THEORY 59

MOSS KANTER AND CHANGE MASTERS (CROWN AS QUEEN)

Use this to identify the abilities you need when managing change.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is rightly regarded as one of the great innovators in change theory. She uses the term Change Masters to describe managers who are at the forefront of change within their organisations and suggests that they all share the same seven abilities.

Tune into the environment

Change masters:

  • tune into the environment and identify new opportunities, threats and ideas before others;
  • use kaleidoscope thinking and encourage staff to indulge in blue sky thinking;
  • communicate a clear vision and inspire others to become excited by their vision;
  • build coalitions and enlist the support of others;
  • work through teams and get the commitment of everyone whose efforts are required to make the vision a reality;
  • persist and persevere and are not discouraged by obstacles and problems;
  • make everyone a hero by celebrating achievements and acknowledge all contributions that helped make the change work.

Moss Kanter argues that effective change masters should, firstly, focus on tasks where the emphasis is on results not procedures; secondly, organise people into teams with complete responsibility for their part of the end product; and, finally, create an atmosphere which emphasises the value of the people involved.

HOW TO USE IT

  • Work with a small group of people to examine what new ideas, opportunities and threats face the organisation (see Theories 67–70). Encourage the team to indulge in blue sky thinking and challenge assumptions that hinder progress. Canvass other staff for their ideas about what needs to change. Make sure that all ideas are acknowledged.
  • Identify what changes need to be made and put together your change plan (see Theory 62).
  • Communicate a clear vision for change and use it to inspire others while building coalitions and enlisting the support of others (see Theories 17–19, 60 and 65).
  • In a large project organise people into sub-teams and give them complete responsibility for their part of the job.
  • If you have just one team, ensure that members own the project and don’t expect you to be responsible for everything. They must take responsibility for their part of the project (see Section 5).
  • At first, focus on tasks which produce concrete results not procedures. This will give the team something tangible to celebrate and undermine the doubters.
  • Don’t be discouraged by obstacles and problems. Managing the difficult middle section of any project is hard. The change is underway, when suddenly resources dry up, obstacles arise and critics crawl out of the woodwork. Morale sags and momentum slows down. That’s the time to follow Churchill’s advice and ‘Keep Buggering On’.
  • On completion, celebrate everyone’s achievements and acknowledge all contributions that helped make the change work.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

  • How am I going to create an atmosphere in which team members feel valued?
  • Which of the seven activities listed by Moss Kanter am I going to find most difficult? What am I going to do to deal with this?
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