Step One – Increase Urgency for the Change

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…

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