Change Management

WHAT IS CHANGE MANAGEMENT?

Change Management is primarily focused on managing the human aspect of change.??It is a discipline to guide individuals, teams, and organizations through their journey to successfully adopt change and move from the current state to a more beneficial future state.?The goal is no longer just to get through the next change initiative but “to develop and sustain an agile and resilient workforce” who embraces change with confidence, positive attitude, and engagement.

FUNDAMENTALS OF CHANGE

To be successful in implementing change, leaders must know some fundamentals about change:

1.?????Change Curve. Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross detailed the journey through a Change Curve.?As change disrupts the status quo, individuals go through an emotional journey of shock, denial, frustration (anger, shame), depression (or resignation, low energy, low morale), experimentation (consideration of possibilities/alternatives), decision (feeling positive), and integration (search for deeper understanding).?A leader’s role is to show empathy and support, demonstrate active listening, and provide clarity throughout the journey.

2.?????Successful change is a path, not a process. Leaders must provide a clear vision of the desired future state that the change will bring about to show that the change is not just a process to endure.?Build excitement by painting a clear picture of the better way forward.

3.?????It is the transition that is painful, not the change itself. A change leader’s job is to “help people thrive, not just survive in change”.?To do this, leaders must have a clear plan for change and how they will help individuals make the transition.

4.?????Change will take time. Leaders must factor in their plans and actions that adapting to change will take time.?Avoid the tendency to rush and progress things quickly.?Following a framework will implement change faster because there will be clarity and less unnecessary frantic activity.

5.?????Change is historical. People perceive change based on their past experiences with change.?Leaders should take the time to meet and discuss with employees about their related experiences to help them move forward better and faster.

6.?????Change requires visible champions. Leaders must consistently walk the talk and demonstrate the value of change through their behaviors and actions.?This will help gain confidence and commitment from the organization.

PHASES OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Phase 1:?The Change Readiness Assessment

Prior to implementing change, leaders must have clarity on what’s changing and why.?These bring focus on the change journey and result in consistent messaging to prevent chaos and uncertainty.?Leaders must ask and answer the following questions:

1.1??What problem is being solved or what opportunity is being addressed???Is it the right problem or opportunity?

1.2??Are you focused on your plans and actions and avoiding a change drift?

This is when you are solving the right problem or the right opportunity. You are also certain that no changes are being done that are not addressing the problem/opportunity.?In short, there is no scope creep.

1.3??Do you have a clear vision for the change??What is the reason for the change??What are you planning to accomplish???What will the future look like to the organization?

Leaders should paint an inspiring picture of the change to motivate and guide the employees through the hard parts of adapting to the change.

1.4??What are the details of the change??What processes, policies, jobs/roles must change and how?

Plans should have specifics to execute the right work on the right scope.?Clearly articulate how jobs/roles will be changing and what is the plan to help employees through the transition.

1.5??Who are the change owners???

The right team must be lined up and aligned with the goals for the change to be successful.

1.6??How will you measure success?

Define what success looks like. Develop and measure success based on pre-defined criteria.

Phase 2:?The Organizational Change Readiness Assessment

A leader’s readiness for change after successfully completing phase 1 does not necessarily mean that the organization is ready for change.??To assess the organization’s readiness, skill, will, and hill must be evaluated.

2.1??Skill. This evaluates the current organizational skills, the required skills to support the change, and the training plan to bridge the gaps.

2.2??Will. What are the organization’s current attitudes and behaviors regarding the pending change and what adjustments are needed??Employees might feel burned out due to too many changes, or some employees might be resistant to change.?This assessment also includes determining the organization’s capacity or bandwidth to accommodate extra work.

2.3??Hill.?These are the barriers of change that will have to overcome.?To help prevent these, leaders must plan to engage key stakeholders and get their inputs early.?There should also be r a Change Coalition team or role models that will champion communication with employees, town halls, employee bulletins, emails, and one-on-one conversations.

Phase 3:?Evoke Enthusiasm for Change

Leaders should position the change as a path to a better and compelling future state to create excitement while promoting the desire to get there sooner vs. later.?

3.1 Create enthusiasm for change by transparently describing the current state and why it will not work and comparing it with the future state.?Explain what is changing and what is not changing, the reason for the change, and specific timelines.?Clarify how this change links to the broader organizational strategies and goals.?In addition, articulate the personal impacts to the employees as well as the short- and long-term professional and personal benefits.?Continue to build credibility by also explaining the short- and long- term negative impacts of the change.?Then create excited urgency by frequently conveying the benefits of the change, sharing updates, offering rewards and celebrations along the way, and share past successes.?This excitement will develop anticipation for the next milestone.

3.2 Address enthusiasm blockers for change.?These include skepticism, under communicating the vision, misinformation, structures/systems that work against change, and change fatigue.?To address these, convey the vision for change 10x more than other communication, be transparent and communicate frequently and consistently, “make the old ways unavailable”, train employees to be skilled faster to support the change, and eliminate administrative busy work as soon as possible respectively.

Phase 4:?Move Employees to Commitment. Move employees to commitment by helping them understand how to change and get them invested in change.

4.1 Guide employees on how to change through the BEST Guide.?BEST stands for Behavior, Expectations, Skills, and Training.??Communicate clearly what are the behavior each one should demonstrate to support the change, listen attentively to employees’ expectations from the change, determine the skills required, and articulate the training to be provided.?This guide “forces leadership to think through commitments” and resolve capacity constraints.?To help accommodate the added work to support the change, leadership should be open to identifying work that can be eliminated or reprioritized.

4.2 Get employees invested in change by letting them feel safe, involved, and accountable. For them to feel safe, offer support through empathy, sharing stories of your own change experience, grant them access to change leaders for any questions or concerns they may have, and provide tangible support such as training.?To get them involved, provide a forum to voice concerns so they feel heard, and share a framework or process where they can thrive during change.?Make them feel accountable by having them understand their roles and responsibilities, what will change by when and how, consequences of unmet expectations, and recognize how they are being measured.

4.3 Have leader-initiated and empathy-driven one-on-one conversations between boss and employee to allow the employee “to share their past experiences with change, to voice concerns and share their emotions, insights, and ideas” and “help them overcome their individual barriers to change”.

Phase 5: Create New Habits. Form new habits so change sticks by following the principles of habit change, helping employees develop new routines, and by revisiting what is at stake or the benefits of change.??The principles of habit change essentially highlight the benefits of the new way over the old way.?The new way must meet four conditions:?should be obvious (more and/or better features and capabilities, etc.), attractive (many benefits), easy to implement (integrates well with other tools and daily activities) and satisfying (user friendly). The old way must have the opposing conditions: not obvious or invisible, unattractive, hard to implement, and unsatisfying.

Tina Machi

References

Biznewske.com. (n.d.). Elizabeth Kubler Ross Change Curve | Kubler Rose Stages of Grief.?Retrieved from: https://biznewske.com/elisabeth-kubler-ross-change-curve/

Carnegie, Dale. (n.d.). Managing Change in the Digital Era. Retrieved from: https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/resources/managing-change-in-the-digital-era?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=VIN%20-%20Specialization&utm_content=Specialization%20-%20Change%20Management%20-%20General%20-%20Exact&utm_term=change%20management&msclkid=7ad9d360db0e166bfbcdb38be9ccf8d9

Connelly, Mark. (n.d.). What is Change Management.?Retrieved from: https://www.change-management-coach.com/what-is-change-management.html#:~:text=What%20Is%20Change%20Management%3F%201%20Let%27s%20start%20with,Management%20Process.%20...%203%20Effective%20Change%20Management.%20

Mautz, Scott. (2021). Change Management Foundations. Retrieved from: https://www.dhirubhai.net/learning/change-management-foundations-10041380/change-management-foundations-course-overview