Change Management: The hammer and `tongues' approach ...

Most change programs in an organization start with a bang. Direction is identified; execution plans are chalked out, followed by next steps including the decision on who will run this program. There is an articulation of the change for the company in its market positioning?beat the competition or recover lost ground. Most programs have a board backing and a buy in from key stakeholders prior to rolling them out. The reason for such programs is best defined by what Jack Welch said ?Change before you have to?. Yet, quoting a research from John P Kotter, only 30 per cent of the change programs succeed. So is this proving Woodrow Wilson right when he said ?If you want to make enemies, try to change something??

Does the high failure rate mean that the right questions were not answered before the program started? Was there a derailment or a lack of focus? Should change programs be abandoned? Certainly not. I am with Jack Welch on this one.

Change management in an organization has a programmatic life cycle. My view of a Hammer and Tongues approach to change management is about bringing focus to the business priorities right at the beginning. The priorities need to be hammered down to provide a clear focus for the program and the execution plan. The entire program including the execution plan should be driven by the set of people who seek the change. The people part, which is the most critical element of the plan, is normally addressed through activities like communication, collaboration and training. However, is this adequate considering that people are the most complex part of the change management jigsaw puzzle?

While a change program is supported by technological changes, new ways of working or new processes, it is important for us to understand that all these are run by people. The aspect of increasing sales and reducing costs are business realities; but these normally send out a fear signal to the human pre-frontal cortex. The Neurological Roots of Resistance to Change by Schwartz and Rock speaks of the resistance to change as an initial human reaction due to change in state (future not being the same as current). Are we addressing this in change programs?

The Tongues part of the approach addresses the people aspect including planning and communication with a regular feedback mechanism. People going through this journey need a plan that provides them regular updates on their individual status. At times changes lead to loss of control, thereby leading to uncertainties and increased stress levels resulting in more disengaged employees. Alternatively, having employees understand their ?future state? brings down stress levels and gets them involved in the program. The feedback loop should provide the ?outlet for emotions?. Without such mechanisms, high stress levels may have some people acting strangely, potentially undermining teamwork.

There are new KPIs defining new performance measures but does there exist a ?do not do list?? Such a checklist helps the executives running the change program understand that it is not merely more things to do, but also the things that we stop doing in lieu of new ways of working. Another important aspect of a successful change program involves letting people know what we ?preserve from the past?. Not defining what we preserve from the past implies rubbishing the past, as this is bound to make employees uncomfortable.

As academician and management thinker Peter Senge points out, people don?t resist change. Instead, they resist being changed! The hammer and tongues approach enables people to understand and adapt to change while dramatically increasing the chances of a change management program?s success.

I am very keen on hearing from you on how you have setup your standalone plans that target the people aspect and your experiences with implementing and tracking this feedback loop.

Sandeep Raizada is a senior management professional who has held key positions in leading global and Indian companies including HP, Asea Brown Boveri and Siemens. He is currently the Global Application Enhancement Manager with Logica

Source: http://www.cxotoday.com/story/change-management-the-hammer-and-tongues-approach/

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