This post is a sub-set of Managing Change. It is the second in a series of eight posts, designed to provide more detailed information about each of the the eight steps of the Change Management Process.

The second step in planning and managing a successful change process is to create a team to guide the decision making about the change. Members of the team should balance leadership with management skills, should be the ‘right people’ in terms of peer group credibility and trust, and who have (or can make) time available to focus on effective teamwork and guiding the change project.

Purpose of the Team.
The purpose of the guiding team is to ensure the change is successfully implemented and entrenched within the organisation. Responsibilities to achieve this include:

• Create the Vision (see Step Three) to describe the purpose of the change;
• Maintain and monitor the communication plan – ensure planned messages are consistent, delivered by various media and speakers and monitor how well the message is being understood and accepted;
• Create the change plan and assign actions to overcome resistance, complacency, fear, agression, etc;
• Govern the change – monitor what has been achieved and what has not yet been closed out of the change plan;
• Define the new behaviours – tell people what they should stop doing, and what they should start doing differently;
• Reward people who are aligning to the change, and hold them up as an example to the rest of the organisation;
• Remove barriers and roadblocks for people in the organisation who are changed with tasks to facilitate the change (see Step Five);
• Communicate and Listen! (see Step Four).

The team must commit to meeting and guiding the change on a regular and frequent basis, which will maintain the momentum for the change.

Composition of the Team
The team should balance a whole range of skills, experiences and viewpoints and include people:

• who share an understanding for the need for the change;
• with strong leadership and visionary skills, who are enthusiastic, articulate and passionate about the change;
• with strong planning and management skills, who have attention to detail and are passionate about getting things done;
• who can communicate with all levels of the organisation using different styles, media and techniques, with strong networks;
• who are trusted and respected by their colleagues;
• who are able to make time for and commit to the change effort and the Guiding Team; and
• from all levels of the organisation. We have seen Guiding Teams fail because they were made up entirely of senior management staff. Select people who can represent and interact with all levels of the organisation.

In other words, these people are usually already very busy creating change within the organisation!

What’s Next? Step Three – Develop the Vision…

This post is a sub-set of Managing Change. It is the first in a series of eight posts, designed to provide more detailed information about each of the the eight steps of the Change Management Process.

The first step in planning and managing a successful change process is to increase the urgency for the change and create dissatisfaction for the status quo.

All change starts with the individual.
Each individual faced with impending change needs to first hear and understand the change before acting and behaving in a manner consistent with the change. As change agents, we must show individuals the need for the change (ie why the change is mandatory) and identify and communicate the corporate and individual benefits of the change. It is only when individuals act and behave in a manner aligned to the change that we see groups (such as business units) working productively and cohesively in the changed environment.

The Change Coping Cycle
We are all created with an in-built mechanism to protect us and give us time to adapt to changes: it is called the Change Coping Cycle. We individually progress through the stages of the Change Coping Cycle, (ie from Shock to Denial, Acknowledgement, Adaptation, Growth and finally an acceptance in a new Comfort Zone.)
Individuals progress through the stages of the Coping Cycle at different speeds and must be allowed time for each stage. People can get stuck for a while in any stage (eg Shock, Denial, Acknowledgement, etc) and need help to move around to the next phase of the Coping Cycle.

Why must we Increase Urgency for the Change?
People typically prefer the status quo to significant change. We are often complacent in the face of communicated change for many reasons, including our natural tendencies to deny that change is needed, especially if we are already busy or stressed at work. Some of the other typical reasons for complacency include:

• The absence of any major and visible crisis;
• Low overall performance standards and a tolerance for current performance ratings;
• Too much ‘happy talk’ from senior management which seems at odds with the need to change;
• Too many visible resources (eg expansive meeting rooms, plush surrounds, flying first class every time, fat cat functions, etc) which seem to contradict the need for change;
• Lack of performance feedback from external sources and measurement systems that perhaps focus on the wrong indicators / metrics;

How to Increase Urgency for the Change

Here’s a set of ideas which we have found useful in the past:

• Show the need for the change. Express the problem and the opportunity clearly, logically and personally. Gain input from business people about the possible solutions.
• Make the message tangible. Use emotions and feelings, not just logic and numbers, which can often be ‘dry’.
• Use evidence you can see to generate urgency for change. Be creative when you demonstrate the nature of the current problem.
• Create actions or activities that dramatise the end of the old way. Don’t just talk about endings – signal the new beginning. Cortez the Conquistador burned the boats on the shores of Veracruz to demonstrate to his troops that there was no ‘going back’!
• Use external feedback. Organise for a customer, supplier, partner, etc to express the problem (or need for change) as they perceive it.
• Don’t underestimate complacency, fear and anger. Try not to be surprised when faced with passive and even aggressive resistance to change.
• ‘Reward’ individuals for demonstrating new behaviours which are aligned to the change and the vision. Rewards can be as simple as a special mention in a memo, a monetary bonus, a gift voucher, some time off in lieu of increased productivity, etc.

What’s Next? Step Two – Build the Guiding Team…