Manage Change Breakthrough Performance for Your Organization

Welcome to the Sixth Sigma Zone for Managing Change.

The purpose of this zone is to introduce you to some ideas, an approach, and techniques for leading and managing organizational change.

"…the soft stuff is really the hard stuff… I've learned that what I considered hard or difficult is, in fact, the easy stuff. The technology issues are the easiest to deal with and don't usually make the most difference."…   Michael Hammer, IS People, 1993

What is Needed to Address Change?:

• The business reason and "call to action" to drive the change.
• A clear vision.
• Visible project support and sponsorship.
• Adequate management of the resistance to change.
• Management of competing events and change overload.
• Clear rewards and incentives for achieving transformation.
• Communication and measurement of the progress.

The Pre-Requisites for Change:

• Leadership and sponsorship.
• Common vision for the change.
• Current pain and dissatisfaction with the current state.
• Understanding of the expectations of the stakeholders.

What is Organizational Culture?:

Culture is an outcome of patterns of basic assumptions, beliefs, values, behaviors, and norms shared by members. It is "the way we do things around here…". Culture shapes an organization's decision patterns, guides an organization's actions, drives its members behavior, and impacts the organization's performance and results.

Understanding culture allows and organization to predict which behaviors are rewarded and which are out-of-bounds, how relationships with customers are managed, and how people relate to each other, solve conflict, and deal with success, and failure.

What is Organizational Resistance?:

Resistance is a force that slows or stops movement. It is natural and expected part of any change. Any system resists change that it believes will be harmful. People don't resist change. They resist the loss of control. Getting them involved is a critical strategy in dealing with resistance.

The strategies for dealing with resistance are: Listen. Hear what people say and don't say. Build strong working relationships across the organization. Partner with other stakeholders. Ensure that the lines of communication stay open.

What are stakeholders?:

A group of people who are internal or external to the organization and are involved in and/or impacted by the planned organizational changes. Analyzing stakeholder needs is a core element of change program, which would include a communication plan, end user training, and organizational alignment and redesign. Everyone has a different point of view based upon their organizational view, such as geography, culture, history, etc.

Everyone has individual differences in knowledge, behaviors, and emotions. It is important to understand stakeholder groups and communicate information that answers organizational and individual concerns. Multiple communication channels can be used for stakeholders, such as road show presentations, articles, web sites, lunch learning sessions, pulse surveys, e-mail messages, staff meetings, demonstrations, and informal networks.

What is the role of project leadership?:

The role of the project leaders in managing change is to develop the overall project communication strategy and plan, that is in-line with the overall business case. Strategic messages must be created that are consistent with leadership's desired outcomes for the project. Specific communication strategies and plan must be developed for each functional area. Project leaders should participate actively and visibly in the communication process by leading briefings and events.

What is the role of a communication team?:

The role of the communication team in managing change is to develop the communication plan. Templates should be created for developing effective communication messages. The communication team should coordinate all communications and the execution of the communication strategy. It is essential for the communication team to integrate stakeholder concerns into the plan and to notify project leadership of key issues.

What is the role of a change network?:

The change network can focus on building an information mill throughout the organization. It ensures that people at many levels are engaged in information sessions and have the ability to ask questions. It is important to identify appropriate members and build a strong change network.

What is successful change?:

Leadership is accountable for change. The project team members become effective agents for change. Organizational structures, processes, and practices support the desired project results. Employees are prepared for the changes and are successful in achieving the results. And, lastly, the project transition to full implementation is smooth. Successful change is a function of how productive people are in the new work environment.

Our Manage Change Catalog

• Managing by Values by Kenneth H. Blanchard
• Managing Change at Work: Leading People Through Organizational Transitions (A Fifty-Minute Series Book) by Cynthia D. Ph.D. Scott
• Managing Change: Text and Cases by Todd D. Jick
• Inevitable Surprises: Thinking Ahead in a Time of Turbulence by Peter Schwartz
• Making Six Sigma Last : Managing the Balance Between Cultural and Technical Change by George Eckes
• Managing At the Speed of Change by Daryl R. Conner
• When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization by Howard M. Guttman
• Managing the Change Process: A Field Book for Change Agents by David K. Carr

• Managing Change: Cases and Concepts by Todd D. Jick
• Managing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Technology-Based Firms by Michael J. C. Martin
• Managing Technological Innovation : Competitive Advantage from Change by Frederick Betz
• Business As Unusual: Handbook for Managing and Supervising Organizational Changes by Price Pritchett
• Put the Moose on the Table: Lessons in Leadership from a Ceo's Journey Through Business and Life by Randall Tobias
• Business Process Management (BPM): The Third Wave by Howard Smith
• Managing Change and Transition by Harvard Business School Press

• Managing Strategic Innovation and Change: A Collection of Readings by Michael Tushman
• Managing For The Future: Organizational Behavior and Procedures by Deborah G. Ancona
• Organization Development and Transformation: Managing Effective Change by Wendell L. French
• Managing the People Side of Innovation: 8 Rules for Engaging Minds and Hearts by A. J. Chopra

• Managing Change: A Guide to Producing Innovation from Within by Sandra J. Hale
• Managing Change: A Human Resource Approach by Adrian Thornhill
• Fast Forward: The Best Ideas on Managing Business Change (Harvard Business Review Book Series) by James Champy
• Successfully Managing Change In Organizations: The Workbook by Stephen J. Thomas

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