Leading Change L.H. Newcomb Professor Emeritus College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences The Ohio State University

Objectives The learners will: Explain why change is needed in their organization Explain the difference between structural change and cultural change Explain Kotter’s eight-step process Begin to develop a strategy to lead change Develop the beginning of a strategy to lead a change effort in their current assignment

Objectives - continued The learners will: Generate ways to increase a sense of urgency Design a preliminary guiding coalition Discuss communication strategies Suggest ideas for short term wins

Land Grant Administrators. . . What are tough issues they face? What are impediments in Organization and structure Business practices Organizational culture What makes it difficult for them to make significant change? What must they change for the future?

Your Position/Area of Influence Identify a significant change that is absolutely needed. Examples might be: Reorganization Changing the reward system Eliminating functions Dramatic altering of the portfolio of efforts Destroying “silos” Merging with another unit

Your Position/Area of Influence Identify something: that is real for your situation that you care about where you want to make progress where applying what you learn here could help accomplish it Describe “what is” Describe “what you envision must be”

Kotter’s Eight Stage Process for Leading Change Establish a Sense of Urgency Create the Guiding Coalition Develop a Vision and Strategy Communicate the Change Vision Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. p. 21.

Kotter’s Eight Stage Process for Leading Change - continued Empower Employees for Broad-Based Action Generate Short-Term Wins Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change Anchor New Approaches in the Culture Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. p. 21.

Behavior Patterns that Create Paralysis Each unit/individual for itself Hierarchy rules Consensus at all costs Always have the right answer Whatever is done must be done by all All will agree to whatever is decided

A New Set of Rules Questions are more compelling than answers. Learning is more a function of critical thinking than being right. Purposeful experimentation is more important than predictive thinking. How could you use this notion to help you lead change where you are now?

The absence of a major and visible crisis Sources of Complacency Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. p. 40. The absence of a major and visible crisis Too much happy talk Too many visible from senior management resources Human nature, with its Low overall capacity for denial performance especially if people are standards already busy or stressed A kill-the-messenger-of Organizational bad-news, low-candor, structures that focus low-confrontation culture employees on narrow functional goals A lack of sufficient Internal measurement performance feedback systems that focus on the from external sources wrong performance indexes COMPLACENCY

Building a Coalition That Can Make Change Happen Find the Right People With strong position power, broad expertise, and high credibility With leadership and management skills, especially the former Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. pp. 57-61.

Discussion – Create Trust How can you create trust within your organization?

Empowerment People won’t help when they feel powerless Move commitment to change AND participation in change out beyond the guiding coalition and the management team Beyond the umbrella organization

Discussion - Empowerment What can you do to empower people to lead, assist, and enable change in your organization? What are you willing to try? What are you will to assault to make progress in this area?

The Role of Short-Term Wins Provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it: Wins greatly help justify the short-term costs involved. Reward change agents with a pat on the back: After a lot of hard work, positive feedback builds morale and motivation. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. p. 123.

The Role of Short-Term Wins Help fine-tune vision and strategies: Short-term wins give the guiding coalition concrete data on the viability of their ideas. Be willing to keep building the bridge as you cross it. Undermine cynics and self-serving resisters: Clear improvements in performance make it difficult for people to block needed change. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. p. 123.

The Role of Short-Term Wins Keep bosses on board: Provide those higher in the hierarchy with evidence that the transformation is on track. Building momentum: Turns neutrals into supporters, reluctant supporters into active helpers, etc. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. p. 123.

Discussion – Short Term Wins What might some “short term wins” be for the change effort you are committed to leading?