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©2013 v1.0A (mini) Survival Toolkit for Managers

IntroductionManaging Change and Transition

What can keep people inspired and engaged vs. frozen or resistant in times of change?

How can you best increase your odds of successful change implementation with your team?

At Linkage, we understand that successful change depends upon having an effective strategy or process and also depends on the people implementing change. Our strategic approach to change focuses on both the organizational change process and your employees’ ability to embrace change and successfully “transition” to a new state. Numerous studies have shown that as many as 80% of change efforts fail, not because of flawed strategy or process, but because of employee resistance to change. Linkage’s approach to change is built upon a deep understanding of this reality.

We offer a powerful team-based change process with proven transitions tools to help engage your workforce in successful implementation. Our consultants have a track record of helping organizations around the world improve their change management success rates and lower their cost of implementation. Managing Change and Transition – A (mini) Survival Toolkit for Managers showcases a few of our best practice tools and approaches, based on Linkage’s change methodology, and transitions methodology offered through our partnership with William Bridges & Associates.

To learn more about Linkage’s Leading Organizational Transition: Train-the-Trainer Program offered in exclusive partnership with William Bridges & Associates, please call +1.781.402.5555

or visit us at www.linkageinc.com/leadingtransition


OverviewManaging Change and Transition – A (mini) Survival Toolkit for Managers

As a manager, your chief responsibility is to enable the high performance of your team. The reality of the impact of ANY organizational change is that performance decreases. No manager can avoid this impact, but you can shorten the timeframe and the severity of the impact by understanding what your team needs from you during change.

This Toolkit contains three proven tools designed to equip managers with quick, effective ways to evaluate the impact a change is having on their team; the teams readiness (or not) for dealing with the change; and the information a team needs to understand and accept the change.

Tool 1: Personal Impact Analysis - A framework for considering how individuals on your team might feel about the impact of the change, preventing their whole-hearted commitment.

Tool 2: How “FIT” is your team? - A focused assessment which will allow you to evaluate the readiness of your team to deal with a current change.

Tool 3: Business Case for Change - A template for constructing a compelling business case for your change initiative.

Note: These tools are for your one-time, personal use. For more information on licensing these tools, please contact Linkage at 781-402-5555.


About Linkage

Linkage works with leaders and leadership teams worldwide to build organizations that produce superior results. For over 25 years, we have delivered on this promise by strategically aligning leadership, talent, and culture within organizations globally. We do this by providing strategic consulting on leadership development and talent management topics and through our learning institutes, skill-building workshops, tailored assessment services, and executive coaching.

Linkage is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts with operations in Atlanta, Boston, New York, San Francisco, St. Louis and outside the U.S. in Athens, Bangalore, Brussels, Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Hamilton,Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Mexico City, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

About William Bridges & Associates

William Bridges & Associates is committed to providing consulting and training services to help individuals and organizations deal effectively with change. Our mission is to give people the learning and tools to make change less disruptive and stressful. We teach people how to capitalize on the opportunities for development and innovation that change offers. Our mission is served by a wide variety of products and services, including organizational consulting, leadership skill development, keynote speeches, and training of managers and employees. Books, pamphlets, and training materials on the subject of transition and the changing world of work are offered to support the consulting process.William Bridges & Associates (www.wmbridges.com) is headquartered in Larkspur, California.

Tool Business Case for Change

What It Is A template for constructing a compelling business case for your change initiative.

What It Can Do People are hard-wired to respond to a compelling story. A solid business case speaks to your audience’s needs and aspirations, as well as metrics and logic.

This tool can help you:

♦ Articulate the business drivers for taking action on a problem, issue, or opportunity

♦ Communicate a succinct and compelling message to alert others and build support and commitment

How It Works

Step 1 Consider a current change initiative that is impacting your team. What does your team need to understand about the current state issue(s) that make the change necessary? What do they need to understand about the desired future state and the benefits, especially for them?

Step 2 Use the template on the following page to organize your team message on the case for action.

Note: If you find that you lack the data you need to convince your team, use the template as an interview tool with senior management.

Step 3 Share and test your case for action with trusted others. Use their feedback to develop and strengthen your case.


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Gathering Data for Your Case In order to uncover the business drivers behind a change, you need to ask questions related to the following areas:

♦ Background: The context for the issues.

♦ Current State: Something about the existing situation that makes the audience’s life difficult. The destabilizing condition could be tangible⎯rising costs, missing deadlines, declining market share, etc. It could also be intangible⎯something the audience doesn’t know, something the audience thinks they know but are wrong about, or something the audience is aware of but may not realize is a problem.

The current state can also be framed in terms of “threats” and/or missed opportunities (e.g., complacency driven by success, external competitors, technological innovations, aging products or services).

♦ Costs: The practical, negative effects of the current state. If you’re missing deadlines, then you’re losing clients. If your market share is declining, then you’re not attracting new investors. If there are no clear career paths for employees, you may be losing your best. If the audience incorrectly understands the current situation, then that misunderstanding blinds them to vital opportunities.

Gather real data, wherever possible, to support your assertions about the current state and associated costs.

♦ Future State: The new, rectified situation that can be envisioned and achieved⎯if only a solution can be found.

♦ Benefits: The practical, positive effects. Clients will increase, investors will flock, morale will improve, and opportunities will be seized: whatever you anticipate and expect.

♦ First Steps: A brief, broadly defined sense of direction, indicating the work to be done and pointing the way toward the desired future state.

Something to Consider You can begin your business case with a description of the future state and work your way backwards, outlining the advantages it offers vis-à-vis the current state. However, it is more common to begin with the current state, as set out in the worksheet that follows.


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Worksheet: Building a Case for Change

Background

(How did we get here?)

Current State

(Where are we now? Why is what we’re doing currently not working?)

Costs

(How will the audience suffer if it continues this way?)

Future State

(What would it look like if improved?)

Benefits

(What are the benefits of making the change?)

First Steps

(What initial actions are needed?)


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A Final Note Without a common, compelling context, people can easily lose their way, their sense of purpose, and their motivation. They miss how their part contributes to the whole—why they are doing what they are doing. Lacking a common context, people construct their own explanations, their own interpretations of what’s important to the organization. And they can end up working at cross-purposes.

A shared context, on the other hand, provides a powerful orienting point for an organization as it copes with a changing environment. One of the most important tasks in leading change, therefore, is to identify and communicate a compelling context—a common sense of what the organization’s goals and culture should be.


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Assessment How FIT* is Your Team? *(Flexibility in Transition)

What It Is A focused assessment which will allow you to evaluate the readiness of your team to deal effectively with a current change.

What It Can Do This tool can help you:

♦ Assess the overall readiness level of your team to accept and adapt to a current organizational change

♦ Pinpoint specific issues or barriers preventing your team from readily accepting/adapting to a current change

♦ Enable a dialogue with individuals on your team to uncover their personal barriers to change so that you can work with them to build trust and a plan of action

How It Works

Step 1 The questions that follow assess your team’s ability to adapt to and be flexible during change. Please evaluate your team as a whole, considering how they have worked together during past changes.

Step 2 On the following page, there are eighteen statements that describe your team’s beliefs about change in general and a current change that is specifically impacting them. Read each statement and type in the scores that most accurately describe your perception. Use the scale below to rate your responses:

0 1 2 3

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree


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Assessment

0 1 2 3

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly Agree

In general, our team believes:

1. We can ask for and receive help from one another

2. There is a sustainable pace of change here

3. This change is necessary

4. We are willing to experiment

5. Management has our best interests at heart

6. In the past we have helped each other manage change successfully

7. We have a realistic view of how to accomplish this change

8. We are clear on what we should no longer be doing

9. The future state is worth working toward

10. We will not be punished when we try but have incomplete success

11. Management practices are consistent with written and verbal messages

12. We have come to terms with difficult past organizational changes

13. It is important for us to balance work and personal life

14. This change has been well-planned

15. We have sufficient information about the change to understand its impact on us

16. We will get the training and coaching we will need

17. Our concerns have been heard and taken into account

18. The organization has a history of supporting us through change

Your Results

__________

__________

__________

__________

__________

__________

1 Resilience

2 Bandwidth

3 Commitment

4 Openness to

Learning

5 Trust

6 Experience with Past Changes


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Interpreting Your Results How FIT is Your Team?

Our research on what most impacts a team’s ability to effectively deal with and adapt to change show that the following six factors are critical to success:

1. Resilience

2. Bandwidth

3. Commitment

4. Openness to Learning

5. Trust

6. Experience with past Change(s)

Your assessment results will indicate the degree to which your team is “ready” to successfully handle the current change impacting them. The details for each of the six factors and tips for interpreting your results follow.

Factor #1: Resilience The degree to which your team can easily or readily adjust to change.

Score:_________

♦ We can ask for and receive help from one another

♦ We have a realistic view of how to accomplish this change

♦ It is important for us to balance work and personal life

A high score (6-9) indicates that your team has developed mechanisms and/or team processes which help them more effectively handle and adjust to change. A low score (0-5) indicates that individuals on your team are struggling to adjust to the change, showing signs of stress, and are most likely not supporting each other.

Factor #2: Bandwidth The degree to which your team can handle the increased workload resulting from change.

Score:__________

♦ There is a sustainable pace of change here

♦ We are clear on what we should no longer be doing

♦ This change has been well-planned

A high score (6-9) indicates that your team is aligned as to the priorities of their work as well as the work that they should no longer be doing. A low score (0-5) indicates that individuals on your team are not keeping up with the pace of work required and their performance is most likely declining.


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Factor #3: Commitment The degree to which the team believes that the change is important to the business and that they can successfully achieve the desired outcomes.

Score:_________

♦ This change is necessary

♦ The future state is worth working toward

♦ We have sufficient information about the change to understand its impact on us

A high score (6-9) here indicates that the team believes that the change initiative is valid (important to the business), and that it is viable (can be done). A low score (0-5) indicates that you have significant work to do to establish the belief that the change initiative is valid and viable.

Factor #4: Openness to Learning The degree to which your team believes that they are supported to take risks, experiment, and learn new skills to successfully perform in a changed work environment.

Score:__________

♦ We are willing to experiment

♦ We will not be punished when we try but have incomplete success

♦ We will get the training and coaching we will need

A high score of (6-9) here indicates that your team believes they are supported to take risks and experiment as a way to successfully adapt to change and they will receive the necessary training/coaching to perform new work accountabilities. A low score of (0-5) indicates that individuals on your team may be unwilling to change work habits and/or experiment with new ways of accomplishing work.

Factor #5: Trust The degree to which your team believes that the leadership in the organization will carry out commitments agreed to that are related to the change.

Score:_________

♦ Management has our best interests at heart

♦ Management practices are consistent with written and verbal messages

♦ Our concerns have been heard and taken into account

A high score (6-9) here indicates that the team believes that management understands their concerns about the change and will follow through on commitments made related to the change. A low score (0-5) indicates that some individuals on the team lack trust that management has taken their concerns into account regarding the change.


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Factor #6: Experiences with Past Change(s) The degree to which the team has had positive past experiences with change initiatives.

Score:__________

♦ In the past, we have helped each other manage change successfully

♦ We have come to terms with difficult past organizational changes

♦ The organization has a history of supporting us through change

A high score of (6-9) here indicates that the team is relatively free of “old baggage” from past change initiatives and feels ready/open to address this new change. A low score of (0-5) indicates that individuals on your team are most likely still dwelling on the negative impact of past changes and are therefore resisting the current change.


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Tool Personal Impact Analysis

What It Is A framework for considering how individuals on your team might feel about the impact of the change, preventing their whole-hearted commitment.

What It Can Do This tool can help you:

♦ Identify aspects of the change initiative which may cause your team to resist

♦ Consider the full implications of a change – including the negative repercussions on your team

♦ Enable a dialogue with people on your team who are undergoing a stressful adjustment to the new state

How It Works

Step 1 Think of each person on your team and consider who seems to be challenged by the change.

Step 2 Fill in the names of the team members you are most concerned about under “who” on the worksheet.

Step 3 Consider each of the categories of impact for each of these team members and make notes about any categories that seem relevant for them in the space provided. For example, your team member “Joe” may be feeling an impact to his career path as a result of this change.

Note: A perceived loss is real. It is a loss to the other person, regardless of your own estimation of the situation. “Joe’s” perception of this impact is important to capture, whether you feel it is justified or not.

Remember – listening without judgment and without rushing to solutions can help people get “unstuck.”

Step 4 When you have assessed the situation from the point of view of the person, prepare to have a full and two-way discussion of what is going on. Only then will you be in a position to provide the support necessary to unblock the resistance and keep the change initiative moving forward.


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Worksheet: Personal Impact Analysis Note on this grid who may be feeling the impact of the change, and the particular aspects of their work life that will be impacted.

WHO

Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member WHAT

Self

Power

Status

Influence

Control

Working Relationship

Group Membership

Structure

Career Path

Engaging Work

Competence

Other


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Something to Consider Organizational change does not impact everyone equally. Some people are impacted negatively (or perceive negative impact) more than others. This is the primary reason for the differences in speed with which people adapt to change. Research by Everett Rogers in 1995 showed that the dispersion of speed of adaptation can be plotted as follows:

Consider which of these “types” is represented in the Personal Impact Analysis you completed. It may be that the “architects” make it to the new stage first, and that they can become models for others. It is also true that the most ardent supporter of change may be one of the “last to move in.” These so-called “honest opponents” are often the most passionate people in your workforce who have helped to make the organization what it is. Rather than punishing them for voicing their reaction to an impact of the change, help them to deal with it by listening to them and then co-creating strategies for dealing with the change.

Having identified people who may be struggling with the change, consider increasing your communication, holding one-on-one meetings with them, and offering one-on-one coaching by someone they hold in high regard.

The Architects

2.5%

The Builders

13.5%

The Dwellers

34%

The Stragglers

34%

Last to Move in

16%

The Architects

2.5%

The Builders

13.5%

The Dwellers

34%

The Stragglers

34%

Last to Move in

16%


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Reference Identifying Early and Late Adopters of Change

The Architects – 2.5% ♦ Generators of change

♦ Willing to be the originator . . . trailblazer

♦ Design for the future

♦ Act with confidence, determination, and courage

♦ Author change

♦ Invent new possibilities

The Builders – 13.5% ♦ Doers/Innovators

♦ Like to develop and construct new initiatives

♦ Take on complex challenges

♦ Risk-takers

♦ Like to be out front . . . paving the way for others to follow

♦ Produce results

The Dwellers – 34% ♦ Not quick to give up what’s familiar and safe

♦ Willing to follow, “once things are all worked out”

♦ Waiting for more proof

♦ Comfortable with the way things are

♦ Need order and stability

The Stragglers – 34% ♦ Lag behind the group

♦ Stand on the outside “looking in”

♦ Seem aimless and confused

♦ Avoid decisions until they have no choice

♦ Averse to change

♦ Unwilling to leave their comfort zone


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The Last to Move In – 16% ♦ Most resistant to change

♦ Hold out till the very end

♦ Refuse to change absent a crisis

♦ Require proof of meaningful future benefit

♦ Hold on tightly to the past


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