relationships and
productivity in your work/life/community?
Do you want to improve your handling of people,
especially those who disagree with or misunderstand
you?
(Book: Toolbox for Change cont.)

Do you want to improve your communications
skills?
 Do you want your group to function more
effectively?
 Do you suffer from unnecessary “busyness”?
 Do you want to be more creative in your approach to
challenges?
 Do you want to be more competitive?
 Do you want to harness more support for a new
direction?
If your answer is “yes” to any of these questions, you
need this book!!!!!!!!
(Book: Toolbox for Change cont.)
There are 60 widely-applicable, userfriendly tools divided into 7 sections:
- general (10)
- personal awareness (11)
- understanding culture (13)
- creative thinking (9)
- understanding resistance (8)
- understanding teams (5)
- understanding value, vision & mission
statements (4)
Toolbox for Change cont.
This book will help you
- identify problems that need solving (causes, not just
symptoms)
- achieve ownership of the problem
- find the most appropriate solution
(more details see web site :www.billsynnotandassociateses.com.au)
Some Tools
Driving Forces Analysis
Forces
Direction Impact
(+/-)
(L/M/H)
Control
(C/S/U)
Strategies
Life-cycle approach
Non-verbal signals


As stated before, in communications body
language and tone of voice are more
significant than words
Describes ways to read and understand nonverbal signals
Story-telling

Explores the importance of story-telling
 Details 6 ways to improve your story-telling
Understanding yourself
A series of questions so that you can understand
yourself and others who work with you
Analyse the Way you Spend
your Time

This will show how we waste most of our
time by doing work that is not adding value
to the customer
 Most managers waste more than 50% of
their time doing “re-work” and “non valueadding work”
Network mapping
This tool explores how the “informal”
network works
Creative thinking
The 6 hats that help structure a meeting so
that it is more productive
Bill Synnot’s contact details
Address: Bill Synnot & Associates, 18th
Floor, 300 Queen St., Brisbane
or 15 Hipwood St., Norman Park, Qld, 4170
Phone: 0418 196 707
Fax: 07 3399 7041
Email: [email protected]
Skype: bill.synnot
Web: www.billsynnotandassociates.com.au