A new
payroll system, merging two sales organizations, centralizing training and
development, entering a new market, outsourcing data entry, introducing highly
computerized production machines – just a few of the numerous examples of
changes taking place in organizations.
There is
so much to say about change, change management, and change failure. The most
important thing to be highlighted I believe is the human side of change: How
people perceive change, how they respond to change, how and why they work with (or
against) change.
In any
situation including in times of change, your assumptions and your thinking
patterns influence what you see and how you see it, that is: how you interpret
what you see. Rarely do change makers and change consultants really inquire how
people perceive the present situation, how they see the future, and what they
think of the upcoming changes. And if they do, they are not adept at providing
the right support through the transitions that are part of the change process.
We all
know that change is inevitable and a lot of the change that we deal with is for
the better. Even then, change is generally disruptive and intrusive. Change
disturbs the balance, the known, the familiar. Change threatens past success
formulas and discredits past success. Or, if success was already a thing of the
distant past, it threatens feelings of security and control. In addition to general response patterns to
change, there are substantial individual differences in how people respond to
change. You’ll see excitement, fear, protection, worry, resentment, skepticism,
support and a combination of feelings.
As
William Bridges in Managing Transitions (2003) highlights,
it is usually not the change we have difficulty with, but the transition. Bridges
explains that transition is psychological. It’s a 3-phase process where people
gradually accept the details of the new situation and the changes that come
with it:
Phase 1: People have to part with their old ways of doing things and often with
their former identity. Letting go and dealing with loss are topics in this
phase.
Phase 2:
People have to go through a period where ‘the old’ is gone yet ‘the new’ is not
completely operational yet – the neutral zone. This zone requires, sometimes
drastic, practical and especially psychological adjustments.
Phase 3:
People have to close, let go of the transition period, and make a new
beginning. They develop a new identity and discover meaning in the new
situation. Or not, and then they are best off to move on.
As much
as every change involves transitions, every transition starts with an end and
ends with a new beginning. All types of change succeed or fail to the extent
that the people involved really start doing things differently, which requires
thinking differently. People have to part with ways of doing things that worked
before and that provided meaning, results and success. They have to start and
try out new and unknown ways of thinking and working. Successfully letting go of
the old and starting something new is a central theme in dealing with
transitions.
William
Bridges provides numerous tips for the different stages. Some examples are:
-
Identify, understand and acknowledge who will lose
what.
-
Sell the problem, not the solution.
-
Talk about the transition and let people know their
feelings are human and okay.
-
Ask yourself what behaviors are being rewarded now
that will change or need to change.
-
When marking the ending of the old, it is crucial
not to ridicule the past. It disqualifies all that people have done before.
-
Therefore,
position the past as a positive legacy that paved the way for the new.
- Let
people take something with them from the old to the new situation, just like we
do with children when they move to a different house or country, in which case we
call it ‘transition objects’.
As you
know very well, it’s the human side of change that makes or breaks any change
initiative. To champion and implement changes effectively I suggest you focus
on this human aspect of change. Two books I find very useful are Managing Transitions by William Bridges
and The Power of Habit by Charles
Duhigg.
