An Essential Order to Organizational Change

Some recipes can be done without regard to order, but most have to be done in the proper sequence. You can’t bake the cake pan, then put the batter in it. Same with organizational change, where the recipes are all variants on a simple core three-step recipe: Assess the strategic gaps; cut unneeded, counterproductive, and wasteful parts of the organization including staff, then shift to rebuilding with a new, positive vision and plan. Three steps. Not so complex, really. But do them in the wrong order or waffle amongst them on and off, and the results are going to be a mess instead of a nice cake.

With that thought in mind, here are some tips for change managers, to help avoid the most common pitfalls of their role:

1. Identify Issues before starting to work on them.

2. When it is clear that staff needs updating (as is almost always true in change management), change the staff ASAP. Other changes being impractical until one has the right staff.

3. In changing staff, lay off, fire, retire early or whatever, ASAP. There can be costs associated with moving someone out, especially if they are a long term employee. These costs are modest compared with the costs of delaying. Put it in perspective. Also note that the costs always are greater when you delay and procrastinate, because every day that you have the wrong staff in place is costing you and your organization in many (often hidden) ways.

4. Until the staff is aligned with the needs (both ‘soft’ attitudinal/personality alignment and ‘hard’ skill/experience alignment), it will be impossible to complete any substantive, durable,  proactive changes. (It is always possible to begin good initiatives, but to get them to become easy routines, no; not until the prerequisite steps have been completed.) This is because of three barriers: Attitudinal resistance, lack of needed skills/experience, and squeaky wheel syndrome (meaning that the misaligned or inadequate staff will pull most of the management attention and effort to them and away from proactive and positive activities).

These are of course my opinions. There are mostly opinions and not a lot of absolute facts in the field of management. The above opinions are formed from seeing many management teams go through change, and from reading many studies and reports from experts on organizational change, who have a surprisingly high degree of agreement about the fundamental need to make staff cuts and disinvestments aggressively and quickly, so as to be able to move on to rebuilding as soon as is possible. Also, not to alternate using the axe and the hammer, as this leaves everyone (esp. staff) confused as to when it is okay to start feeling secure and buy into the change. Cut where you must, first, then go about the process of rebuilding. (Next post will be about the ethics of organizational change.)

Alex Hiam

Amherst, Mass., Sept. 30, 2013

Steps for Orderly Launch of a New Management Team

It's a common scenario: A new leader or team of leaders comes into a workplace, eager and willing, but soon runs into the muck of old habits, bad attitudes, and inefficient customs. Enthusiasm flags. Sometimes the new team actually gives up and moves on. More often, it keeps complaining about resistance to change and behind-you-back hostility. None of this needs to be. There's an orderly way to clean house, and then renovate it. BUT, please keep in mind that simple lists are not like antibiotics. You can't just pop a pill. You will need to work hard and adapt any process to your own situation. The following is just a starting point to get you thinking and help you see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. :-)

1. Become familiar with your new organization’s strengths (procedures that are working well, positive feelings and attitudes, strong external relationships, physical and other assets of value). “Appreciative inquiry.” Benefits: Smoother transitions. Retention of good practices, staffers, procedures, facilities, etc.

2. Define aspirations (What do we want the entity to be? To accomplish? To contribute? How do we want customers and partners to see us?) Benefits: Clear mission and position goals.

3. List gaps, defined as people, processes/practices, habits, beliefs (internal and external), relationships, tensions, metrics, liabilities, or whatever else proves useful to clarify ways in which organization is or has historically fallen short of aspirations.

4. Prioritize gaps. What comes first? How to avoid tackling too much, or getting mired in too many details all at once?

5. Set and execute opening strategy. Three key actions that bridge first 50% of gap ASAP. Benefits: Shows strong and clear intention by moving toward aspirations strongly, right away.

6. Strengthen relationships with allies (those who are attracted to your aspirations via your initial movement).

7. Settle into some sort of routine while finishing the next 45% of the journey at a slightly slower pace. Recognize that aspirations usually produce stretch goals and it’s okay to be a bit short of them as long as you have made durable, beneficial progress that everyone can feel.

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Here are some general observations that may also help as you go through these steps:

- The old management team generally hinders, rather than helps, as you pursue your new agenda, which is why old leadership is usually best replaced, not layered over. If some of the old team is still kicking around, kick them out. (How? That's what your HR folks are for. Ask them how to move people on gracefully if they no longer are helpful or relevant.)

- Historical knowledge may or may not be an asset. Were best practices already in place? (See 1.) If not, seek new knowledge and better practice from elsewhere, or create it yourself.

- Resistance to change is a real and powerful thing. It can and will wear out a new management team because it is easier to sabotage than to create. Thus experienced change managers favor a spring cleaning ASAP, in which those who do not exhibit enthusiasm for the new team and its aspirations soon move to other organizations where they feel more at home, and new recruits are brought in who are attracted to the new team and its agenda. You cannot win any game with a team that doesn’t want to play.

- Alex Hiam, Amherst Mass

Personnel Alignment

Additional steps to help new leaders get their teams into good shape  

     Once new management team has a good sense of the existing strengths of organization, a clear view of its aspirations, and sees the main gaps that need to be addressed, plans can begin to be formulated.

     At that point, personnel can be assessed in the context of the emerging new mission and positioning strategy, the desired new performance level, and so forth. Here are a few observations for aligning staff with the vision of the new organization and the plans for it:

1. Start with the big picture: What positions are really going to be needed for certain? Are some now out of date or redundant? Redraw the chart and redefine the positions needed before doing anything more.

2. Recraft the job descriptions so that each desired position is well defined both in terms of the tangibles of work (who does what, when etc.) and the intangibles (presenting the new image, creating positive impact on customers and partners, working smoothly with team, relating positively and productively with leaders, etc.). Attitudes and behaviors that effect other people of importance to the functioning and mission of the organization can and should be included in job descriptions. So should skill sets, performance levels, and willingness to pursue self-improvement if these things are important to the organization going forward.

3. Orient staff to the plans for remaking the organization, and to their new job descriptions, with emphasis on how the two dovetail. 

4. Support staff who genuinely try, with at least some success, to adapt appropriately (so long as they aren’t lingering at an unacceptable level of performance).

5. If necessary, follow a considered, consistent series of several reasonable but firm steps to move others on. Goal should be no staff who are sabotaging the work of the new organization either by performing badly themselves, hurting performance of others, or hurting morale and perceptions of the organization externally.

6. Negative talk is not only annoying, it can (see new job descriptions) actually be “poor performance” if it sabotages important goals for improvement. Write it up (from direct observation if possible). Firmly follow your discipline or outplacement processes.

7. Negative thinking can be a deeply rooted habit, and not entirely in a leader’s control. It is often impractical to change personalities and personal attitudes exhibited at work. Changing the organization is easier than changing any one individual. That’s why change managers often recruit new teams. 

- Alex Hiam, Amherst Mass