Are you leading change? Or is change leading you?

Navigating change

R. Kevin Grigsby, MSW, DSWAAMC Sr. Director, Member Organizational Development

IAAP Leadership Training CampAugust 2014

1. Understand the difference between leading change and managing change

2. Better understand your own emotions regarding change

3. Learn four types of organizational change

4. Adopt new tools and strategies for dealing with different types of change

Objectives

“Vision without action is a daydream,

Action without vision is a nightmare.”

Japanese proverb

Are you leading change?

“Life is what happens to you. You have no say in what comes your way. Take what comes and make the best of it.”

Or is change leading you?

• Volatile• Uncertain• Complex• Ambiguous

The worst: VUCA

• The ability to encounter and survive situations lacking clarity and that may include inconsistent, vague, incomplete, and fragmented information

• “We are in limbo!”• Can be measured• Can be learned

Tolerating ambiguity

Four types of organizational change

Developmental – “a growing organization”

Transitional – “an expanding organization”

Structural – “complexity increase in the organization”

Transformational – “changing the culture of the organization."

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• A clear, compelling case for change is necessary but not sufficient.

• A thoughtful change strategy must be developed before leaving the present state.

• People want to know how they will get to the new state (action steps, support, rewards).

• They want to know what it will be like when they arrive (vision, roles, responsibilities, rewards).

• And they want acknowledgment of their real losses.

All types require strategy

• Make the case• Don’t assume• Create a strategy BEFORE you leave the

present• Tell everyone the expected action steps • Tell everyone what it will be like AFTER

the change • Acknowledge their real losses

Actions . . .

If things were simple, word would have gotten around.

- Jacques Derrida

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Developmental ChangeA growing organization Every organizational is in the midst

of a developmental processImprovements in what the

organization is already doingStrategy: Be mindful, deliberate (like

Thich Nhat Hanh)

Transitional ChangeAn expanding organization Organization is in the midst of major

change affecting all aspects of operations; dismantling of the “old way” and implementation of the “new way”

You can determine your destination before you begin to change

Example: Moving to a new building or different city

Strategy: Plan. Practice. Practice again.

Structural ChangeComplexity is increasing in the organization An organization changes how it functions or

operates re:◦Policy ◦Personnel◦Organizational hierarchy◦Physical environment

Strategy: Communicate, communicate, communicate! It is impossible to over-communicate about structural change.

Transformational ChangeChanging the organizational cultureFuture state is likely to be very

different and not fully understood at the outset

May result in the change of an entire industry

Requires an inner shift of mind state and an outer shift of behavior

Strategy: Never waste a crisis!

Eight steps to transform the culture

1. Establish a sense of urgency2. Form a powerful guiding coalition3. Create a compelling vision of the

future4. Communicate the vision5. Empower others to act on the vision6. Plan and create short term wins7. Consolidate improvement to produce

more change8. Institutionalize new approaches

Example◦One’s self image as an attractive,

healthy, active person is challenged.How?

◦You overhear a child describe you as “that fat guy over there.”

People change when what they value is threatened

1. Pre-contemplation2. Contemplation3. Preparation4. Action5. Maintenance6. Termination

Prochaska & Diclemente, 1986.

Change process in people

• You have not considered change, but you know you. Ask yourself: • What is holding me back? • What will it take for you to make a

commitment?

“Ignorance is bliss.”

Pre-Contemplation

• Seriously considering change, but not yet ready to start the change process. Ask yourself:• What will it take to make a

commitment to weight loss and exercise?

“Sitting on the fence.”

Contemplation

• You made a commitment to action. Think about the details involved. Will you take the stairs rather than the elevator? Order a la carte instead of having the buffet? Track your food intake and daily exercise routine? • Set goals: One day, one week, one month,

three months. Determine how you will reward yourself for accomplishing each goal.

“Testing the waters”

Preparation

• Put your plan in motion. Make your schedule and environment conducive to being active: Take the stairs, not the elevator. Don’t get the buffet. Go to the fitness center.

• Think in the long-term and stick to the plan. Reward yourself for sticking to the plan.

“Practicing new behaviors”

Action

• You are on your way to success. You have demonstrated the new behavior and sustained it over a specific time period – 6 months.

• Create a mental image of yourself exercising. Tell yourself you are an active person and then enact it.

“Sustaining the new behaviors”

Maintenance

• You did it! You are more active, less sedentary.

◦ “Consistently enacting the new behavior”

Termination

• Resumption of negative behaviors

• Consider it to be a part of the process. Use it as impetus for developing better coping strategies.

“Falling from grace (or off the wagon)”

Relapse

Common barriers to change

• Tyranny of the Urgent• Conspiracy of

Interruptions• Organizational structure

Silos, fiefdoms• Societal “realities”

Cultural arrogance, male-centeredness, fallacy of exception (we are so unique!)

Something always needs to be done

RIGHT NOW!

Feels like “putting out fires”

The Tyranny of the Urgent

Just when you get to the point of thinking you can do what you want to do –

Another URGENT need for action appears in your path!

The Conspiracy of Interruption

Often, change strategy is about what to stop doing . . .

Assessment

MissionValue

PerformanceValue

High/Low

Low/Low

High/High

Low/High

Expect “naysayers”-The Distracting D’s

Denial

Many persons are not conscious of how they are disrupting the change process

Dismissal

When confronted, people dismiss the disruptive behaviors as being of little or no consequence

Defensiveness

When dismissing the issue fails, persons often try to justify the behaviors and counter opposing points of view by arguing the behavior is functional or necessary

DiminishmentPersons turn against those who initiate change, those who promote change, or those who hold them accountable for disrupting change

At a minimum, they attack our credibility

Disengagement

Apathetic; may engage in learned helplessness; demoralization

Lights are on, but no one’s home

Avoid the knowing–doing gap

Use a solution-focused approach: 1. Keeps conversations away from whining2. Keeps the focus on problem solving and

away from making the error of thinking that talking about something is the same as doing something – it’s not the same!

Remain solution-focused

Start by gathering others and explain the model to

them.

Ask them to agree to adopt the “solution

focused” model for work related conversations.

The solution-focused model

Criticism alone can be irresponsible, as it does not lead to solving problems.

Agree that when criticizing, one must present a possible solution.

If you do not have a proposed solution, be brave and admit you have no solution, but are willing to keep working with the group to find a solution.

Be willing to compromise.

Be prepared to accept individual responsibility.

Remain solution-focused

When engaged in a conversation and the other party offers criticism, but no proposed solution, prompt them by stating “I understand your comments and feel some of them are valid criticisms. But please tell me, “What is your solution?”

Agree that if no solution is offered, the group will stick to a solution that has been proposed OR will continue to work to find a better solution

• Basic competency of influential leaders

• Self-awareness

• Mindfulness• Develop comfort with the “inner

self” and present themselves positively to others

Self awareness

• Duty of influential leaders• Use trust and accountability to

move an organization toward its goals

• Effective communication, cooperative attitudes, and integrated teams are the hallmarks of successful collaboration in the change process

Collaboration

• Strategy of influential leaders

• Create true connections with others

• Bring out the genius of others

Wiseman & McKeown 2010.

Connection

Adorno T, Frenkel-Brunswik E, Levinson D, Sanford N. The Authoritarian Personality, Studies in Prejudice Series, Volume 1. New York: Harper & Row, 1950.

Brown B. Daring Greatly. Gotham Books, 2012. Also see https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability

Erhard WH, Jensen MC, Granger KL. Creating Leaders: An Ontological/Phenomenological Model. In Snook S, Nohria N, Khurana R. The Handbook for Teaching Leadership: Knowing, Doing and Being. Sage, 2012: 245-262.Frisina ME. Influential Leadership. Chicago: AHA Press, 2011.

Kets de Vries MFR, Korotov K. Transformational Leadership Development Programs. In Snook S, Nohria N, Khurana R. The Handbook for Teaching Leadership: Knowing, Doing and Being. Sage, 2012: 263-282.

Kotter JP. Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 1995. Reprint 95204.

Prochaska JO, DiClemente CC. Toward a comprehensive model of change. In: Miller, WR; Heather, N. (eds.) Treating Addictive Behaviors: Processes of Change. New York: Plenum Press; 1986:3–27.

Schein EH. Organizational Culture and Leadership (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass, 1992.

Wiseman E. McKeown G. Multipliers. Harper Business, 2010.

References