IMA's Implementing Organizational Changes at Speed Blog

A Change Management Methodology Helps Build a Change-Adept Organization

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Can a change management methodology be the single solution to creating a change-adept organization?

Organizations that are looking to survive and even thrive in a volatile economic environment recognize that being “change-adept” is more critical than ever.  Practically speaking, however, we need to clarify how to get from “here to there.” And it requires multiple capabilities, "including but not limited to" a change management methodology!

As a first step, it’s helpful to identify four distinct organization capabilities that are requirements for a change-adept organization.  Combined together, these capabilities:

• provide the skill and structure required to identify problems and improvement opportunities
• technically implement solutions in a cost-effective and efficient manner
• manage all aspects of the implementation including the human and cultural elements
• provide the organizational support needed for implementation success

Capability 1:  Provide Statistical Analyses for Problem Identification

Application of problem-solving processes like Lean Sigma are extremely useful in identifying improvement opportunities and providing a common language and approach. While this capability is extremely useful, it is not a silver bullet for driving innovation and continuous improvement into the organization.  It does, however, provide a data-based approach that can help prioritize and focus on those areas that will deliver greater efficiencies and improved productivity.

Capability 2:  Apply Project Management Discipline

The first capability that a change-adept organization needs is an explicit project management methodology, supported by a skilled-cadre of project and program managers.  Project management discipline enables the organization to ensure there is a plan that will manage resources, identify risks, control costs, and increase the likelihood that the project is completed on time.  Change-adept organizations are also implementing enterprise-wide teams that have a broad view of how best to prioritize work efforts across multiple initiatives.

Capability 3:  Build AIM Expertise to Manage the Human and Cultural Change Elements

By definition, a change-adept organization must be able to implement quickly.  Organizations that see the business value in becoming change-adept will benefit greatly from a systemic and systematic structured implementation framework exemplified by the AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology) change management methodology.  Absent a common framework for managing the human and cultural elements of strategic initiatives, organizations are far more likely to take too long, spend too much, and increase the likelihood that desired changes are not sustained over time.

Capability 4:   Have a Network of Internal Consultants with Credibility and Influence

The change-adept organization must have a network of individuals with the competence and credibility to support implementation at the local level.  It is critically important that you select these individuals based on a set of specific traits and characteristics (see IMA’s Change Agent Assessment tool for guidance.)  These individuals must also be located in the right places and in sufficient numbers to support the organizational changes, and have credibility with both leaders and targets.

These four capabilities are the cornerstones for building a change-adept organization.  Each is critically important, but alone is insufficient. Combined together, supported by the right kind of active Sponsorship, these capabilities can help your organization drive competitive advantage, shareholder value, and long-term success.

Change Management Methodology Overview: Change the Change or Change the Culture

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Creating a Cultural Fit is an important element of the AIM change management methodology. Your organization’s culture is arguably your greatest strategic asset.  Your competition can potentially match your product or service.  Competition can create a marketing strategy that’s equally powerful.  But no competition will have your culture. 

Your corporate culture is the collective pattern of values, behaviors, and unwritten rules of your organization—it’s the collective frame of reference for your organization.  And when it comes to implementation of major business changes, the consistency of that change within the corporate culture can predict the probability of implementation success. 

Unwritten Rules are Most Powerful

We all recognize that our organizations have unique aspects to them which we can term the "corporate culture."  The culture includes:

• Behaviors- how we operate
• Values- guidelines for the decisions we make
• Unwritten rules- “the way we do things around here”

In a successful organization, values are consistently expressed, modeled, and reinforced.  When the there is a mismatch or lack of alignment between the “walk,” the “talk,” and the reinforcement from leaders, there is less confidence and trust.  In terms of implementation, this lack of trust impacts the speed and resources required for successful implementation. 

Low Trust= Low speed, more resources needed

High Trust= High speed, fewer resources needed

Remember that reinforcement has the greatest impact on the successful outcome of your change, and when there is a mismatch between what is expressed, modeled, and reinforced, you can expect confusion and less readiness for the change. 

While values are important, it’s the unwritten rules that are the most powerful determinant of culture.  So powerful, in fact, that if your change is inconsistent with the culture, you ultimately will be faced with two choices—either change the change, so that is consistent, or change the culture, which is a long and very difficult process. 

Changing the Culture is a Difficult Proposition

Don’t go up against your organizational culture without a business imperative to do so, because you can expect lots of resistance.  There are many reasons why culture change is so difficult.  First, leaders will be inclined to reinforce the culture that made them successful in the first place—culture is self-reinforcing! So consequently you can expect a lot of resistance from the leaders themselves (as we say, you can expect the greatest resistance from those that have the highest investment in things remaining the same.) 

If changing the culture still makes good business sense, be prepared to:

• Re-define what success looks like, and build an implementation plan with the appropriate reinforcements for the new behaviors
• Make certain that you have powerful Sponsors who are actively committed to the change (not just lip-service)
• Develop skilled Change Agents who can support the culture change.  If you have too few Agents, or don’t have credibility and influence in the right areas of the organization, your chances for success will be minimal

Culture change requires more than a vision of the future state—you need a solid implementation plan that includes specific plans for building Sponsorship, Readiness, Reinforcement, Communication, and Change Agents.  

Transformational Change: Do You Have the Managerial Courage?

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Many organizations want to undertake transformational change even though it’s so difficult to accomplish-- and many are also unprepared to invest what is required to be successful.  It’s much easier to talk about the rewards of a new culture, a new business model, or a re-vamped structure than to demonstrate the managerial courage and commitment to the hard work of transformational change.  Senior leaders are often unaware of the personal cost of transformational change. 

It’s not something that occurs “out there” in the organization—it must begin in the halls of mahogany row. 

Leaders really need to understand what it will take for success.  Here are some important reminders:

 1.  Be prepared for a 3 to 5 year commitment to the transformation.  Leaders under-estimate what it takes to get transformational change implemented.  Remember that once you have the strategy designed you’re only about 15% of the way there.  The really hard work is in implementing the changes.  If your leaders aren’t prepared to go the distance, it’s much better to not even start the journey.  The implications for failed or sub-optimized transformational change are significant and long-lasting.

 2.   The transformation must be a top priority.  If leaders have a laundry list of priorities and the transformation is not number one or two on the list, you can be pretty certain that the transformation will not be implemented successfully.  When all the typical day to day needs get addressed first, and the transformation is only considered “when time allows,” you are positioned to fail.  It’s always instructive when leaders say they want to embark on transformational change, but “don’t have the time” to commit to a four hour session to learn what this transformation will require from them!

 3.   Transformational change requires that the organization does different things differently, and that starts at the top.  If leaders behave in the same ways they always have, they are sending an important message to the organization, and it’s not the message they probably intended.  The leaders may say “this is different” but if their own behavior is the same as it has always been, the message received is “this is more of the same.”  Leaders must set the tone for the transformation by what they say, what they do, and what they reinforce.  There are many ways that leaders can demonstrate their commitment to the transformation if they understand the power of their own behavior.

 4.   The transformation will be resource-intensive.  Leaders must be prepared to invest the resources needed to have skilled change agents in the right numbers and the right places across the enterprise.  This does not mean assigning individuals who happen to be “available” to the transformational initiatives.  If the “best and brightest” aren’t part of the transformation, then it signals that this is not that important.  While you will never have all the resources you need, you do have to have a reasonable financial commitment or you will fail.

5.   Leaders must have the requisite “managerial courage.”  The transformation will require difficult decisions and actions.  The first time the direct report of a senior leader doesn’t do what’s needed, and nothing happens, a message is sent to the rest of the organization.  If leaders at the top don’t have the courage to act, then it won’t magically appear down the organizational chain.

Transformational change is very attractive in concept, but very difficult to achieve. The most important factor in ensuring the successful implementation of the transformation is the cascade of Sponsorship that must be established at every level impacted by the changes. What leaders say, what they do, and what they reinforce must consistently align with the new behaviors of the transformation.  Senior leaders must understand that transformation begins with them!

Change Management Methodologies Look at Reinforcement Differently

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"So tell me what makes the AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology) change management methodology different from (fill in the blank)?" 

That's a question we get all the time. 

One of the major differences is the importance that AIM places on reinforcement.  Reinforcement is the control switch for getting sustained adoption for your change.  Reinforcement is more important than just about any other element of a change management methodology, except possibily for sponsorship.

Yet it's often given little or not attention!

When we talk about reinforcement, we are referring to the three ways that the behavioral changes (the behaviors we seek to see) that are embedded in any organizational change are encouraged:

• positive consequences
• negative consequences (immediate and predictable)
• making adoption of the new behaviors easier, and making the old ways harder

There was a perfect example today from a client who was complaining about not getting getting employees to come to work wearing the newly required uniform.  What to do?  Send the employee home if he or she isn't wearing the uniform!  That's an immediate, negative consequence and it tells everyone else that this manager and the company takes the new policy seriously.

The reinforcement strategy for any organizational change needs to be thought through and there must be implementation-specific reinforcements in place.  One of the "speed bumps" that gets in the way of adoption is that the rewards reinforce the present state, not the desired state.

Remember, too, that you can't rely on the formal performance management system as the driver of your reinforcement strategy because it will always lag behind the implementation.  And it's designed to reinforce what you have now-- the same reinforcements will encourage the same behavior.

Reinforcement management is not just about performance appraisals or pay.  If you want to get sustained adoption at speed, then your change management methodology must put a heavy emphasis on reinforcement strategy and planning.

Is Your Change Management Methodology Only a Communication Plan?

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One of the common mistakes that we see in the change management methodologies employed by many organizations is an almost singular emphasis on communication planning.  The assumption is that if we just tell people about the change, and tell them more often, we will eliminate resistance.

The fact is that resistance to change isn't logical and you will never combat resistance by communicating elegant messages from the top.  A sound change management methodology like the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) certainly includes communication planning-- but take a look at the AIM roadmap and you will see that communication is only one of the ten elements for managing the human side of organizational changes!

Keep in mind that if we could change behavior just by communicating more effectively people wouldn't smoke and everyone would be at their ideal weight.  Yet many change management methodologies rely on communication and overlook the real power-lever in driving sustained behavior change-- which is changing the reinforcements.

The other mistake that organizations make in their change management methodology is to focus their communication planning on one-way, top-down, one-size-fits all communication.  Instead, we recommend the following best practices in the AIM change management methodology:

1.  All communication should include a feedback loop so that you can identify the potential sources of resistance

2.  Communications must be translated into the Frame of Reference of the targets, not be written from the Frame of Reference of sponsors (another common mistake)

3.  If you want to get the attention of your targets, don't use the typical methods of email or even town hall meetings.  If you are involved in a transformational change your communication must signal that this is different! 

4.  The most powerful communication delivery mechanism is the small face to face meeting where you are able to manage resistance with prescribed AIM tactics

Bottom-line: a Communication Plan is not an Implementation Plan!

How Do You Measure Transformational Change Success?

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• On time
• On budget
• All technical objectives met
• All business objectives met
• All human objectives met

1. Adjust the definition of project success
2. Avoid dismantling the project and program infrastructure at the point of go live and budget for implementation
3. Clearly define the human objectives of projects early in the project lifecycle
4. Provide formal and informal reinforcements for true implementation

Using Change Management Consulting in Role Transformations

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In our change management consulting work we get the opportunity to have a window into strategic changes that are being implemented across many organizations.  

There are many examples of organizations that are embarking on "role transformation" efforts.  These include transforming HR generalists into HR consultants and IT professionals into business analysts.  The goal of these transformational change efforts is to convert a "transactional" role into a "consultative" role that is more business-focused.

We know from our own change management consulting on these initiatives that leaders can underestimate what is required to implement this type of transformational change successfully.  It takes a lot more than waving a magic wand and saying, "You will all now be business consultants!" 

Change management consulting can make a real difference in limiting the level of disruption and getting the change implemented and sustained.  If you can approach the change in a planful way you will save time and a lot of frustration. 

While this transformational change may be seen as a "positive change" because you are elevating a position, the fact is that not everyone wants to be a consultant.  You will meet with a lot resistance that you will have to manage.  And that resistance will be evident very early on.

So having an "implementation plan" makes good sense.  In our change management consulting this includes:

• a clear definition of the change (what is changing, why, and what are the consequences if it is not successful)
• a sponsorship strategy that includes a strategy for building sponsorship in the business areas that are impacted by the change
• a readiness strategy that prepares targets with knowledge and new skills they will need, practice that will build confidence, information, and the motivation to move from what is comfortable (the current state) to what is uncomfortable (the future state)
• a communication plan
• a reinforcement plan that emphasizes positive consequences for making the leap, and negative consequences for remaining in the present world, and that includes both formal and informal reinforcements

While change management consulting isn't a silver bullet, it can make a real difference in ensuring that you are not just changing boxes on an org chart or revising a job description.

Anticipating Resistance: A Change Management Methodology Guide

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But how exactly do you identify what resistance is, and where it is coming from?

One of the benefits of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) is that it operationalizes many of the theoretical prescriptions you will find in other change management methodologies. 

You can predict the impact of a change in advance and anticipate the level of resistance from various target groups.  Once you know the likely level of resistance, you can put strategies and tactics in place to management that resistance pro-actively.

This is extremely useful for managers and change agents who are put in the position of building readiness and managing resistance on a daily basis.  There are 9 questions that help assess potential levels of resistance from the Targets' "Frame of Reference"-- those people who are most impacted by the change.

The AIM Change Management Methodology identifies these 9 questions as:

1. Does this change have a low perceived need?

2. Are there unclear expectations?

3. Does it have unknown outcomes?          

4. Are there negative impacts?

5. Does it seem to be irreversible?

6. Does it have low rewards, and high costs?

7. Will it cause a high-level of disruption?

8. Is there low involvement in how the change will be implemented?

9. Does it imply poor past performance?

One of the guiding principles of AIM is that resistance is a process and must be managed.  It can't be combatted, solved, or overcome! 

The value of the AIM change management methodology is that it not only asks these questions, it guides you to the actions to take with the answers. 

Four Signs You Don't Have Sponsorship for Transformational Change

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When we talk about sponsorship as the single most important factor in successful implementation of transformational change, we are referring to the development of a cascade of sponsors at each management level—each of whom is expressing, modeling and reinforcing his or her personal commitment to the transformation.  Here are four signs you can look for in your own transformational change that indicate whether or not you have work to do to get the sponsorship you need for implementation success.

 The Four Signs

Sign One:  Sponsors express transformation, but reinforce “same.”

When there are inconsistencies between what sponsors say, versus what they do, and even more importantly, what they reinforce, you have non-alignment.  This is readily apparent to employees!  If your reinforcements aren’t radically altered you will not get transformational change.  Your current reinforcements are perfectly designed for the outputs you are getting right now, so if you are looking for radical change, it just stands to reason you also need radically different reinforcements.

For example, if you are looking for customer-centric behavior, but your sponsors continue to reinforce “making your numbers” as most-valued, your transformation will stall out or sub-optimize.

Sign Two: You have sponsorship at the top of the organization but weak accountability in the middle layers of the organization.

One of the common pitfalls for transformational change is that your cascade of sponsorship starts at the top but falls apart in the mid-to-upper levels of the organization.  When this happens, a “black hole” is created that needs to be addressed for transformational success.

 If you’re a change agent, you can’t ignore these black holes.  You’ll have to contract with sponsors one level up to get the sponsorship you need to fix the problem. 

This is the conundrum of sponsorship for transformational change: you will often have the most resistance for the transformation from the very individuals from whom you need sponsorship!

Sign Three:  Sponsors believe that they can get transformational change without changing their own behavior.

When sponsors believe the transformation is for everyone else “out there” but they continue to operate just as they have always done, they are signaling that they really aren’t after transformational change. Sponsors must visibly demonstrate some personal sacrifice in order to signal that this change is truly different.

Gandhi’s admonition to “be the change” is excellent advice for sponsors of transformational change.  If sponsors follow the same patterns they always have in implementing the transformation, they are signaling that this really isn’t different.  You can’t get transformational change with the same kind of sponsorship you’ve had for incremental changes.

Sign Four:  Sponsors measure success by the level of project activity and claim victory based on installation rather than implementation.

If sponsors individually and collectively consider transformational change complete at the point of installation, you most certainly won’t achieve value realization.  Sponsors demonstrate their commitment for transformational change when they provide resources up through full implementation—meaning that all business, technical and human objectives have been accomplished. 

The pace of the transformation is based on sponsor behavior, not on the amount of activity of change agents!

Transformational change means doing different things differently, and that includes sponsors who provide “transformational sponsorship.”

Can You Skip the Bumps of Transformational Change?

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Can you skip the bumps of transformational change with change management consulting to your sponsors, change agents, and project team members?  Well you can certainly smooth the bumps out a lot even if you can't avoid them completely!

Many transformational change efforts stall out or fail because the implementation is managed as if this were an incremental change like a new process or a new system.  You can't execute transformational change with incremental change methods! 

The organization will quickly see that you are doing things the same way but hoping for different outcomes. 

The fact is that organizations are stuck in their own ways and often need change management consulting to execute in a radically different way.  As Don Harrison, IMA President, tells sponsors when he is involved in change management consulting, "You are really good at 'same' but your job now is to be transformational sponsors. What psychological cues are you offering that this is really different?"

This is a hard message for an internal consultant to deliver!

Project teams and change agents are stuck too.  They use the same communication methods that they have always used.  For example, if they have always used town hall meetings to launch a change, then there is a natural tendency to go with what has worked in the past. 

But that's telling the organization that the "transformation" is more of the same!

In sum, change management consulting can help make sure you don't fall in the same traps or repeat the same methods.  Your execution has to model transformation in content and process.  

Otherwise you can expect a lot of bumps along the way.