Organizational AdaptAbility
The Individual Mandate
Every organization is simply the sum of its parts. In organizational change, people make up the most critical component. For an organization to reach its first major milestone in a change initiative, the majority of people impacted by the change must have successfully transitioned from Discomfort to Discovery. Unfortunately, once individuals have reached Discovery, they often forget what it was like to go through Denial, Doubt, and Discomfort. In organizational change, doing so has a disastrous effect.
As the graphic on the facing page shows, there is a cadence of Discovery that needs to happen before the organization can effectively reach the “new normal” or NEXT.
According to research, organizations fail to reach their change goals due to the following:
- Managers not understanding the fundamental principles of change management
- Managers falling to the temptation for quick fixes or simple solutions
- Managers not fully appreciating the significance of the leadership or cultural responsibilities of change
- Managers not appreciating the significance of people and their experience of change
- Managers lacking the credibility and trust of those they lead
When referring to managers, the research includes both formal and informal change leaders. Failing to understand the fundamental components of the Nature of Change and the Change Curve will reduce the likelihood of achieving the full benefits of the change initiative. Realize that every person, be they manager or not, will experience the sequential and predictable stages of change.
In order for the organization
to be successful, it must
empower, equip, enable, and engage
the heart, head, and hands
of every individual involved.
Change Management Process
Dr. John Kotter of Harvard University first published his work in 1997 on leading change. The focus of his work was on the process that organizations need to follow to reduce the resistance faced by employees during a company’s change initiative.
Unlike the Change Curve that focuses on the individual experience, Kotter presents eight sequential steps that leaders need to complete as part of a change management process. When followed, in tandem with the Change Curve Success Strategies, we have a robust toolkit to more effectively lead organizational change.
As the graphic colors indicate, there are three phases in Kotter’s model. These phases align with the Nature of Change. Steps 1 through 3 are in the NOW phase, where we are creating the climate for change. Steps 4 through 6 are in the TO phase, where we are engaging and enabling the organization. Steps 7 and 8 are the NEXT phase, where we are integrating and sustaining the change behaviors within our organization.
Step 1: Create Urgency
Before we can actually engage people in organizational change, we need to identify why the change is happening and why it must happen now. Without creating a sense of urgency, there is nothing to stoke the fire of engagement. Understanding the benefits and desired results of a change is critical to the initial communication plan.
There already exists in most organizations business processes to validate the ROI and cost benefit analysis of any initiative. We will not dig further into those business processes. However, we will need to emphasize the ability to clearly communicate at all levels the urgency that is driving the organizational change effort. For example, a delivery driver or front-line operator will not necessarily hold much urgency in a change that only benefits the stockholders of the company (unless they own stock).
At the heart of any change messaging,
we must clearly articulate the “why”
and the “why now”, and do so
for all levels of the organization.
Step 2: Form a Powerful Coalition
Many organizations miss the opportunity to develop a powerful change leadership team. The benefit of taking the time to purposefully and practically consider the best members to be in change leadership cannot be overstated.
Involving different functions, levels, and types of employees (part-time, full-time, individual contributors, supervisors, etc.) provides the best opportunity to understand how the change will affect their peers and those they influence. The tendency is to create teams of people we already know will support the change often leaving out those with high influence, those highly impacted by the change, or those with the potential to derail the initiative.
If we can successfully build a team of diverse voices, perspectives,
and experiences, we are better equipped to navigate organizational change.
Step 3: Create a Vision for Change
Many change initiators feel that it is their responsibility to craft the vision and mission that should be communicated to the organization. This is not supported by research. In fact, the best people to craft this message are the guiding coalition that has been selected to lead this change. Leveraging the information gathered in Step 1, the change leadership team, with consult of the executives and change initiators, should craft the larger communication plan.
Realizing that many on the change leadership team may not have marketing and communications experience, it is vital that these internal or external resources be provided to the change leadership team. It should also be noted that these marketing communication professionals should not have the authority to demand or direct, but rather coach and consult.
Most organizations attempting to manage change neglect to prioritize Steps 2 and 3, resulting in a less effective or even failed change initiative.
Step 4: Communicate the Vision
An email isn’t a communication plan. An effective change management communication plan will leverage every possible means of communication to create a strong, singular, and successful change message. Using visual communication like display boards, posters, and intranet sites provides mass messaging that can be seen by many. Voicemail broadcast, vlogs, and announcements in team meetings, provides the human connection needed by most people experiencing the Change Curve.
It is said that only 7% of a message is understood when sent via text or email. Adding tone of voice and the human connection increases that understanding to 45% of the message. Providing context and interaction further expand the understand ability of the message being sent.
In a nutshell,
face to face is best,
voice to voice is effective, and
email communication
should be only a supporting action.
Step 5: Empower Action
Successful changes involve the head, the heart, and the hands of everyone being impacted by the shift. When power is held tightly at the top or quietly communicated in meetings of the elite, resistance will build. The more people involved, the better the chances of success.
Empowerment will begin with the initial communication of the vision by the change leadership team – if that team effectively represents a wide breadth of the organization.
Empowering action involves delegation. Delegating is effectively entrusting others with the power and responsibility to do or enact a part of the mission and vision. Notice the word “entrust.” Leadership trust is the single most powerful resource that an organization has in leading and managing change. We demonstrate this trust by involving others and delegating.
Empowering action also involves demolition. Removing obstacles and providing a clear path for those with change responsibilities is just as critical as delegating.
When management steps up to the plate and makes empowering decisions, they reduce conflict and further build trust.
Step 6: Create Quick Wins
Quick wins don’t just happen! They require a plan that is systematic, purposeful, and practical. Real change takes time and any change risks losing momentum if milestones and moments are not celebrated. However, it is impossible to celebrate something that hasn’t been measured or been part of a plan to achieve.
Without short term wins,
those that were once supportive
of the change can lose heart
and join the ranks of the naysayers
and those that are resisting the shift.
A good rule of thumb is to hold monthly or quarterly celebrations that highlight progress and show appreciation to those that have contributed to the progress. Additionally, taking time to individually acknowledge those that have gone above and beyond will further build trust and goodwill.
Step 7: Build on the Change
Be careful not to declare “mission accomplished” when there is still work to be done! There will be a temptation to declare a change complete when the first major milestone is reached. Doing so will result in decreased morale and the possibility of losing momentum completely.
Balancing phases and stages with metrics and milestones that are planned well in advance and consistently communicated, will reduce the temptation to declare victory prematurely.
As we reinforce and refresh troops on the battlefield, we also need to reinforce and refresh those leading change. In long-term change initiatives, having a staffing plan that provides terms of service (like a senator or member of congress) can provide team members with the option to continue with the project while opening opportunities for others to join.
This is also a great time to revisit and reinforce the “why” and “why now” messages that can get lost with the passage of time.
Step 8: Make It Stick
Culture is defined as “the way we do things around here.” Until a change has been anchored into the culture, it is not considered successful. Earlier, I shared the incorrect assumption that “70% of change efforts fail.” Although there isn’t empirical evidence to support that claim, it is understandable as so many change efforts never succeed in becoming culture.
Integrating the expected behaviors into onboarding, orientation, professional development, and other forms of organizational learning and development is essential to anchoring the change. Having a maintenance and sustainment plan that is agreed to prior to the change completion will significantly contribute to the success of your change initiative.
It is imperative that leaders recognize
(and take full responsibility),
for guiding and modeling the behaviors
they desire and expect of others
as they lead their change initiatives.
Kotter’s research provides practical and tactical actions we can take to reduce change failure. By integrating his research with the Nature of Change and the Change Curve, we build a robust toolkit and further develop our AdaptAbility.
AdaptAbility and Culture
A research survey conducted by the Katzenbach Center had similar conclusions as other change research in that only about half of organizational change projects accomplish and sustain their goals. What was interesting about the Katzenbach research is the focus they had on culture as it relates to transitions and transformation initiatives in organizations. The data from the participants showed:
- 84% think culture is critical to business success
- 60% say culture is more important than strategy or operating model
- 45% do not feel their culture is being effectively managed
- 47% do not feel culture is not a priority for their leadership team
- 24% said their company used existing culture to drive the change effort
- 70% said change efforts were successful and culture was a used as source of energy and influence
There seems to be a clear disconnect between what many companies say about culture and how they leverage their culture in change management activities. It usually appears that culture is more an afterthought at the integration stage, rather than a critical lever to reinforce the sense of urgency and need for the change to happen. As leaders, we should be managing change in parallel with managing culture, providing that both are aligned and moving in the same direction.
The research also gave insight to the link between culture and change fatigue and change scarring.
- The #1 barrier that prevents sustainable change is too many competing priorities, creating change fatigue in the culture of the organization
- The #1 reason people resist change is that they are skeptical of any new changes due to past failed change efforts, creating change scarring in the culture of the organization
As mentioned earlier, culture is simply the way we do things around here. It is the organization’s values, mission, and vision. It encompasses the formal policies, but also informal ways that work happens. It is how people describe the workplace when talking to friends and family. Culture is, in fact, the organization’s personality and a critical source of employee morale, professional identity, and overall work engagement.
There is an overwhelming amount of research and shared knowledge about culture and change that we are not able to cover in this book. However, it is important to recognize that culture will either be effectively guided and nurtured, or will evolve on its own.
Culture can either be our greatest opportunity in organizational change,
or it can be our biggest obstacle.