understanding change

Self-initiated

change (high

autonomy)

“The Leader‟s relationship and attitude to change plays a key part in the way that change is managed within the

organization”

“Understanding your organization makes easy to make

changes”

CONCEPT 1 : Lewin (1947) : 3 stage

model of Attitude Change

Unfreezing - strategies for gaining support for change

Moving - reducing resistance, motivating, cultural change

Refreezing - evaluating and anchoring change in organization

Unfreezing

• Breaking down existing ways of

doing things

• Discarding conventional methods &

behavioral patterns

• Introduce new methods & behavior

Techniques:

• Education,

• Communication,

• Participation in decision-making,

etc.

Changing or Moving

• Move towards proposed change

• New learning

• It is a time of trial & error

• Careful guidance –problems arise – tackled efficiently

Refreezing

• New beliefs, attitudes gained, behavior learnt are implemented

• Manager – Change agent’s role

• Reinforcement

CONCEPT 2 :Kotter (1996) : Change Management Process

• Establish a sense of urgency

• Create a Guiding Coalition (a critical mass to drive change)

• Develop a Vision and Strategy

• Communicate the Change Vision

• Empower Action

• Generate Short Term Wins

• Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change

• Anchor New Approaches in Culture

CONCEPT 3 : Morgan (1986) : 8 Core Metaphors

• Machines (Efficiency, waste, maintenance, order, clockwork, cogs in a wheel, programs, inputs and outputs, standardization, production, measurement and control, design)

• Organisms (Living systems, environmental conditions, adaptation, life cycles, recycling, needs, homeostasis, evolution, survival of the fittest, health, illness)

• Brains (Learning, parallel information processing, distributed control, mindsets, intelligence, feedback, requisite variety, knowledge, networks)

• Cultures (Society, values, beliefs, laws, ideology, rituals, diversity, traditions, history, service, shared vision and mission, understanding, qualities, families)

• Political Systems (Interests and rights, power, hidden agendas and back room deals, authority, alliances, party-line, censorship, gatekeepers, leaders, conflict management)

• Psychic Prisons (Conscious & unconscious processes, repression & regression, ego, denial, projection, coping & defence mechanisms, pain & pleasure principle, dysfunction, workaholics)

• Flux and Transformation (Constant change, dynamic equilibrium, flow, self-organization, systemic wisdom, attractors, chaos, complexity, butterfly effect, emergent properties, dialectics, paradox)

• Instruments of Domination (Alienation, repression, imposing values, compliance, charisma, maintenance of power, force, exploitation, divide and rule, discrimination, corporate interest)

Using CONCEPT to help understand your organization

• What personal CONCEPT would you use to describe your organization?

• What does the CONCEPT that you chose to describe your organization say about your relationship with it?

• Do you have any control or power, or are you ‘powerless’? Do you want to bring about any change? Do you stand a chance?

The Organisational Iceberg(based on Hellreigel, Slocum and Woodman (1998)

Overt Procedures

Formal Organization Organizational Structure

Technology Financial Resources

Policies and Objectives

Formal Roles / Job Descriptions and Titles

Formal Communication Structures

Rules and Regulations „Public Culture‟

Hidden Ethos „Private Culture‟ Values Norms

Organization Attitudes towards one another Loyalties

Personal Aspirations and Goals Power Networks

Management Styles and Values Motivations and Commitment

Rumour machine Fairness in the Reward Systems Cliques

Threats Bullying Hidden Rules The Silent Majority

Success and rewards for those „in the know‟ Psychological Safety

Reasons for Change

Factors may lead to a necessity for change

• To improve performance

• To reduce waste and inefficiency

• To improve management control and satisfaction of the employees

• To improve the quality and productivity of an organization

• To compete in the changing market environment

• To achieve the desired business results as early as possible

Making Change Happen

Two Approaches to Organizational Change

– Organization Development (OD)

• Formal top-down approach

– Grassroots Change

• An unofficial and informal bottom-up approach. Change that is spontaneous, informal, experimental, and driven from within.

Barriers to Change - identifying the root causes

Its only by

analyzing where the

problem lies that

you can decide what

to do, and work out

what strategies to

put in place -

strategies should be

context specific

Understanding the barriers to change

Individual Resistance

• Lack of trust in those leading process of change

• Confusion about purpose of change

• Lack of consultation and involvement in process of change

• Loss of personal power or freedom

• Loss of identity/status - where identity is tied into position

or title

• Fear of the unknown or future

• Loss of skills and the need to retrain, so loss of expertise

• Life

• Where is the Individual on the ‘ Change Transition’ curve?

Institutional Resistance

• Change not locked into strategic development

• ‘Wrong’ timeframe

• Organizational culture has an in-built inflexibility (new titles but

same old systems and structures beneath)

• Inexperienced and inflexible managers who lack charisma, leading

change

• Threats to existing power holders

• Lacks a ‘fresh’ view of situation

• Carries a history of poor change management

• Poor people management

Kinchington (2004)

Overcoming Resistance to Change

– Education and communication

– Participation and involvement

– Facilitation and support

– Negotiation and agreement

– Leadership

Change Agents

Change Agents

Persons who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing the change process.

Types of Change Agents

Managers: internal entrepreneurs

Non-managers: change specialists

Outside consultants: change implementation experts

Personal Responses to Change

(Lewis-Parker 7 stage ‘Transition Curve’, 1981)

1. Immobilization + shock (mismatch between expectations v reality)

2. Denial of Change

3. Incompetence (resulting in increased awareness and frustration)

4. Acceptance of Reality (willing to let go)

5. Testing (working out ways of dealing with the new reality)

6. Search for Meaning (internalizing the situation and trying to make

sense of it)

7. Integration (leading to changing viewpoint and behaviors)

Managing Stress on Change

1. Individual Approaches

– Implementing time management– Increasing physical exercise–Relaxation training– Expanding social support network

2. Organizational Approaches

– Improved personnel selection and job placement

– Training– Use of realistic goal setting– Redesigning of jobs– Increased employee

involvement– Improved organizational

communication– Offering employee sabbaticals– Establishment of corporate

wellness programs

Strategies normally used by managers to Handle Resistance:

• Avoidance

• Providing Information

• Participation

• Manipulation

• Negotiation

• Power/Force

But maybe a more individualized -tailored approach should be considered

1. Do not ignore the people side of “change Management”

The practice of Change Management is a combination of the methods used by people (usually management teams) within organizations to ensure organizational transition is completed efficiently and effectively.

2. Interpersonal and communication skills

Their interpersonal and communication skills so that they could help their staff overcome the pains associated with change.

3. Stop thinking of change management as a stand-alone initiative and start accepting it as an everyday reality

4. Anticipate what and where the resistance will be and plan for it accordingly

All managers need to realize that resistance to change is normal. Given that change is an ever-present reality in today’s work place, it is safe to say that resistant behavior is inevitable in most organizations. Managers need to identify this behavior and help staff manage it by utilizing the proper interpersonal and communications skills.

Lessons from School LeadersFlintham (2005)

1. Heroic Head - rescues school from failure

2. Consolidator Head - steady hand on tiller

Rebuilds fractured relationships and bruised morale in schools that have been through crisis

or tragedy

3. Nurturing Head

4. Pruner Head -

cuts away dead wood to make room for

new growth

5. Visionary Head - sees long term potential and has

extended plan for its achievement

But what if there is a

mismatch? …..

So, where are the ‘sticking points’ in your organization?

• Do they lie?

• Where do you need to start?

• SWOT?

• How urgent is the need to change?

• Is the change Self-Initiated or Imposed/ Mandated?

Let’s Start the Change …