How to Handle Change in Your Organisation

1
How to Handle Change in Your Organisation

• Breakfast presentation
• for
• Society of Business Communicators (Qld)
• by
• Bill Synnot
• at
• The Chifley at Lennons, Brisbane
• May 2, 2007

2
Topics to be Covered

• Framework as a road map to create a
  peak-performance, innovative agile organisation
• Analyse you and your organisations current
  capability in meeting the change challenge
• How to turn around an unsuccessful change process
  and/or keep a successful organisation on track

3
Topics cont.

• Identify, explore and overcome the most common
  pitfalls and management errors in organisational
  change that can result in an ineffectual process
• Address the challenge of implanting the change
  process permanently into your organisations
  culture (including behavioural change)

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Six Characteristics of aPeak-Performance,
Innovative, Agile and Robust Organisation

• 1 Customerfocused
• 2 Concentrating more on leadership less on
  management/administration
• 3 Entrepreneurial (based on innovation)
• 4 Peopleorientated
• 5 Tightly Focused on decisive opportunities
• 6 Resilient
• (for more details see article on web site
  www.billsynnotandassociates.com.au)

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Change
means experiencing something different and/or
doing something differently Usually with the
basic aim of Increasing the organisations
capability to adapt to and adopt new ways of
doing business
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QUOTES

• organisation today - has to be designed for
  change as the norm and to create change rather
  than react to it
• Peter Drucker, 2001
• it is not the strongest of the species that
  survives, nor the most intelligent it is the one
  that is the most adaptable to change
• Charles Darwin as quoted in Harvard Business
  Review, 1998
• . . .you can resist change and win one or more
  battles, but you will lose the war...
• Noel Tichy, 1999

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(quotes cont.)

• Few goals are more challenging to achieve than
  significant change in adult human beings
• Howard Gardner, 2006
• Three things can be said about change in
  todays increasingly competitive environment
  its hard, its necessary and most people are
  bound to resist it
• Noel Tichy, 1999

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(quotes cont.)

• change does not come from a slogan or a speech.
  It happens because you put the right people in
  place to make it happen
• Jack Welch as quoted in Jack Welch et al, 2001
• An organisation is a web of interconnections a
  change in one area can throw a different part of
  the organisation off balance. Managing these
  ripple effects and the unexpected outcomes is the
  challenge of change
• Harvard Business Review, 1998

9
(quotes cont.)
The real voyage of discovery consists not in
seeking new lands, but in seeing with new
eyes Marcel Proust as quoted by David Osborne
in Re-Inventing Government, 1993 Given the
choice between changing and proving that change
is not necessary, most people will get busy on
the proof John Kenneth Galbraith quoted in
Australian Financial Review, 1999
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(quotes cont.)
When the rate of change inside an institution
becomes slower than the rate of change outside,
the end is in sight Jack Welch, 2001 it has
become a truism that the only constant is change
with one change overlapping with another, the
time-frame to accomplish change is shortening
Harvard Business Review, 1998
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(quotes cont.)
the question that faces the strategic
decision-maker is not what his/her organization
should be tomorrow. It is what do we have to do
today to be ready for an uncertain
tomorrow Peter Drucker as quoted in AFR
Boss, 2000 Change programs often seem like
theyre being shot out of cannons. They start
with a bang, then quickly fall flat
Harvard Business Review, 1998
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(quotes cont.)

• the challenge of unpredictability can be met by
  remaining flexible at all times, recognising
  change as inevitable and an opportunity, and not
  locking yourself into a set path
• Michael Chaney in AFRBoss, 2002
• Change involves combining inner shifts in
  peoples values, aspirations and behaviours with
  outer shifts in processes, strategies,
  practices and systems...It is not enough to
  change strategies, structures, and systems,
  unless the thinking that produced those
  strategies, structures and the systems also
  changes
• Peter Senge, 1999

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Levels of Change
Personal Group Organisational Environmental
NB There is overlap interaction between the
different levels
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Stability is No Longer the Norm
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Competition comes from where you least expect
it In a survey it was found that industry
newcomers not the traditional competitors had
taken the best advantage of change over the past
ten years...by profoundly changing the rules of
the game Gary Hamel, 1997 eg Murdoch, Branson,
Gates, etc
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SACRED COWS MAKE THE BEST BURGERS
an outmoded belief, assumption, practice,
policy, system or strategy, generally invisible,
that inhibits change and prevents resources being
used for new opportunities Robert Kriegel et
al., 1996
17
Remember

• Over 50 of technological breakthroughs that
  influence an industry or organisation come from
  outside that industry
• 
  Peter Drucker, 2001

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Point of Diminishing Returns

• This involves organisations trying to wring the
  last efficiency out of business models that have
  reached their use-by date their strategies are
  indistinguishable from their competitors

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Why Do Some Organisational Transition Efforts
Fail ?
In many organisational transitions, the gap
between expectations and achievements is very
large
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The J-Curve
OrganizationsPerformance
VOD
Time
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Most Common Management Errors

• generally social and behavioural causes
  frustrate change initiatives rather than
  technical problems
• Patrick Dawson, 2005
• Each table to identify some common management
  errors

22
(most common management errors cont.)

• Not understanding the organisational culture and
  imposing your views
• Lack of ownership or emotional buy-in by staff
  at the start of the process
• Not co-creating, ie staff and management not
  working together
• Structural inertia - most organisations are
  designed to promote stability

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(most common management errors cont.)

• Ignoring that change will be a threat to the
  status quo, ie balance of power
• Law of unintended consequence - overacting
  doing the wrong thing
• Not psychologically ready, ie importance of
  timing
• Ignoring that change is a personal journey, ie
  human aspect of change (dealing with people)

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(most common management errors cont.)

• Underestimating the importance of intuition (gut
  feeling) and story telling, while over-focusing
  on conventional measurement
• One Size Fits All/Silver Bullet/Instant Coffee/
  Magic Wand/Cure-all Recipes/Quick Fixes/
  Management by Best Seller (the boom theory of
  change)
• Too much complacency (paying lip service,
  organisation too successful, not holistic
  approach, etc)

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(most common management errors cont.)

• Not realising that change is a continuous process
  that needs regular reviews
• Lack of a sense of urgency (not shared)
• Not focusing on the correct issues, such as
• - concentrating on the tangibles (hard options
  eg economic incentives, organisational structure,
  etc)
• - ignoring intangibles (soft options eg
  corporate culture, values, beliefs,
  relationships, personal journey, etc.)
• - concentrating on symptoms rather than causes
  (shifting-the-burden)

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(most common management errors cont.)

• Change fatigue - too many/multiple change
  projects
• Need to achieve balance between
• - hard and soft approaches
• - present (short-term) and future
  (long-term)
• Too many fiefdoms/silos/stovepipes/cocoons/
  kingdoms allowed to exist/prevail
• Not appreciating the power of leverage, ripple
  effect, interdependence, time delays and holistic
  approach

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(most common management errors cont.)

• A previous failed change effort is not
  acknowledged or addressed or learnt from
• Past not treated with respect
• Technocratic approach to transitions, i.e. linear
  (cause and effect)
• Lack of resources (time, money, etc.)

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Current Situation

• The formula for success now
• is no guarantee
• of success in the future

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The Hardest Organisation To Change is a
Successful One(or one which perceives itself to
be successful)
ie why dabble with the formula for success?!!
BUT over 40 of the businesses listed in the
1985 Fortune 500 are not in business
today Karlson Hargroves et al, 2005
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Active Inertia

• Strategic frames become blinkers
• Processes become routines
• Relationships become shackles
• Values become dogma
• Important question is what is hindering us?
• Definition of insanity!

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Problem of Status Quo Thinking
eg - happy the way we are (zone of comfort)
- custodians of the traditions, etc The
combination of cultures that resist change and
managers who support the status quo is lethal for
any change process
Status Quo Isnt that Latin for the mess we
are in now? (AIM 2000)
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C . A . V . E
(Citizens Against Virtually Everything)
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ATTITUDES TO CHANGE

• Change creates fear in established
  organisations and paranoia in the minds of
  executives hired to protect the status quo
• Gene Landrum, 1996

• Working harder and harder
• like driving a car and putting your foot down
  harder on the accelerator when you should instead
  change gears
• Seen as a threat unless staff have ownership
• Trust is one of the first casualties

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(attitudes to change cont.)

• Encountering change too often
• alternates between short bouts of radical
  surgery and long doses of studied inattention
• Conflicting messages of change, ie staff are
  encouraged to realise their aspirations but basic
  needs such as job security are threatened
• Code word for something nasty
• Pushes people outside zone of comfort

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(attitudes to change cont.)

• People feel that they are not in control of what
  is happening (learned helplessness)
• Indications of resistance mistrust,
  resignations, transfers, absenteeism (includes
  phantom), lateness, lower productivity, loss of
  quality, slowdowns, wildcat-strikes, sullenness
  and quarreling
• WIIFM, ie gains and losses
• Creates conflict and chaos

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Most Models Over-Simplify the Situation

• Change is very
• contextual
• situational
• Most Models Are Like Supernova

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Quotes All models are wrong some models are
useful Edward Deming (1980) The value of
the model is not in its predictive power but in
its power to catalyze reflective
conversations Andrea Shariro
(1999) There is no science of transformation,
only an art Fortune Magazine (1996)
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Limitations of Overseas Models for Australia

• Australias situation is different from other
  countries like USA, Europe and Japan.

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Seven Ingredients for Effectively Handling An
Organisational Change (see hand-out)

• Laying a foundation for new ways (includes
  building on the past)
• Establishing a sense of urgency
• Forming a transitional team
• Creating alignment
• Maximising connectedness
• Creating short-term wins
• Consolidating performance improvements
• There is overlap between the ingredients, and
  different degrees of emphasis needed in different
  situations

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Resistance to Change

• It is normal
• People are concerned about loss (real
  perceived)
• Need to understand what is under-pinning the
  resistance
• Minimise time in this area by focusing most
  attention on supporters of the change

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Communications

• Communication Formula
• Words (20)
• Body Language (40)
• Tone (40)
• Make communications receiver-friendly

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Culture is Complex, Powerful, Deep Stable

• Change challenges current culture. It requires
  unlearning and relearning which can be very
  painful and slow
• Three parts to culture
• i) behaviours, ie action, words, relationships,
  etc
• ii) symbols, ie physical environment,
  recognition concepts, etc
• iii) systems, ie reporting, performance
  management, etc

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Change will not Last if Management is
Hypocritical

• Preaches teamwork but rewards individual
  contribution
• Preaches customer service but rewards adherence
  to rules
• Preaches risk-taking but rewards an absence of
  errors
• Preaches feedback but rewards no criticism
• Preaches entrepreneurial flair but rewards only
  narrow job perspectives
• Preaches decentralised and/or delegated authority
  but congratulates hands-on management

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Workshop(Successful Organisational
Transition)Partnership with Centre of Executive
Education, Bond University

• Locations Dates (2007)
• Brisbane August 21 22
• Adelaide August 28 29
• Darwin September 5 6
• Sydney September 18 19
• Perth September 25 26
• Melbourne October 3 4
• For more details visit web sites
• - www.bond.edu.au or
• - www.billsynnotandassociates.com.au

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Book (on sale here)Toolbox for Change a
practical approachby Bill Synnot Rosie
Fitzgerald

• Are you feeling bewildered by the pace of change
  todays world?
• Do you want to understand and change behaviours
  and attitudes to improve relationships and
  productivity in your work/life/community?
• Do you want to improve your handling of people,
  especially those who disagree with or
  misunderstand you?

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(Book Toolbox for Change cont.)

• Do you want to improve your communications
  skills?
• Do you want your group to function more
  effectively?
• Do you suffer from unnecessary busyness?
• Do you want to be more creative in your approach
  to challenges?
• Do you want to be more competitive?
• Do you want to harness more support for a new
  direction?
• If your answer is yes to any of these
  questions, you need this book!!!!!!!!

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(Book Toolbox for Change cont.)

• There are 60 widely-applicable, user-friendly
  tools divided into 7 sections
• - general (10)
• - personal awareness (11)
• - understanding culture (13)
• - creative thinking (9)
• - understanding resistance (8)
• - understanding teams (5)
• - understanding value, vision mission
  statements (4)

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Toolbox for Change cont.

• This book will help you
• - identify problems that need solving (causes,
  not just symptoms)
• - achieve ownership of the problem
• - find the most appropriate solution
• (more details see web site www.billsynnotandassoc
  iateses.com.au)

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Some ToolsDriving Forces Analysis

• Forces Direction Impact Control Strategies
• (/-) (L/M/H) (C/S/U)

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Life-cycle approach
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Non-verbal signals

• As stated before, in communications body language
  and tone of voice are more significant than words
• Describes ways to read and understand non-verbal
  signals

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Story-telling

• Explores the importance of story-telling
• Details 6 ways to improve your story-telling

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Understanding yourself

• A series of questions so that you can understand
  yourself and others who work with you

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Analyse the Way you Spend your Time

• This will show how we waste most of our time by
  doing work that is not adding value to the
  customer
• Most managers waste more than 50 of their time
  doing re-work and non value- adding work

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Network mapping

• This tool explores how the informal network
  works

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Creative thinking

• The 6 hats that help structure a meeting so that
  it is more productive

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Bill Synnots contact details

• Address Bill Synnot Associates, 18th Floor,
  300 Queen St., Brisbane
• or 15 Hipwood St., Norman Park, Qld, 4170
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email rp000073_at_a1.com.au
• Skype bill.synnot
• Web www.billsynnotandassociates.com.au