In today’s business world, the ability to lead change has become one of the most fundamental skills needed by managers in successful organisations. John Kotter found through his studies of over 100 companies that there was a clear distinction between leading change and managing it.

Kotter states that management consists of a whole set of processes that keeps people and technology running smoothly. Leadership, however, defines the future, aligns people to that future vision and inspires them to achieve it. He thought there were common mistakes made by managers during a change process. They were:

• Under-estimating the need for a clear vision
• Allowing too much complacency during change
• Failing to create a substantial coalition
• Failing to communicate the change process and vision clearly enough
• Permitting roadblocks to halt progress
• Failing to create short-term wins
• Declaring victory too soon
• Not anchoring change into the corporate culture

These eight mistakes allowed Kotter to formulate his ‘phases of change’ and they are now accepted as vital in any change process a business is going through.
Here are his eight steps:

• Create a sense of urgency: This can be due to a crisis or a sense of crisis. People need to believe that the status quo is not an option

• Put together a guiding team: This strong coalition recognise the need for change, have the power to influence the change, possess the credibility to drive change, have the commitment to it, harness the necessary skills for it to work, identify the connections they need to drive change and enjoy the reputation for making things happen

• Create vision and strategy: This is the bridge that joins the current situation to the future state. The sense of direction and aligned efforts start at this point. The visions should be clear, motivating and situation-specific

• Communicate the changed vision: This is crucial if everyone is to be committed to the change. Any inconsistencies at this stage can have a demotivating and debilitating effect on the change mechanism

• Empower People: The change management team should empower people to carry out the necessary changes and remove any roadblocks that may exist in their way

• Generate short-term wins: Setting milestones along the journey should be a prerequisite to the process. All short-term victories should be communicated and aligned with the overall goal

• Consolidate and enable more change: As the journey continues, the momentum is built towards successful implementation of the changes. New activities should become the norm relating to the vision and should provide the driving force behind the efforts

• Anchor new approaches in culture: The changes should become permanent with people accepting the new way as the norm. Without those anchors, the old ways will seep back in. Kotter states that the key to lasting change lies in changing the culture itself, through consistent action over a sufficient time-scale.

Kotter doesn’t misunderstand the complexity of organisational structure, but recognises that these steps build cohesion between departments and a will to succeed, especially when people are fearful of the implications change may bring upon them and the company.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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Change really is the only constant, so how can you give yourself and your team a better chance of success when going through the ups and downs that change can produce?

Here are some tips that will help you along the road. There are never any guarantees, but there will always be better chances if you have a specific process to go from.

Firstly, always involve and seek the support from everyone affected by the changes. Remember that people will be more committed if they feel some ownership, so ensure your team get the chance to support the organisation as it’s going through change.

Secondly, ensure everyone knows where you are starting from and which direction you are going. Without that, people won’t know the expectations you have of them and their role and involvement in the change.

Then, make the end results clear with specific, measurable outcomes. Not only will this help you achieve your change goals, but also others see what you’re trying to achieve. It will make it easier to gain commitment as well, as everyone will understand the reasons why they are going through all this.

Also, plan each stage of the process in measurable steps, so everyone knows where they are on the journey. This means you need to communicate early and often – don’t spring any surprises on the team. They will be wanting quality leadership through the transition, so keep them informed of developments, which will stop any wild rumours from circulating.

Following these principles will help you on the journey through change, and will allow you to control exactly what happens on that journey. Keep people informed and there’s a good chance you’ll get full commitment.

Thanks again
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

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John Kotter’s book ‘A Force for Change’ highlighted some key areas that help us to identify why change can fail and what to do about it.

He suggests there are a number of reasons why many change initiatives fail, and they include:

* Too much complacency within the department
* Failing to build a substantial team effort towards the change
* Not understanding the need for a clear vision
* Failing to clearly communicate the vision
* Allowing obstacles against the vision to build up
* Poor planning and lack of short-term wins
* Finishing the process of change too soon
* Not anchoring the changes in the corporate culture

Kotter suggests there are a number of stages to go through in order for change to stick:

* Establish a sense of urgency as to why change should happen
* Create a team that will drive the change forward
* Develop a clear vision that everyone can buy into
* Share the vision through out the team and other stakeholders
* Empower people to get rid of obstacles to the change
* Create short-term wins so everyone can see progress
* Keep moving toward the end goal
* Ensure the change is deeply embedded in the culture

We can see that following Kotter’s ideas can create a foundation for change that can be a normal force acting on the business. Instead of fearing change, therefore, everyone can embrace it as the way forward. By not doing so, your competition will quickly overtake you in the mission to achieve corporate success, because, as Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

You may have tried to initiate change in your team, seen the benefits of the change and even communicated it well to every team member. Then you may have been puzzled by certain people’s reactions where they resisted the changes and wondered why they put up such a defense of the current position.

Well, you’re not alone. Many managers have hit the wall of resistance and created real challenges by not approaching the situation in the right way.

Here are four reasons why the resistance to change may be quite large:

The need for security and stability: some people rely heavily on the current status quo for their self-worth. Changing something may affect their secure position and all they associate with change is pain.

They fear the results of the change: personal effects for themselves may outweigh the benefits they see happening.

A misunderstanding of the reasons for change: the person may lack information as to the reasons for change, or it hasn’t been communicated properly with them.

Disagreement as to the reasons for change: they assess the situation differently or may disagree that change is needed at all.

Any of these reasons may produce obstacles to the changes you are attempting to put forward.

There are many ways that these obstacles can be overcome, though they seem to boil down to specific methods that lay the foundations for change.

They include;

• Communicating an effective message using the correct medium
• Involving the people concerned in the change process instead of insisting they follow directions
• Support the change mechanism and help people adjust to it
• Agree what will happen to those who may lose out in the change
• Work with people to create a team consensus where they play a major role in the development of the change
• As a last resort, managers can use force by making clear what the end results of not changing would be.

It’s important to ascertain the reasons for the resistance before prescribing the way forward, as using the incorrect means may crank up the resistance levels and you’re left with even more obstacles than before.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Sometimes you wonder whether change is necessary within your department, and the factors driving change may be counteracted by factors resisting it. How do you work out the results before taking the action? Kurt Lewin may have the answer for you.

Lewin was an American social psychologist perhaps best-known for developing Force Field Analysis, an analysis that determined if change was necessary within a company.

According to Lewin “An issue is held in balance by the interaction of two opposing sets of forces – those seeking to promote change (driving forces) and those attempting to maintain the status quo (restraining forces)”.

Lewin viewed organisations as systems in which the present situation was not a static pattern, but a dynamic balance (“equilibrium”) of forces working in opposite directions. In order for any change to occur, the driving forces must exceed the restraining forces, thus shifting the equilibrium.

How do you conduct a Force Field Analysis?

Here’s some suggestions:

1. Describe the current situation

2. Describe the desired situation

3. Identify where the current situation will go if no action is taken

4. List all the forces driving change toward the desired situation

5. List all the forces resisting change toward the desired situation

6. Discuss and interrogate all of the forces: are they valid? can they be changed? which are the critical ones?

7. Allocate a score to each of the forces using a numerical scale e.g. 1=extremely weak and 10=extremely strong

8. Chart the forces by listing (to strength scale) the driving forces on the left and restraining forces on the right.

9. Determine whether change is viable and progress can occur

10. Discuss how the change can be affected by decreasing the strength of the restraining forces or by increasing the strength of driving forces.

11. Keep in mind that increasing the driving forces or decreasing the restraining forces may increase or decrease other forces or even create new ones.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”