| The Change Process |
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In today's environment the question of whether or not to change is irrelevant - it is inevitable. So….
Why cant effective organisations both execute strategy and be responsive to change? and…
How do managers and leaders cope with the barrage of changes that confront them everyday just to keep their organisations current and viable?
We've all heard comments like:
· If it ain't broke don't fix it
· We've always done it that way
· We've done it this way for 35 years
· We don't take risks…then we are not disappointed.
Change is a fact of life so we must not be complacent and just go with the flow. We must develop strategies to plan, implement and control change. Good diagnostic skills are not enough, managers must be able to adapt their leadership style to fit the demands of an ever changing environment.
So what do we need to know ?
We need to understand why:
The key elements of understanding are learning and the meaning of change. Learning is a straight forward concept; individuals perceive actions and results. The results reinforce future action, the more successful the results the more frequent the action - we are in a growth cycle. In organisations we think through the problems develop policies, guidelines systems and procedures and install controls based on past successes. Think about the simple anthill - this example demonstrates a highly successful organisation - everybody "knows their job" they get on with it and it works!!
Learning is a natural and powerful guide to success. But it can also be a tremendous barrier to change when the environment changes. We are rational people, we hold on to actions that have brought us success in the past and reject information and actions that seem to threaten our success.
3 key phases in the Change Process
Unfreezing
The aim of unfreezing is to motivate and prepare the individual or a group for any change. It is a thawing out process where the individual or group take on new perceptions that allow them to see the need for and accept the change. It is the breaking down of the customs, mores, values and traditions and the old ways of doing things - so that they begin to accept alternatives.
Drastic times sometimes call for drastic measures where individuals are physically removed from their accustomed routines, information and relationships; their social supports are undermined and destroyed; they may experience demeaning and humiliating situations to "help" them recognise that their old attitudes and behaviours are unworthy, thus motivating them to change; and the consistent linking of reward with the willingness to change and punishment with the unwillingness to change
Changing
When individuals have become motivated to change they are ready to adapt to new patterns of behaviour. This can be achieved through most forms of training, coaching and mentoring. Models of the new methods allow individuals to adapt and learn new behaviour patterns by identifying and becoming like them.
A more forceful method occurs when there is a need to change for survival. New behaviours are demanded of them if they are to operate successfully in the new situation. eg Alcoholics Anonymous, psychotherapy or counselling; where change may be achieved through various forms of coping behaviour.
Force or compliance may occur when it is imposed by someone in a position of power and is controlled though reward and punishment. The change may appear to have taken affect but sustainability is often difficult as when the change agent is not present the new behaviours are dropped
Re-freezing
This is the process of integrating the new patterns of behaviour into the individuals personality and mindsets. The need for ensuring that the new environment, where the individual carries out the new behaviour, is continually reinforcing the change. Training programmes may flounder if the new environment is not conducive to the change. We must consolidate the new behaviour as normal behaviour otherwise it will dissipate over time and will potentially fall back into the "old way of doing things" A programme of continuous reinforcement will consolidate the learning of new behaviours more quickly. As the learning takes effect, an intermittent reinforcement may prevail until the new pattern of behaviour is firmly embedded as the "new culture" for lasting change.
The need for change
As a business develops the need for change develops gradually and it is perceived differently by the winners and the losers. Imagine the following scenario:
If a new competitor enters the market he is fully reinforced in his behaviour and develops a set of actions that are handsomely rewarded over a long period of time (if the strategy is right of course)
New competitor enters market - So what!!…we are the leaders - we have been for 25 years
Sales reps report price pressure - We are profitable..the newcomer is losing money..anyone can give the product away
New competitor adds capacity - It must have cost a fortune - they wont recover
New competitor steals customers and poaches staff - We have never lost any staff or customers we wanted to keep
New competitor becomes profitable - its only a segment
New competitor becomes leader and profitable and we lose profitability - WE HAVE A PROBLEM ?
The traditional competitor attributes today's profits to today's actions. However today's actions are usually a consequence of long ago. The new competitor expects market penetration to be costly. He can't make the "old errors" because he doesn't have the baggage. Old behaviour is rewarded and new information is rejected. Experience is often clouded by the resistance to move with the times and only the loss of profitability is the first major signal that's is taken seriously.
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Why do people resist change?
Change creates fear and anxiety about the unknown and the future.
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What is it all about? |
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Will I understand what I have to do in the new environment? |
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Will I have a job next week? |
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Will I have a completely different job? |
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Stability is often perceived as real value but when information is presented that threatens stability and muddies the waters it may be perceived as not worth taking the risk.
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If cause and effect is poorly understood, the risk of change is great and the benefits are perceived as nebulous. Business as usual you say and as long as the business is reasonably successful the action of resistance will be reinforced and learned more deeply, making change much harder. It results in negative learning.
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In organisations, the difficulty in understanding cause and effect is compounded by the complex relationships among people and systems. An ant acting independently is rejected by the others. The whole organisation must learn new behaviour patterns, relationships and systems for new behaviour to be constructed.
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We need to understand the prevailing resistance and perhaps carry out a stakeholder survey so that appropriate action can be undertaken to "unfreeze" them.
Seven Golden Rules for a CEO
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1. Match the organisation to today's strategy and understand that the organisations success will increasingly place pressure on the need to adapt and change. |
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2. Seek new information and with it continually revise your view of the world. |
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3. Create a culture of learning within the organisation not "the way we do things around here". |
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4. Change the company's strategy focus as the environment evolves and build into the corporate culture the capability to lead as well as change with the environment. |
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5. Encourage the need for innovation and maintain a balance over effective administration. |
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6. CEO must be a creator and hire administrators - the reverse is rarely true. |
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7. CEO must be personally comfortable with opportunities and at the extreme be willing to manage them. |
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1. Diagnose the present condition, including the need for change |
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2. Set goals and define the new state or condition after the change |
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3. Define the transition state between the present and the future |
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4. Develop strategies and action plans for managing the transition |
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5. Evaluate the change effort |
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6. Stabilise the new condition. |
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Conclusion
We need to continually innovate and exploit new opportunities. We must motivate behaviour not control it. Motivation is a key factor to successful change, which is created through leadership but DON'T CHANGE FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE and remember… A strategy that is not implemented is no strategy at all.
View the Model
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need to know more....
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