A lot of change, but nothing changes
While there have been many models of change, few of them have included a comprehensive discussion of why the particular factors included in that model are the ones that are needed for change. Integral Theory developed by Ken Wilber provides a comprehensive perspective that includes all dimensions of human functioning. The diagram below shows the four Integral quadrants: Self, Culture, Behaviours/Skills and Systems.
The Self quadrant includes the personal subjective experience. The Culture quadrant involves the interpersonal, shared meaning and values area. The behaviours/skills quadrant is the external area that involves observable actions. The fourth quadrant involves the technical, economic and social systems and their in interconnection.
For change to be successful, several factors are needed. These can be summarised in two major categories. One category is the necessary change elements and the other is factors which provide a catalyst for cultural change. The eight elements necessary for change are a combination of activities and processes for change while the two cultural factors are forces and conditions needed to provide the environment that encourages and supports the change. These are:
Necessary Elements for Change
Pressure for change
A clear, shared vision & goals
Capacity for change
Actionable steps
Model the way
Reinforce the change
Aligned systems
Evaluation and improvement
Cultural Change Catalysts
Leadership Change Team
Positive Mind shift & Driving Values
The eight elements necessary for change are the factors that are required for any change to be successful.Every change process must have all of these elements to ensure that the change is implemented and sustainable over time.Leaving out any of these elements will result in a stalled, short term or unsuccessful change.
The cultural change catalysts are the factors that are needed to accelerate and permeate the entire change process.These act as boosters to the change process, the act as energizers and motivators of the process.If these catalysts are not present the change process will run into covert resistance, will become distracted or lose energy and fade out.
Pressure for change is necessary or employees will not place a high priority on the desired change. Managers and employees have many demands on their time and have many objectives they are working toward. Unless senior managers take definite action to ensure these changes have occurred, employees will respond to other demands. External pressure to perform can come from sources such as government legislation, political requirements, customer demands, funding cutbacks, or increased competition. Major problems such as customer dissatisfaction or poor quality can result in pressure to change. Poor performance and costly mistakes can also result in pressure for change. A CEO of a major hotel decided to initiate a major empowerment program because on of their major customers tried to order a drink at their bar and encountered a staff member who adhered to the rules of payment so strictly it embarrassed him.He called the CEO and told him if the hotel staff didn’t become more responsive to customer needs he would take his company’s business elsewhere.
Internal pressure can come about from the CEO setting new directions or employees indicating dissatisfaction by leaving the organization. Without this pressure, the change will become a bottom-of-the-box low-priority change. Performance appraisal systems, for example, are often given low priority because senior managers don’t put sufficient pressure on middle-level managers for them to be carried out.
A clear shared vision and goals are needed to help people understand the purpose for the change and to gain a commitment to it. This vision should have a worthwhile purpose so that people feel their effort is contributing value for their effort. Employees need to feel a sense of involvement and to identify with the vision rather than a vision statement just being sent to them. Senior managers must find ways to communicate clearly the vision to all employees. Staff need to be able to challenge and test the sincerity and appropriateness of the vision. If the vision isn't understood or shared, employees often make a quick start that fails because it is not really understood. In some organisations, managers feel they have a clear vision but this has not been communicated to the employees. Employees are given a poster or small cards to carry in their pockets and are then expected to be highly devoted and motivated by the new vision.
Involving board members, managers, staff and key stakeholders in discussions of the vision, values and strategic objectives helps reach agreement on goals and gains commitment to achieve them.Asking people to find their own words to describe the vision.The concept of ‘strategic elephants’ is a very effective way to help determine strategic objectives.Strategic elephants, which come from Argenti’s practical approach to strategic planning, are the “threats, opportunities, issues or problems that the leaders of organization or department have to manage well for it to survive, succeed and/or grow.”Spending time with the senior executive and staff to determine the key strategic elephants facing the organization provides agreed areas to focus on and become the basis for strategic objectives and actions.Wesfarmers, a very successful Australian organization, uses the idea of strategic elephants to define and manage many of their major initiatives.
Capacity for change refers to the resources and skills necessary to implement the change adequately. This includes adequate training and having time to do what is required. Managers need to adequately plan and to budget for the implementation of the change. Often the cost of resources and training is allowed for, but not the time needed to transfer over to the new way of working. Employees who participate in quality circles often complain their managers don’t give them allocated time for participation in these activities. They lose interest because this new initiative is piled on top of their existing work. Lack of adequate resources, time or skill leads to anxiety and frustration.
Actionable steps and targets give employees specific steps to progress the change and tangible outcomes to work toward.Sometimes actionable steps are referred to as milestones.Many organizations want change to occur but don’t have specific steps and times that they want various stages to occur.
It is especially important to have actionable first steps which provide the opportunity to start on the change immediately. This element s sometimes called ‘encouraging small wins’ and allows people to feel a positive sense of achievement in the beginning of the program. They are then willing to invest more time and energy. Many change programs fail because management announce a change, such as total quality management, send people off to training programs, and then months to go by before people are required to do things differently. Without actionable first steps, milestone actions and targets along the way, employees make haphazard efforts and false starts.
Model the way refers to the leaders of the organisation putting into practice the values and behaviour that reflect the vision. A senior manager’s actions must be consistent with her or his words or employees will become cynical and distrustful. Managers need to operate with integrity and sincerity so that employees see the actions of their managers as examples of what is expected of them. If customer service is part of the vision of the organisation, managers have to be responsive, positive and willing to make an extra effort themselves to their internal and external customers if they expect employees to act that way also.
It is vital that the CEO is committed and involved with the change.If the CEO leaves it to others to carry out the change or does not give his or her personal support and time for the change, other activities are given higher priority. Sometimes the CEO may model the way but the members of the senior executive team aren’t don’t support it or walk the talk. It is vital for the CEO to manage the executive team to be committed to the change and to deal with those senior managers who superficially support the change.
The sixth element that is necessary is the reinforcement of the change. This can take the form of reward or recognition from management. Reinforcement can also occur by transferring or demoting employees who continue to resist the change. This can also involve solidifying the change by changing in procedures and processes so that change becomes a regular part of the operation. Change can be reinforced by memos, newsletters, or posters that provide positive messages or examples of successful change. Reinforcing the change is necessary or employees will revert their old behaviour if a key manager leaves the organisation or pressure to change is removed.
It is also necessary for the organisational systems to be aligned so that the procedures and processes encourage rather than inhibit progress toward the vision and strategic goals. If the systems are aligned then changes can be carried out in line with the procedures and get adequate resources. The reward and recognition systems, the performance management, promotion criteria, communication, customer service and accounting procedures must operate to help achieve and enhance the strategic goals and change management actions.
The last element for successful change is to thoroughly evaluate and improve the change program after it has been underway for a time. Many change programs are not evaluated at all or are evaluated in ways that are sloppy or superficial. As a result, programs are continued or abandoned based on personal feelings, changes in the budget or interest in a new idea that captures the attention of the senior managers. One of the best ways to evaluate a change program is to use a level of outcomes model recommended by Kirkpatrick. This includes:
Satisaction - This is usually done by questionnaire and assesses participant’s attitudes toward various aspects of the change program. This can include communication, job satisfaction, teamwork, etc.
Learning - This level focuses on what knowledge is acquired and what is learned. This may include reasons for the change, information about processes such as quality tools, or vision statements.
Behaviour - This measures the extent to which behaviour has actually changed in the workplace. This should relate directly to on-the-job performance by individuals and teams that the change program aimed to modify. 360 feedback reports, information on injuries and performance reviews are usually used for this purpose.
Results - This category deals with the achievement of organisational goals. Is the team or organisation more profitable, have lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, fewer accidents or better efficiency in the way it works?
After a change program has been going 12 to 18 months, it is very common for managers, owners and employees to ask “Has this Empowerment Program really improved anything around here?” Many organisations have no accurate answer to this question and have invested their time, money and human resources on a change without really knowing if it produced tangible results. Establishing before and after measures is a way to prove the value of the change program.
