International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology 22. Leading Change SLP(E) Course

College of Management and Technology Defence Reform Unit Defence does not like change: –Bottom-fed | home grown staff. Under-estimated how hard it is to change behaviour & culture | resources required & senior commitment. Turnover of staff. Senior leadership communicates late & fails to engage effectively. Jun 2011

College of Management and Technology Kotter’s Eight Steps 1.Sense of urgency. 2.Powerful guiding coalition. 3.Create a Vision. 4.Communicate the Vision. 5.Act out the Vision. 6.Short-term wins. 7.Prepare to produce more change. 8.Institutionalize new approaches

College of Management and Technology The Ability to Embrace Change A shared vision where people are enthusiastic about the mission & the processes by which this will be achieved Create positive outlook: help people look for opportunities rather than obstacles.

College of Management and Technology The Energy to Change Change is a dynamic process. Change leaders must release & focus the energy within their organisation. The personal challenges.

College of Management and Technology Kurt Lewin: 3 Stage Process Change: a three-stage process. –Unfreezing. Overcoming inertia Dismantling the existing "mind set". Bypassing defense mechanisms.

College of Management and Technology Kurt Lewin: 3 Stage Process Change: a three-stage process. –Unfreezing. Overcoming inertia Dismantling the existing "mind set". Bypassing defense mechanisms. –Change occurs. Typically a period of confusion and transition. Old ways are being challenged but… No clear picture as to their replacements.

College of Management and Technology Kurt Lewin: 3 Stage Process Change: a three-stage process. –Unfreezing. Overcoming inertia Dismantling the existing "mind set". Bypassing defense mechanisms. –Change occurs. Typically a period of confusion and transition. Old ways are being challenged but… No clear picture as to their replacements. –Freezing. The new mindset is crystallizing. Comfort level is returning.

College of Management and Technology Roles Sponsor: –Allocate resources & initiates change. Guiding Coalition: –Senior Leaders who lead the change by example. Change Agents: –Empowered to plan & implement. Champions: –Strong supporters of change.

International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology Style & Change Leading Change 10

College of Management and Technology Style & Change Style influences the change process. Leaders generally have a choice in the style with which they conduct change programmes. There is no right way but it is vital that the style is appropriate to the context.

College of Management and Technology Styles: Educational Typical means: Group briefings. Problems: Time consuming. Direction or progress may be unclear. Benefits: Overcomes lack or (mis)information

College of Management and Technology Styles: Collaborative Typical means: Set up task forces or groups to produce solutions. Problems: Outcomes within same paradigm. Benefits: Increases ownership of decision & possibly quality.

College of Management and Technology Styles: Intervention Typical means: Change agent e.g. consultancy Problems: Credibility. Benefits: Process is guided but involvement takes place

College of Management and Technology Styles: Directive Typical means: Use of authority to set direction Problems: Lack of acceptance, ill conceived strategy Benefits: Clarity & speed

College of Management and Technology Styles: Coercive Typical means: Explicit use of power through edict Problems: Least successful unless crisis Benefits: May be successful in crisis or state of confusion

College of Management and Technology Style & Change

International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology Burn’s Transactional/Transformational Leadership Transactional leaders: BUY followers. Transformational leaders: INSPIRE followers. ? ?

International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology Analysis Tools Leading Change 19

College of Management and Technology Resistance: Force-field Analysis Mission / Objective Forces against Forces for

College of Management and Technology Low High Power Level of Interest Low High Stakeholder Mapping: The Power/interest Matrix Keep satisfied Key players Minimal effort Keep informed

International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology Communication Leading Change 22

College of Management and Technology Communicating the change Kotter suggests that communication is the single most important change lever and is the one most frequently neglected. To achieve change means gaining trust through open communication.

College of Management and Technology Communication of change Communication: Face to face –One-to-one or group Interactive –Telephone Personal –Tailored memo/letter General bulletins –Circulars/notice boards 24 Type of media Rich Routine Complex Change Effective Communication Rich communication for complex change Routine communication for routine change Too rich = confusion Too little = mistrust

International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology Final Thoughts Leading Change 25

College of Management and Technology Silent killers Overly directive senior management. Unclear strategy & conflicting priorities. Weak or ineffective senior management. Poor communication (up/down). Poor coordination (across). Inadequate lower level leadership skills. Destructive attitudes: e.g. appear supportive, but then do nothing.

College of Management and Technology Lessons Identified Change strategies will contain unintended consequences; acknowledge at start. There will be change fatigue; keep going. Make change a constant; life is a project… There needs to be a plan; and it needs to be communicated.

College of Management and Technology Final Thoughts The reason for change must be strong. Change does not happen on its own. Sustained engagement required. Expect resistance: deal with it. Effective communication can be difficult. Generate & maintain a positive climate.

College of Management and Technology Defence Transformation “When I was working on Streamlining three or four years ago, I went back through all of the attempts at change over the past 40 to 50 years, since Mountbatten in the 60’s, and at each stage it is very clear that the analysis is the same. We have to change both from the top down and the bottom up, but it's about empowerment; it's about trust…” 2 PUS | John Day Virtual Townhall Teleconference 5 Sep 11

International Section | Leadership & Management Division | College of Management and Technology 22. Leading Change SLP(E) Course