Making Change How State Employees can Become Effective Change Agents and Leaders

Making Making ChangeChange

How State Employees can Become Effective Change Agents and

Leaders

Two Types of Change AgentTwo Types of Change Agent

Change “Surge Protector”Change “Surge Protector”The change came from above youPart of your job to help the process go as smoothly as possibleCommon for front-line to mid-level managers

Change InitiatorChange InitiatorAvoid changes for “change” sakeRequires serious effort and resolveRelated skill set and tasks with some differences

Leadership Requires Change, Leadership Requires Change, Change requires LeadershipChange requires Leadership

“The work of leaders is change. Leadership is inextricably connected

with the process of innovation.”

- Rosabeth Moss Kanter

“The art of leadership in today’s world involves

orchestrating the inevitable conflict,

chaos, and confusion so that the disturbance is productive rather than

destructive.”

-Ronald Heifetz

LEADERSHIP CHANGE

Change “Surge Protector”Change “Surge Protector”

Why People Resist ChangeWhy People Resist Change

• Lack of Trust

• Belief That Change is not Necessary

• Belief That Change is not Feasible

• Economic Threats

• Change of Habits and Routines

• Fear of Personal Failure

• Loss of Status and Power

• Threats to Values and Ideals

• Resentment of Interference


• Lack of Trust

• Belief That Change is not Necessary

• Belief That Change is not Feasible

• Economic Threats

• Change of Habits and Routines

• Fear of Personal Failure

• Loss of Status and Power

• Threats to Values and Ideals

• Resentment of Interference


The Change Curve

Leading with Leading with “Imposed” “Imposed”

ChangeChange

Pollyanna•Ignore Reality

•Lose Credibility

•Generate Frustration

“Us vs. Them”

•Maintain Popularity

•Not Leading

•Damage Organization

Genuine Leadership

•Be Realistic

•Discover Positives

•Remember Your Role

Defensive/Argumentative

•Understands thy “why” of change

•Not focusing on what is most important

•Potential damage to relationships

•Doesn’t really move change initiative forward

No Dialogue

•Avoids difficult conversations

•Breeds Employee Mistrust

•Unprofessional

•The least productive

Change Agent Communication

•Genuine

•Has Good Information and understands the “why” of change

•Actively Listens to Employees

•Understands how non-verbal, vocal, and verbal elements of communication work

Apologetic

•Tells the employees what they think they want to hear

•Trying to protect themselves

•Damages agency and change initiative

•Not really employee service

Low

E

mp

loyee S

erv

ice H

igh

Low Change Efforts High

Types of Change Types of Change DialogueDialogue

Effective Effective Management Management of Resistanceof ResistanceRecognizing resistance is

naturalSurfacing the resistance

• Make the expression of resistance as safe as possible

• Ask for it allHonoring the resistance

• Listen• Acknowledge the resistance

‘I see how that could be a problem for you’

• Reinforce the legitimacy of resistance “I can see why you are angry”

Exploring the resistance• Probe• Ask for options• Don’t let it go

Summarizing and Next Steps

To

Source: EquaTerra, Change Management Workshop, 2006

Change Agent Skills and Change Agent Skills and AttributesAttributes

• Able to communicate well with staff and peers to explain complex issues in a simple, easy-to-understand manner

• Skilled as a good listener

• Empathetic to how people are treated and their ability to perform their jobs

• Capable of getting tough jobs done quickly and taking the personal initiative to go beyond defined boundaries

Source: EquaTerra, Change Management Workshop, 2006

“We are chameleons, and our partialities and

prejudices change place with an easy and blesses facility, and we are soon

wonted to the change and happy in it.”

-Mark Twain

Change InitiatorChange Initiator

To

Change InitiatorChange Initiator

To• Establish a sense of urgency

• Evaluate stakeholders and the change itself

• Developing a vision and strategy

• Communicating the change vision

• Empowering employees for broad-based action

• Generating short-term wins

• Avoid Disasters and establish culture

Adapted from John Kotter, Leading Change, 1996

“The Dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy

present.”

A. Lincoln (in his annual message to

congress)

Increasing Increasing “Urgency“Urgency Appeal to Reason

•Share new and relevant information about a problem or opportunity.

•Some people need to be drowned in data. Give them as much as they need.

•Assign those closest to the problem to explain the need for change

•Explain the long-term consequences of not pursuing change

•B.L.U.F.

Appeal to Emotion

•Use a compelling story or anecdote

•Use a vision of what the future state will look like

•Have a customer visit so it is personal

•Get a customer to report on what is working and what isn’t working and what the change will mean

•Make personal emotional connections with people

•Get face-to-face

Generate Small Generate Small WinsWins for Momentumfor Momentum

• Truly Achievable

• Outwardly Visible

• Easy to Measure

• Easy to Communicate

• Symbolically Important

Gain/Impact Gain/Impact MatrixMatrix

DelightfulDelightful DemandingDemanding

DiscretionaryDiscretionary DangerousDangerous

Org

an

izati

on

al

gain

Personal Impact

High

Low

Low HighEpic Change – Timothy R. Clark, 2008




Org

an

izati

on

al

gain

Personal Impact

High

Low





Org

an

izati

on

al

gain

Personal Impact

High

Low





Org

an

izati

on

al

gain

Personal Impact

High

Low





Org

an

izati

on

al

gain

Personal Impact

High

Low


Stakeholder AnalysisStakeholder Analysis

KEEP SATISFIED

MANAGE CLOSELY

MONITOR(Minimal

Effort)

KEEP INFORMED

INTEREST

POWER

High

Low High

Source: MindTools, retrieved from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm

Low

Stakeholder Analysis

• High power, interested people: These are the people you must fully engage and make the

greatest efforts to satisfy.

• High power, less interested people:

Put enough work in with these people to keep them satisfied, but not so much that they become bored with your message. B.L.U.F.

Stakeholder Analysis

• Low power, interested people: Keep these people adequately informed, and talk to them to ensure

that no major issues are arising. These people can often be very helpful with the detail of your project.

• Low power, less interested people: Again, monitor these people, but do not bore them with excessive

communication.

Avoiding Avoiding Disasters Disasters

During ChangeDuring Change• Recruit With Honesty• Guard Against the Crazies• Build Support Among Like-Minded People• Plan for Change From a Solid Conceptual Base• Don’t Settle for Rhetorical Change• Don’t let Those who are Opposed to Change Appropriate

Basic Issues• Know the Territory• Appreciate Environmental Factors• Avoid Future Shock• Remember that Change is Most Successful When Those

Affected are Involved in the Planning

Warren Bennis, Change: the New Metaphysics, 2000

Documents

Making Change How State Employees can Become Effective Change Agents and Leaders