You?re a senior leader in this age of unrelenting change. As you lead your company and executive team, you know your business needs to undergo major change to remain profitable. You?re committed to using your organizational power to make the change happen. You are not a bull in a china shop, however!? You know lasting change must be led and implemented in a thoughtful manner using an?organizational change model like Kurt Lewin?s,?Unfreeze Change Refreeze?or John Kotter?s,?Eight Steps for Leading Change. Given all of this, you?re ready to go, right? The answer is almost, but the success of your change effort can improve with some assessment work first.
I frequently find that many senior leaders know the importance of initiating and implementing change efforts in a thoughtful manner.?They are also committed to sponsoring the change with the authority that comes with their positions. Where do they fall short at times? ?Many senior leaders under estimate the degree of effort it will take to implement and sustain meaningful organizational change. Being at the top of the organization, they are removed from some of the operational factors and people issues that can derail any change effort. To better understand the dynamics within their organization that hinder change, senior leaders must ask the following three questions:
1. How ready are managers in my company for this organizational change?
The support of managers at all levels of the organization is critical to the success of any organizational change effort. Senior leaders need to know where their direct reports truly stand in their support of the change effort. ?Are they committed to supporting this change or are they just giving lip service? Senior leaders also need to know what their middle and entry level managers feel about the proposed changes. Change efforts often stall at lower management levels in the organization.
Some of the information you will need to know to determine how ready your managers are for change are the following:
- Are my direct reports effective sponsors for this change?
- Do managers in my organization communicate effectively with their team members?
- Which managers will be major obstacles to implementing this change?
As you gather this information, you may find that you need to do some work with your managers before you begin an organizational change effort. Some organizational restructuring may even be necessary. The alternative?forcing the change without addressing significant management obstacles?produces poor change outcomes.
2.?How ready is my organization for this change?
Senior leaders sometimes find that they have the support of enough critical stakeholders to make meaningful organizational change. (Everyone can see the proverbial?handwriting on the wall?announcing the company?s doom if the company does not change!) Despite this group wisdom, senior leaders may still not get the change outcomes they need. This happens because the organization with its various policies, practices, and culture is not ready for change.
Some of the information you will need to know to determine how ready your organization is for change are the following:
- Does my organization use specific measures to assess business performance?
- Does this change effort support other major activities in the organization?
- Are we rewarding people for being innovative, taking risks, and solving problems?
As you gather this information, you?may identify some significant obstacles that require immediate attention before you launch an organizational change effort. This could be an operational or equipment change or reallocation of resources to support the pending change effort.?The alternative?launching the change without addressing significant organizational obstacles?fosters employee cynicism.
3.?How ready are my employees for this organizational change?
Employees are the critical group for the successful implementation of any change effort. When employees are not ready for change and are forced to do so by management, they will find a way to resist. Employee resistance can be indifference (loss of interest in their work), passive (doing only what they are told to do), and active (sabotaging the effort with deliberate errors or by slowing down). Senior leaders do well when they take steps to minimize employee resistance before the launch of a change effort.
Some of the information you will need to know to determine how ready your employees are for change are the following:
- Do my employees understand our customers? needs?
- What is the state of employee morale in the organization?
- Do my employees feel personally responsible for their success in the organization?
The advantage for you of assessing the readiness of your managers, organization, and your employees prior to launching a change effort is that it gives you a realistic overview of what is truly needed to implement organizational change. As you thoughtfully work with your leadership team, managers, and employees with a change model like Lewin?s or Kotter?s, you will already have addressed critical barriers that would have derailed the change effort at its launch. You?ll also understand the sustained time and commitment that will be necessary to undertake meaningful organizational change in your company.
About the Author
Hello, I'm Robert Tanner. I'm the author of the Management is a Journey Blog and the founder and principal consultant of Business Consulting Solutions LLC. I help managers who struggle with the people side of the business to improve employee morale and operational effectiveness. Thanks for visiting!
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