Ok let us recap what we have covered earlier on the change management program.
Firstly, we talked about the change, the need for change and the change management program and how organization’s survival depends, in large part, on being able to successfully navigate changes.
Secondly, we also touched briefly on Kotter’s 8-Step “checklist” for managing organisational change, the SPPs and its impacts, change readiness and the resistance to change.
Moving forward as we go along, we will know that managing organizational change will be more successful if we have taken into cognizance all the above principles. In that respect, achieving personal change will be more successful too if we use the same approach where relevant. Change management entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes.
If we force change on people normally problems arise. Change must be realistic, achievable and measurable. Before starting organizational change, ask ourselves: What do we want to achieve with this change, why, and how will we know that the change has been achieved? Who is affected by this change, and how will they react to it? How much of this change can we achieve ourselves, and what parts of the change do we need help with? Having known all the cornerstone principle of change, it’s only worthwhile to go into detail and try to appreciate what Kotter’s 8-Step “checklist” for managing organisational change is.
John Kotter (See pic) says that the change process takes time and goes through several different phases in a successful change effort and that a mistake made during any phase of the change effort can have a negative impact on the organization [Kotter, John P. (1995). Why Transformation Efforts Fail? Cambridge: Harvard Business Review: pp. 59-67]. Kotter outlines an eight step process (See below) to help organizations transform. His model is useful in understanding that the change process takes time and is not something that happens overnight. It is essential for program leaders and communications staff to understand that the steps needed to support any transformation initiative take place during all phase of our initiative.
1. Establish a sense of urgency
This is key to setting the right "mood" for change, a sense of urgency works wonders specially if we can couple them with reachable short term goals designed to grab visible low hanging fruit. This is the fuel on which change runs.
2. Create the guiding coalition
Careful selection of indivuals here can go a long way in providing the continual energy for change to happen. People who are recognised as "influencers" by their colleauges can be of great value.
3. Develop a Vision and Strategy
Develop something but you are going to keep your eyes open to develop the vision and make corrections to the strategy. This allows for continual course correction which is vital, often we really don't know enough at the beginning so developing the vision and stragegy as learning happens is crucial to improving value.
4.Communicate the Change Vision
This is the key role of the Change Agent. Communicating the vision to everyone all the time makes it happen.... as people start seeing the end result more clearly in their imagination they start moving towards it. A good thing is to keep your eyes open for the non-believers and make them see that change is going to happen with or without them.
5.Empower employees for broad-based action
Sometimes involving only a few people tends to create island of influence, everyone seems to think that the change is the responsibility of a few and they go about in a business as usual manner. So the more the people involved the more certain that change is going to happen
6.Generate short-term wins
This is quite difficult to determine. Failure to do this could result on failure of the entire initiative. The trick is to identify short-term wins that everyone will recognise as adding values, one short term win can lead to another and before you know it change is well on its way.
7. Consolidate gains and produce more change
This is like mountain climbing, every time you reach higher you put a stake into the mountain and it allows you to stand on it and reach higher.
8.Anchor new approaches in the culture
Culture is a way of life, the change results can be anchored into the culture by establishing periodic reviews or including agenda items into existing review structures, KPIs, or other similar tools that go in building a culture.
Finally doing it at the end of each process is very important, I think that all of them are required in its orderly manner and its not about one being more important than the other, the important thing is to observe, learn and keep continuously correcting the course and nudging people in the right direction.
In change there is no direct cause and effect, one action in some place leads to many results in others.....Think about it for now....
Till then, have a wonderful day.
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