In business change always means doing something different.
For most people resistance to change is a real thing. You can judge this for yourself by considering how you feel if I insisted that you make the following changes:
◦ Wake up one hour earlier each day.
◦ Stop drinking coffee (or tea or your favourite drink).
◦ Sell your iPhone and buy a Samsung or vice versa.
I am confident that most of you felt the resistance to the change as I made my requests.
Resistance to change is a normal human reaction and not something for which to condemn people.
If the request for change comes out of the blue, as the change requested above did, resistance will be greater. However, if the request came together with a reasonable explanation of why it was made, then the degree of resistance softens.
“ I am asking you to get up one hour earlier each day so that I can spend some quiet time with you before I have to dash off to work”, explains the husband to his wife.
“ I am asking you to stop drinking coffee six times a day because it is adding to the arrhythmic issue with your heart”, says the doctor to the patient.
“ I am asking you to sell your iPhone and buy a Samsung so that you are able to use the common software that we use in the company and is only available on android”, says the boss to the employee.
The First principle
Give people an authentic reason for the change request.
It is simply a fact that as humans we will resist change if it does not make sense to us. Never try to bring about change without investing in the necessary, authentic communications of why the changes are necessary or desirable.
The nature of and source of change.
Change always means doing something different. In business, what is different can be many things. For example, increased targets, reduced budgets, changed processes, organizational change, new sales methods, new marketing methods, new IT systems and new reporting systems. These examples are just a few and the decisions driving the change are, hopefully, purposefully beneficial.
The two main drivers of change in a business are a change in strategy and a real or feared change, in the financial health of the company. A third driver of change is desired continuous improvement in various aspects of the business, for example, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, productivity, profitability, cost of goods and competitive advantage, to name a few.
Of course, there are external factors like Covid, Extreme weather or or a disruptive marketplace that will drive change. Usually the reason changes are needed in these circumstances are self apparent.
Sweeping change normally originates with senior management. But, change can originate at several levels in the organization. Individuals might make changes in the way they work to improve what they see as an ineffective process. Middle managers and their teams will often instigate change to improve the outcomes for their areas of responsibility. Functional heads will instigate change in response to regulators new or changed policies or to improve selected aspects of their function. Support groups in companies will have several programs designed to improve things which result in change throughout the business.
Most change comes from top down, even though the top starting level might vary. Change starting from the bottom up typically is contained within a department or area.
But what is common to all this change is the need to communicate the purpose behind the change.
The Second principle
Knowing why change is necessary is foundational, but equally important is knowing exactly what must change and how the change will be made.
All change can be seen as a combination of starting something or stopping something. Another aspect is how the change will be introduced and implemented.
In many instances of top down change middle managers are left to grapple with these questions. Often, the top down request for change is rolled out using colourful slides, a party like atmosphere and speeches by a senior manager. There might be a special logo designed for the occasion and, possibly, mugs and other trinkets carrying the logo are distributed. Everyone will be sent a new virtual background for those ZOOM-like meetings. Part of the package might contain templates for measuring the progress of the change.
And that’s it! The presenters return to their offices and middle managers are left to take it forward.
Implementation of a change does not stop at rollout. In fact, it only stops when the change in behaviour of those who are the target of the change has become the way of doing their work. That could take weeks, months or even years depending on the nature of the changes being made.
A good idea for senior management and support areas is to work with middle management on the implementation plan before roll out. In this way both roll out and next steps can be addressed.
So the second principle has two parts:
◦ Rollout is not implementation of change.
◦ Change is implemented when it has become the way that things are done.
This requires a commitment by the champion and owner of the change to see it through until it has stuck, meaning the change has become the way things are done.
To do a rollout and then expect middle management to take full accountability for the implementation of the change is not delegation of work but rather abdication.
Research indicates that 70% of company-wide changes fail to produce the results that were expected. And the chief reason is declaring victory too early. The abdication of the champion and or owner of the change is the major cause of this failure. It is understandable because so much change is requested to be implemented by middle management that the principle of the squeaky wheel getting the oil comes in to play.
A new program or change request will always come with a lot of enthusiasm from the champions. If the champion of the previous program has lost interest, then it’s logical that the new enthusiasm will grab the attention of middle managers. The result is a failed change effort. This is less a ‘flavour of the month’ cause than a lost commitment to see the previous change through. Middle management bandwidth for change, is another factor, which requires coordination across the company.
An experience I had when working with a major trust company in Canada is pertinent here. Managers of the branches were complaining that they were getting too many things to handle from Head Office. I ordered a study and it was clear that the manger and their, typically 6 branch employees were often asked to manage as many as 15 changes or training or promotions in a month. An impossible expectation. So they, as with many middle managers had to be selective.I instigated what became known as the ‘red page’. All requests to the branches whether from credit, lending, investments, marketing, sales, finance, compliance or customer service, went though a small department who scheduled if, what and when the request would make it to the branch. The requests that the branches had to focus on and get done were published in the red page. while it caused a lot of consternation at Head Office, it was a huge relief to the branches. Over time the system became more organized and varied from branch to branch depending on its demographics and customer profiles. The lesson I learned was that companies need to have a central view of what changes are being asked of middle managers if they are to succeed with any of them. The Trust company experience showed that fewer change efforts and programs resulted in more successes.
Third Principle
The third principle is to build a rollout-implementation bridge.
In defence of senior management they often do not know the reality of the world in which employees targeted for change, work. Middle managers are much more likely to understand their world. This brings me to the third principle.
The third principle is to involve those who have to make the changes, in planning how to implement the changes. This principle builds on middle managers understanding the purpose of the changes and being able to clearly communicate to their direct reports and others the purpose and scope of the changes.
Then senior management , before roll out need to work closely with the implementers to design a plan that takes bandwidth for change and processes to achieve the changes.
But this is not simply a conversation between the change champion and the middle manger, rater it is a three step:
1. Champions and their teams meet with middle Managers affected and communicate the purpose of the change and the expected outcomes over time.
2. The Middle Managers then meet with their one and possibly two downs and discuss the approach to implementing the changes. These two steps happen before roll out.
3. Champions and middle managers then meet and align the changes and how they propose implementing them, until alignment is reached.
This will likely cause more time to be taken before rollout, but it will vastly increase the rate of implementation and the success of the implementation.
It is this rollout-implementation bridge that needs to be built.
Keep going until done
Most parents have experienced helping their daughter or son learn to ride a bicycle. The parent holds onto their saddle, running alongside to avoid a disaster. There will come a time when the parent takes their hands off and watches to see if their child is able to ride alone.
Making change is similar. The champion and middle manager has to remain hands on and involved until the changes are happening without ‘saddle holding’.
Knowing when to let go will come from two sources – data and on site observation and check ins with those changing. The stop/start list will help with identifying what data to collect and what questions to ask.
A coach, watching a player who is expected to makes changes to his/her play, will have someone collecting data and will also be focusing on his/her play. This will allow for feedback based on facts and also a sense of when to stop ‘saddle holding’. To tell a player to change and then ignore them will never achieve change.
Remember that if the Champion stops paying attention to the progress, then the middle manager will focus elsewhere and that will lead to his or her team also shifting their attention. It might take time to declare the success of the implementing work. Champions need to be hands-on, as do middle mangers until, the employees are riding without saddle-holding.
A lot more can be said about managing change, however, these few principles when applied will increase your chances of success greatly.
Summary of three principles
- Be able to explain simply what the changes are and why they are being requested.
- Do not abdicate from the implementation responsibility.
- Keep going until it is sustainable.
A lot more can be said about managing change, however, these few principles when applied will increase your chances of success greatly.
