Transcript Document
Winning with Change
LESSON 1
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.
A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him,
"Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day
long?”
The crow answered: "Sure, why not.”
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the
crow, and rested.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared,
Jumped on the rabbit... and ate it.
Moral of the story is….
To be sitting and doing nothing
you must be sitting very, very high
up.
Producing change
80 percent leadership -
establishing direction,
aligning, motivating, and
inspiring people –
20 percent management planning, budgeting,
organizing, and problem
solving
Unfortunately, in most of the
change efforts, these
percentages are reversed
The Change Road Map
“The road ahead is full of landmines.”
The nature of change unfolds in a series of dynamic but manageable phases that require preparation.
The Change Monster by Jeanie Daniel Duck, Crown Business, 2001 (Illustration by Gene Mackles)
Lessons to be Learned
•Fraternity can’t die – IOOF
•The American Carmakers – Edward Demming
•Sony Walkman (1979) – Every 3 weeks for 19 years
•Microsoft – 10 new products daily
Eight Steps to Change
“Progress is impossible without
change, and those who cannot
change their minds cannot change
anything” - George Bernard Shaw
1.
Establish a Sense of Urgency
Examine external realities
Identify and discuss crises, potential crises, or
major opportunities
dissatisfaction with the status quo
2. Realize the Future Potential
Create a picture of the future desired to help direct
the change effort
Identify the Gap between Now and Then
Don’t sugar coat Now
Develop strategies for achieving that future
Keep it manageable and realistic
Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk
from here?”
Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where
you want to get to.”
Alice: “I don’t much care where.”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk,” said the cat.
“…so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the cat, “if you only walk
long enough.”
3.
Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition
Assemble a group with enough influence to lead the
change effort
Encourage the group to work as a team
Rewards or incentives exist for participants
4. Communicate the Potential Future and the
Gap
Use everything possible to communicate the new
future and strategies
Teach new behaviors by examples of leaders
Most leaders under communicate their future gap
Leading by example - People watch their leaders
very closely
Inconsistent behavior by a leader fuel cynicism
and frustration
Resist the past or present sucesses
5. Empower Others to Act on the Gap
Get rid of obstacles to change
Change systems or structures that
seriously undermine the future state
Encourage risk taking and
nontraditional ideas, activities, and
actions
Leadership takes the blame for all
failures, others get the credit
Develop action plans for all stakeholder
groups that are not sufficiently
committed.
6. Plan for and Create Short-Term Wins
Plan for visible performance improvements
Create those improvements
Recognize and reward members involved in the
improvements
Build consistency with newer members
Manage both timelines – old and new
7. Consolidate Improvements and Produce Still
More Change
Use increased credibility to change systems,
structures, and policies that don't fit the future
Promote and develop members who can implement
the future
Reinvigorate the process with new projects,
themes, and change agents
8. Institutionalize New Approaches
Articulate the connections between the new
behaviors and organizational success
Develop the means to ensure leadership
development and succession
Some Simple Realities
Confronting opposition and opponents is a painful
necessary
If obstructive ringleaders will not reform, they will
have to leave
People generally cannot get motivated by a
discussion of the past or even the present
The Truth About Coping With Change
“Every project has three phases: It
will never succeed; It will cost to
much; and I thought it was a good
idea all along” - Anon
Resistance to Change: Organizations
Organizations are conservative – actively resist
change through structural and group inertia and
threats to member expertise, power relationships
and established resource allocations (this includes
real and perceived reward mechanisms)
Resistance to Change: Organizations
Organizations have built-in mechanisms to
produce stability – they systematically select
certain people in and certain people out. People are
chosen for and then shaped and directed to behave
in certain ways
When the organization is confronted with change
this structural inertia acts as a counter balance to
sustain stability
Resistance to Change: Organizations
Even if individuals want to change their behaviour,
group norms act as a constraint
Any redistribution of decision-making as the result
of change threatens the long-established power
relationships
Groups in the organization that control sizeable
resources often see change as a threat, those that
benefit from current allocation of resources feel
threatened by changes that may effect future
allocations
Resistance To Change
Can be overt, implicit, immediate, or deferred
Easier to deal with when overt and immediate
Positive since it provides a degree of stability and
predictability to behaviour
Without resistance organizational behaviour will
lead to chaotic randomness
You Can Teach Old Dog New Tricks
“Neither a wise man nor a
brave man lies down on
the tracks of history to
wait for the train of the
future to run over him.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
Resistance to Change : Individuals
Sources of resistance:
Habit - Programmed responses to cope with
complexities of life
Security – Those with a need for security resist as
it threatens their sense of insecurity. Fear that they
cannot perform new tasks or routines
Fear of the unknown –You trade known for the
unknown and the fear that goes with it
Challenge: Status Quo Guardians
“We have always done it this way.”
-Misunderstand or don’t know history
“We have never done it this way.”
-Likely not doing anything
Listen to the “old timers”
Don’t be intimidated; it’s your decision
Don’t be manipulated to name someone to a
committee just because he always did the task
before.
101% Principle
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” vs. “I’ll see it when I
believe it.”
Tradition – Habit - Bullflop
Dealing with “That Guy”
• Characteristics
•Is a problem carrier
•Is a program finder
•Is a problem creator
•Is a problem receiver
• Handling
•Respond with a positive comment
•Show your concern with someone being criticized
•Encourage steps for a resolution
•Ask him to think before speaking
•Keep him away from others
• Are You that Guy?
•Do you experience conflict almost daily?
•Do people rub you the wrong way?
•Do bad things happen to me?
•Do I always seem to say the wrong thing?
Participation
Having members participate in decisions that affect
them is no panacea
A potent force for combating resistance to change
Must have adequate time to participate
Must have the ability to participate
Participation can reduce resistance, obtain
commitment and increase the quality of the change
decision
Additional Resources
Drucker, Peter. Managing the Non-Profit
Organization. Harper Paperbacks, 2006.
Drucker, Peter. Managing in a Time of Great
Change. Harvard Business Press, 2008.
“Managing Change and Getting People on Your
Side.” The Center for Leadership Excellence,
Baltimore, 1998.
Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and
Practice of the Learning Organization. Broadway
Business, 2006.
Questions?
“Greatness is not in where we
stand, but in what direction we are
moving. We must sail, sometimes
with the wind and sometimes
against it – but sail we must, and
not drift, nor lie at anchor” –
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Thank You!
John Dorner
[email protected]