Transcript Presentation to the Welfare Reform Oversight Committee

Managing Change
Traditional Approaches
to Change Have
a Poor Track Record
Let’s Try Something
Different
What is Change?
Quotes to help us determine
what change means to us….
“It is not the strongest species that
survive, nor the most intelligent, but
the ones who are most responsive to
change.”
Charles Darwin
What is Change?
“Freedom, the means by which men and
women deal critically and creatively
with reality and discover how to
participate in the transformation of
their world.”
Paulo Freiri
What is Change?
“The art of progress is to
preserve order amid change and
to preserve change amid order. ”
Alfred North Whitehead
What is Change?
“They say that time changes things,
but you actually have to change
them yourself. ”
Andy Warhol
“If you have always done it that way,
it is probably wrong. ”
Charles Kettering
Change
What We Know
Causes of Change
Conditions that may cause change
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Economic conditions
Laws and regulations
The marketplace
Technology
Growth
New management
What is causing change for you?
Impacts of Change
Change can impact
• People
– Attitudes, Behavior, Expectations, Perceptions
• Systems
– Work processes or methods
• Infrastructure
– Authority relationships, Staffing
• Economics
Where do you see the impact?
Impacts of Change
For individuals, change can impact
• Relationships
• Home life
• Behaviors, actions
• Thoughts
• Work
• Finances
How We Think About and
Respond to Change
Kurt Lewin
Unfreezing
Original
Mind Set
Changing
Refreezing
Movement
Stabilizing
How We Think About
and Respond to Change
William Bridges
author of
Transitions
New
Beginnings
Endings
Neutral
Zone
How We Think About
and Respond to Change
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
[Stages of grief]
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Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
How We Think About
and Respond to Change
TTM: Trans-theoretical Model
of Behavior Change
[popular in treating illness/addiction]
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Pre-contemplation
Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance
How We Think About
and Respond to Change
Change is physically painful
• New studies show that change lights up a
particular area in the brain – this area can
be likened to RAM memory in a PC
• This area of the brain is fast and agile – but,
capacity is finite
• When pushed beyond the limits, the brain
sends a sense of discomfort, that may
manifest in fatigue, or even anger.
An Early Stage of Change
Example:
http://escalator
Traditional Change Management
The focus is on a lengthy process …
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Establishing the need for change
Working to get employee buy-in
Trying to change institutional culture, attitudes
Communicating, usually from the top down
Getting support from leadership
Planning/analyzing
Celebrating - as a way of motivating
Traditional Change Management
Historically, a poor track record …
• 31% of CEO’s who fail, do not manage
change appropriately
– The top reason for their failure
• The cost of mismanaged change is Billions
of dollars
• Change ‘gurus’ say that most change
attempts fall short
Group Activity
Recall an unsuccessful change
experience
• What made it difficult?
• Top reason it failed?
Traditional Change Management
Reasons why change attempts fail
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Too focused on overcoming staff resistance
Don’t address or resolve core issues
Leadership is absent or inadequate
Competing internal systems/priorities
Too much change going on
External pressures/conditions
Poor ideas
Change
What can be done?
Group Activity
Recall a successful change experience
• What made it work?
• Top ingredient for success?
Critical Success Factors
Primary ingredients for successful change
• Clear, shared vision of the change
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Commitment to the vision (all levels)
Staff involvement
Capacity: resources, time, financing
Clear communications
Action: Set goals/expectations, implement
plan, track results, revise
A Different Approach
to the Change Process
Basic Steps - to take with staff ….
1. Determine what really need to change
– Stay away from why – this may lead to blaming
– Staff envisioning exercise
2. Discuss how the change will take place
For example:
– Who will lead it? Who will help?
– How fast?
– Discuss goals/strategies that reflect internal and external
conditions
A Different Approach
to the Change Process
3. Take action on the how
Examples:
– Do series of small changes to build confidence and
success
– Small pilots
– If needed, modify the what
4. Set direction and move forward
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Create and follow a change implementation plan
Sample plan template (see last slide)
Group Activity
Examine current change efforts…
• What issues are you experiencing?
• Any critical success factors missing?
• What does your process look like?
• What actions may be missing?
Actions for Success
It is important to …
1. Help change behavior to promote what
is needed, not what you have
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Try out new behaviors in experiments/pilots
Acknowledge and reward when it works
Compare/contrast the new and old
Behavior changes will lead to important
attitude changes
Actions for Success
2. Model the struggle to change
• As staff sees leaders rise to the
challenge, they are more willing to
experiment and question old habits
3. Build clear description of the workplace
with the change
• What staff will see and hear that they
don’t today
Actions for Success
4. Develop a plan; create infrastructure
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Set plan and expectations in place
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Involve staff and influential people respected
by the team
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Start pilots on issues that staff want to resolve
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Track progress and best practices – what
works; what doesn’t
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Post results
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Revise plan and goals as needed
Actions for Success
5. Help shape department culture
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Check: Is the department mission relevant?
Does it inspire and motivate?
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Ensure staff responsibilities contribute to goal
achievement
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Promote accountable decision-making
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Include staff in determining how tasks should be
done
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Encourage open, honest communication
As behavior changes, so does attitude
Actions for Success
6. Appropriately address employee issues
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Hold staff to expectations; coach low performers
to maximize team results
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Reward operational gains; this encourages
positive behavior and attitude changes
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Encourage professional development
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Staff who cannot adapt, may leave
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Some staff may need re-positioning
Consult with Human Resources as needed
Maintaining Morale During Change
• Listen; demonstrate understanding of issues
• Communicate openly; foster transparency
• Give staff creative control over their
responsibilities
• Provide support as needed
• Keep a sense of humor
• Recognize achievements
Change
Congratulations … you are now on
your way to becoming a successful
change agent
“Be the change that
you want to see in the world.”
Mohandas Gandhi
Change Bibliography
Beckhard, Richard and Harris, Reuben T., Organizational Transitions: Managing Complex
Change Addison-Wesley Series on Organization Development, 1987
Bridges, William, Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, Revised Edition, Da Capo
Press, 2004
Collins, James C., Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t,
Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 2001
Dixon, Patrick, Futurewise: Six Faces of Global Change, Profile Books LTD, UK, 1998, 2002,
2003, 2004
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, The Change Masters, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1984
Kotter, John P., Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press, 1996; The Heart of
Change, Harvard Business School Press, 2002; Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and
Succeeding Under Any Conditions, St. Martin’s Press, 2006; A Sense of Urgency,
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2008
Schein, Edgar H., Organizational Culture and Leadership, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2004
Change Activities
3 different activities
to guide your path to change
Activities are designed to do in
succession
Change Activity 1
Determining what needs to change
Group Activity:
Identify a critical department need. Compare the
perceived change needed to the department’s
or division’s current mission, vision and goals.
• Is the change in line, or is it at odds?
• Evaluate Pros and Cons of the change.
• Determine: Is the change a good idea? How
could it be better?
• Would the change be better implemented in
stages or all at once?
Change Activity 2
Determining how the change is to be made
Group Activity:
• Identify the top 3-5 priorities/goals
• Complete a SWOT analysis with staff.
Identify the department’s internal strengths and
weaknesses, and the external opportunities and
threats
• What critical actions, people resources and
timing are needed to implement the desired
change
Change Activity 3
Suppose the department budget has to be cut
by 10% (can change the %)
Group Activity:
Review goals to determine what change is needed
• How may tasks, resources and/or timing be
changed to minimize expenses?
• What activities can be eliminated because they
do not support the achievement of key
goals?
• Does behavior need to change?
Plan Template
RUMBA each goal
Is the goal: Realistic? Understandable? Measurable? Believable? Achievable?