- The document discusses 10 insights on organizational change based on over 120 combined years of experience studying and applying change.
- It notes that the pace of change is increasing exponentially due to factors like technology and globalization. Change happens constantly in both personal and professional lives.
- While most change efforts fail, some organizations are able to successfully transform themselves. The document examines why some people and organizations can change while others cannot.
- Effective HR professionals help organizations build the capacity for change by improving individual and organizational abilities to respond to and embrace change.
In the year 2002, Warren Buffett made an admission that he had not been as vigilant as he should have been in his role as Director of the various subsidiaries of his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. In a letter to the shareholders he wrote “ Too often I was silent when management made proposals that I judged to be counter to the interest of the shareholders. In those cases, collegiality trumped independence and a certain social atmosphere presides in boardrooms where it becomes impolitic to challenge the Chief Executive.
Kevin Sharer, Chairman of Amgen, the US biotech company, portrayed a very different relationship between board and chief executive. “ Working with the board is vital, complex, and beyond your prior experience. It is among the most complex human relationships, especially if you are the chairman, when you are their boss, and they are your boss. Get the relationship right or it will hurt you.
These two very different experiences open a new book, Boards that Lead- When to take charge, When to Partner and When to stay out of the way. The central premise of the books is a plea. “ Governing boards should take more active leadership of the enterprises, not just monitor its management?
The growing complexity of markets and strategy, the authors say, is one of the biggest challenges for board members. It also means that they cannot afford to sit back and rubber stamp executive’s plans.
Boards often fail to do their job, they point out, for example failing to do their due diligence. They cite the example of Yahoo’s Chief Executive Scott Thompson. After a few months in the post, it was discovered that he had listed a degree in both accounting and computer science, but had actually earned only the first.
A good book to read move from Delivering to Leading.
Happy Reading
Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for Expansion draws on internal organizational research and information from 28 American firms, providing evidence that employers can gain tremendous benefit from providing flexibility in when and how work gets done. Study published in 2005 by Corporate Voices for Working Families and WFD Consulting.
A company is in Prime when form and function are in balance. The what and the how are in balance. Prior to Prime, function is more important than form. In other words, what we do is more important than how we do it. After Prime, how we do it is more important than what we do. That is why, after Prime, how you do something and whom you know is more important than what you do. In Prime, the what and how are in balance. In Prime, the company is both flexible and in control. Prior to Prime, the company is flexible, but not very much in control of itself. After Prime, control is very high, and the company loses flexibility. In Prime, flexibility and control are together.
However, in a company in Prime, the management is not as flexible as before Prime, because there is professional management: The tendency to depend on any single indispensable individual does not exist as it does in younger companies. On the other hand, in Prime, the organization has a strategic outlook without losing attention to detail. Furthermore, the organization does not look only at detail without losing its strategic outlook, so the company in Prime has controlled flexibility, and it doesn’t depend on any single individual.
• Performance is what an enterprise delivers to its shareholders in the here and now, evaluated through such measures as net operating profit, return on capital employed, total returns to share- holders, net operating costs, and stock turn.
• Health is the ability of the organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than its competition, allowing it to sustain exceptional performance year in, year out
In the year 2002, Warren Buffett made an admission that he had not been as vigilant as he should have been in his role as Director of the various subsidiaries of his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. In a letter to the shareholders he wrote “ Too often I was silent when management made proposals that I judged to be counter to the interest of the shareholders. In those cases, collegiality trumped independence and a certain social atmosphere presides in boardrooms where it becomes impolitic to challenge the Chief Executive.
Kevin Sharer, Chairman of Amgen, the US biotech company, portrayed a very different relationship between board and chief executive. “ Working with the board is vital, complex, and beyond your prior experience. It is among the most complex human relationships, especially if you are the chairman, when you are their boss, and they are your boss. Get the relationship right or it will hurt you.
These two very different experiences open a new book, Boards that Lead- When to take charge, When to Partner and When to stay out of the way. The central premise of the books is a plea. “ Governing boards should take more active leadership of the enterprises, not just monitor its management?
The growing complexity of markets and strategy, the authors say, is one of the biggest challenges for board members. It also means that they cannot afford to sit back and rubber stamp executive’s plans.
Boards often fail to do their job, they point out, for example failing to do their due diligence. They cite the example of Yahoo’s Chief Executive Scott Thompson. After a few months in the post, it was discovered that he had listed a degree in both accounting and computer science, but had actually earned only the first.
A good book to read move from Delivering to Leading.
Happy Reading
Business Impacts of Flexibility: An Imperative for Expansion draws on internal organizational research and information from 28 American firms, providing evidence that employers can gain tremendous benefit from providing flexibility in when and how work gets done. Study published in 2005 by Corporate Voices for Working Families and WFD Consulting.
A company is in Prime when form and function are in balance. The what and the how are in balance. Prior to Prime, function is more important than form. In other words, what we do is more important than how we do it. After Prime, how we do it is more important than what we do. That is why, after Prime, how you do something and whom you know is more important than what you do. In Prime, the what and how are in balance. In Prime, the company is both flexible and in control. Prior to Prime, the company is flexible, but not very much in control of itself. After Prime, control is very high, and the company loses flexibility. In Prime, flexibility and control are together.
However, in a company in Prime, the management is not as flexible as before Prime, because there is professional management: The tendency to depend on any single indispensable individual does not exist as it does in younger companies. On the other hand, in Prime, the organization has a strategic outlook without losing attention to detail. Furthermore, the organization does not look only at detail without losing its strategic outlook, so the company in Prime has controlled flexibility, and it doesn’t depend on any single individual.
• Performance is what an enterprise delivers to its shareholders in the here and now, evaluated through such measures as net operating profit, return on capital employed, total returns to share- holders, net operating costs, and stock turn.
• Health is the ability of the organization to align, execute, and renew itself faster than its competition, allowing it to sustain exceptional performance year in, year out
Managers think they are a bureaucratic chore forced by human resources (HR). Employees approach them with fear and trepidation. No one likes them. Is it time to fire annual performance reviews?
20 Rules of Change Management in Organizations by Catherine AdenleCatherine Adenle
20 Rules of Change Management in Organizations.
When implementing change, no two organizations are the same, nor is there a ’one-size-fits-all’ approach because each organisation is different in structure, size, vision, culture, business needs and most all, each change management is different. However, despite the range of approaches to change management, there are common guidelines for delivering a successful change. The content of this presentation is intended as a tool to facilitate best practice of change management, thereby guide the actions that will result to successful change.
In a rapidly changing world, every leader needs to understand how to effectively guide organizational change. Change may be necessary for many reasons, such as meeting new customer demands; implementing a strategic plan; upgrading technology systems; or coping with challenges. Leaders often wonder how to promote buy-in and engagement during what is sometimes a difficult process. This webinar for staff and board members will focus on: principles of change; understanding how people react to change; common mistakes and how to avoid them; working with resistance; and maintaining open communication. You will learn practical tips and be introduced to resources for further learning.
The triple bottom line consists of financial profit (or success), social justice, and environmental protection. It is sometimes summarized as “Profits, People, and Planet.” An intimately related concept is “sustainability”---corporations that are built to last, societies that are stable and just, and a global natural environment that is in a healthy equilibrium. The basic argument is that we live in a time when a narrow, short-term focus on the financial bottom line alone will generate dysfunctions among people and in the environment that will come back to bite the corporation.
Sustainability and the “3BL” are, instead, about mutual benefits flowing in all three directions. The challenge is to find the sustainability “sweet spot” (think golf) where all three interests coincide. Example: Toyota’s Prius low-fuel hybrid benefits the environment, the people who build or buy them, and the owners of the company. Certainly there will be trade-offs; 3BL choices and strategies will require negotiation and compromise. But this is now an economic reality, not just an altruistic dream
It could be argued that what’s new here is just a strong case that financially successful companies must think more broadly and holistically and be sure to take into account all their stakeholder interests, including the environment and society. But it is still the financial bottom line driving the business.
Business ethics is a huge canvas, bigger than sustainability, CSR, corporate governance, or the 3BL. Business ethics is about doing the right thing and building good organizations. Business ethics and values grow out of purposes, missions, and visions and are organically intertwined with corporate cultures. There are more than three bottom lines---there are bottom lines related to every stakeholder. Business ethics doesn’t just ask how to keep three of those stakeholders (owners, environment, society) going and make them last (sustain them) but about what is right and fair and just, about what would constitute excellence and success.
Talent Wins” by Dr.Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, Dennis Carey
Most executives today recognize the competitive advantage of human capital, and yet the talent practices their organizations use are stuck in the twentieth century.
Typical talent-planning and HR processes are designed for predictable environments, traditional ways of getting work done, and organizations where "lines and boxes" still define how people are managed. As work and organizations have become more fluid--and business strategy is no longer about planning years ahead but about sensing and seizing new opportunities and adapting to a constantly changing environment--companies must deploy talent in new ways to remain competitive.
Turning conventional views on their heads, talent and leadership experts Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, and Dennis Carey provide leaders with a new and different playbook for acquiring, managing, and deploying talent--for today's agile, digital, analytical, technologically driven strategic environment--and for creating the HR function that business needs. Filled with examples of forward-thinking companies that have adopted radical new approaches to talent (such as ADP, Amgen, BlackRock, Blackstone, Haier, ING, Marsh, Tata Communications, Telenor, and Volvo), as well as the juggernauts and the startups of Silicon Valley, this book shows leaders how to bring the rigor that they apply to financial capital to their human capital--elevating HR to the same level as finance in their organizations.
Providing deep, expert insight and advice for what needs to change and how to change it, this is the definitive book for reimagining and creating a talent-driven organization that wins.
Happy reading & Learning
[Whitepaper] The New Boardroom Imperative: Recruitment MarketingAppcast
Learn practical applications that can enhance your recruitment marketing strategy at the board-level, and throughout the rest of your organization.
Written by Dave Forman - Author, Fearless HR
Whether corporate governance is a burden meant to report compliance on companies’ performance, or can it be used as a competitive advantage in view of the changing laws, awareness and scenario is the important question which is present in the minds of those at the top of the company affairs including the CEO, Directors and Boards.
The book under reference, “Boards that Deliver”, by Ram Charan attempts to answer this question in a certain and prudent manner. The author believes that with the right set of practices, any group of directors can become a board that delivers value to the management and to the investors and goes ahead to demonstrate his points giving directions on various steps to be taken to make this happen.
Managing Change In An Organization PowerPoint Presentation SlidesSlideTeam
All slides are completely editable and professionally designed by our team of expert PowerPoint designers. The presentation content covers all areas of Managing Change In An Organization Powerpoint Presentation Slides and is extensively researched. This ready-to-use deck comprises visually stunning PowerPoint templates, icons, visual designs, data-driven charts and graphs and business diagrams. The deck consists of a total of twenty six slides. You can customize this presentation as per your branding needs. You can change the font size, font type, colors as per your requirement. Download the presentation, enter your content in the placeholders and present with confidence.
Business Agility - Transforming Disruptions into Competitive AdvantageEmiliano Soldi
What we are witnessing in terms of market dynamism, consumer needs and working habits, can no longer simply be categorized as the "new normal". There is no longer a single and clear goal to reach.
Peter Hinssen, introduces the new and fascinating concept of “Never Normal”: a dynamic, fluid, ever-changing, ever-changing reality that must be understood and embraced.
In a context in which disruption becomes normality, what strategies must companies and their leaders implement, not for mere survival, but allowing their organizations to exploit these discontinuities as a disruptive competitive factor?
We believe that Business Agility is the means by which to acquire those mentalities, skills and attitudes, allowing us to respond to new challenges and seizing the opportunities of the technological-humanistic-digital transformation.
In this talk we will understand how the evolution of Agile approaches, born more than twenty years ago, can now be applied to the entire company to reshape its culture, talents, operating models, structures and processes, in order to train the organizational muscles. The Business Agility approach therefore allows us to respond proactively to the epochal changes underway, seizing the opportunities of the technological-digital transformation, definitively placed at the service of us human beings.
Hridai's presentation on Mergers and Acquisition. We've tried to explain the issues and management in Human Resources for Mergers and Executions in corporate. Hope it proves useful to you.
Feedback is always appreciated.
"I'm the boss!"
It's a common mistake to think management is defined by formal authority—the ability that comes with a title to impose your will on others. In fact, formal authority is a useful but limited tool.
People Want More Than a Formal, Authority-Based Relationship with the Boss
Many managers—especially those who were achievement-driven stars as individual performers—don't even think about relationships. They're so task oriented that they put the work to be done and their authority as boss at the heart of what they do and assume they can ignore the human aspects of working with others.
The problem is that most people don't want your authority to be the be-all and end-all of the relationship. They want a personal, human connection, an emotional link. They want you to care about them as individuals. They want you to encourage their growth and development. Research tells us this kind of human relationship with the boss is a key factor determining an employee's level of engagement with the work.
We know of a small-company owner, a warm, decent woman, so pressed for time she consciously decided to avoid small talk at the office. She never opened up to people about herself or asked about their lives and interests. She didn't, that is, until her people rose up and expressed, through an intermediary, that they hated how she treated them. They wanted a real human connection with her, even if she was "the boss."
Good Evening
Corporate directors have their hands full. They must help their companies prosper, keep their shareholders happy, establish sensible CEO performance standards, and evaluate strategy and risk in a volatile business climate. How can board members keep all those balls in the air? These dilemmas have no easy answers, but Ram Charan, best-selling business author and leading expert on corporate governance, provides excellent suggestions for this formidable balancing act. Though his text sometimes digresses – interestingly – from its mission, Charan provides board members with many useful, if not entirely new, insights..
Directors face an unsettling new situation. With many businesses struggling and corporate watchdog groups demonstrating increasing bark & bite, CEOs aren’t the only ones taking the heat. Now , public attention turns also to boards and individual directors. In response, they must demonstrate maximum accountability and leadership , ‘ not just over-the-shoulder monitoring and passive approval “. How can boards do this best ? To find the answer, directors should ask 14 tough questions about their primary challenges .
If you are a corporate director or planning to become one or even if you sit on a nonprofit’s board, I believe you can gain a lot from reading this superb, savvy book.
Happy reading …..
Social Media for B2B - Social3i - School of Visual Concepts Dec 7 2011social3i
This deck was used as the foundation of a 7 hour workshop at Seattle's School of Visual Concepts on the uses of Social Media for B2B Marketing. It was presented by Social3i Consulting on Dec 7, 2011.
Managers think they are a bureaucratic chore forced by human resources (HR). Employees approach them with fear and trepidation. No one likes them. Is it time to fire annual performance reviews?
20 Rules of Change Management in Organizations by Catherine AdenleCatherine Adenle
20 Rules of Change Management in Organizations.
When implementing change, no two organizations are the same, nor is there a ’one-size-fits-all’ approach because each organisation is different in structure, size, vision, culture, business needs and most all, each change management is different. However, despite the range of approaches to change management, there are common guidelines for delivering a successful change. The content of this presentation is intended as a tool to facilitate best practice of change management, thereby guide the actions that will result to successful change.
In a rapidly changing world, every leader needs to understand how to effectively guide organizational change. Change may be necessary for many reasons, such as meeting new customer demands; implementing a strategic plan; upgrading technology systems; or coping with challenges. Leaders often wonder how to promote buy-in and engagement during what is sometimes a difficult process. This webinar for staff and board members will focus on: principles of change; understanding how people react to change; common mistakes and how to avoid them; working with resistance; and maintaining open communication. You will learn practical tips and be introduced to resources for further learning.
The triple bottom line consists of financial profit (or success), social justice, and environmental protection. It is sometimes summarized as “Profits, People, and Planet.” An intimately related concept is “sustainability”---corporations that are built to last, societies that are stable and just, and a global natural environment that is in a healthy equilibrium. The basic argument is that we live in a time when a narrow, short-term focus on the financial bottom line alone will generate dysfunctions among people and in the environment that will come back to bite the corporation.
Sustainability and the “3BL” are, instead, about mutual benefits flowing in all three directions. The challenge is to find the sustainability “sweet spot” (think golf) where all three interests coincide. Example: Toyota’s Prius low-fuel hybrid benefits the environment, the people who build or buy them, and the owners of the company. Certainly there will be trade-offs; 3BL choices and strategies will require negotiation and compromise. But this is now an economic reality, not just an altruistic dream
It could be argued that what’s new here is just a strong case that financially successful companies must think more broadly and holistically and be sure to take into account all their stakeholder interests, including the environment and society. But it is still the financial bottom line driving the business.
Business ethics is a huge canvas, bigger than sustainability, CSR, corporate governance, or the 3BL. Business ethics is about doing the right thing and building good organizations. Business ethics and values grow out of purposes, missions, and visions and are organically intertwined with corporate cultures. There are more than three bottom lines---there are bottom lines related to every stakeholder. Business ethics doesn’t just ask how to keep three of those stakeholders (owners, environment, society) going and make them last (sustain them) but about what is right and fair and just, about what would constitute excellence and success.
Talent Wins” by Dr.Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, Dennis Carey
Most executives today recognize the competitive advantage of human capital, and yet the talent practices their organizations use are stuck in the twentieth century.
Typical talent-planning and HR processes are designed for predictable environments, traditional ways of getting work done, and organizations where "lines and boxes" still define how people are managed. As work and organizations have become more fluid--and business strategy is no longer about planning years ahead but about sensing and seizing new opportunities and adapting to a constantly changing environment--companies must deploy talent in new ways to remain competitive.
Turning conventional views on their heads, talent and leadership experts Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, and Dennis Carey provide leaders with a new and different playbook for acquiring, managing, and deploying talent--for today's agile, digital, analytical, technologically driven strategic environment--and for creating the HR function that business needs. Filled with examples of forward-thinking companies that have adopted radical new approaches to talent (such as ADP, Amgen, BlackRock, Blackstone, Haier, ING, Marsh, Tata Communications, Telenor, and Volvo), as well as the juggernauts and the startups of Silicon Valley, this book shows leaders how to bring the rigor that they apply to financial capital to their human capital--elevating HR to the same level as finance in their organizations.
Providing deep, expert insight and advice for what needs to change and how to change it, this is the definitive book for reimagining and creating a talent-driven organization that wins.
Happy reading & Learning
[Whitepaper] The New Boardroom Imperative: Recruitment MarketingAppcast
Learn practical applications that can enhance your recruitment marketing strategy at the board-level, and throughout the rest of your organization.
Written by Dave Forman - Author, Fearless HR
Whether corporate governance is a burden meant to report compliance on companies’ performance, or can it be used as a competitive advantage in view of the changing laws, awareness and scenario is the important question which is present in the minds of those at the top of the company affairs including the CEO, Directors and Boards.
The book under reference, “Boards that Deliver”, by Ram Charan attempts to answer this question in a certain and prudent manner. The author believes that with the right set of practices, any group of directors can become a board that delivers value to the management and to the investors and goes ahead to demonstrate his points giving directions on various steps to be taken to make this happen.
Managing Change In An Organization PowerPoint Presentation SlidesSlideTeam
All slides are completely editable and professionally designed by our team of expert PowerPoint designers. The presentation content covers all areas of Managing Change In An Organization Powerpoint Presentation Slides and is extensively researched. This ready-to-use deck comprises visually stunning PowerPoint templates, icons, visual designs, data-driven charts and graphs and business diagrams. The deck consists of a total of twenty six slides. You can customize this presentation as per your branding needs. You can change the font size, font type, colors as per your requirement. Download the presentation, enter your content in the placeholders and present with confidence.
Business Agility - Transforming Disruptions into Competitive AdvantageEmiliano Soldi
What we are witnessing in terms of market dynamism, consumer needs and working habits, can no longer simply be categorized as the "new normal". There is no longer a single and clear goal to reach.
Peter Hinssen, introduces the new and fascinating concept of “Never Normal”: a dynamic, fluid, ever-changing, ever-changing reality that must be understood and embraced.
In a context in which disruption becomes normality, what strategies must companies and their leaders implement, not for mere survival, but allowing their organizations to exploit these discontinuities as a disruptive competitive factor?
We believe that Business Agility is the means by which to acquire those mentalities, skills and attitudes, allowing us to respond to new challenges and seizing the opportunities of the technological-humanistic-digital transformation.
In this talk we will understand how the evolution of Agile approaches, born more than twenty years ago, can now be applied to the entire company to reshape its culture, talents, operating models, structures and processes, in order to train the organizational muscles. The Business Agility approach therefore allows us to respond proactively to the epochal changes underway, seizing the opportunities of the technological-digital transformation, definitively placed at the service of us human beings.
Hridai's presentation on Mergers and Acquisition. We've tried to explain the issues and management in Human Resources for Mergers and Executions in corporate. Hope it proves useful to you.
Feedback is always appreciated.
"I'm the boss!"
It's a common mistake to think management is defined by formal authority—the ability that comes with a title to impose your will on others. In fact, formal authority is a useful but limited tool.
People Want More Than a Formal, Authority-Based Relationship with the Boss
Many managers—especially those who were achievement-driven stars as individual performers—don't even think about relationships. They're so task oriented that they put the work to be done and their authority as boss at the heart of what they do and assume they can ignore the human aspects of working with others.
The problem is that most people don't want your authority to be the be-all and end-all of the relationship. They want a personal, human connection, an emotional link. They want you to care about them as individuals. They want you to encourage their growth and development. Research tells us this kind of human relationship with the boss is a key factor determining an employee's level of engagement with the work.
We know of a small-company owner, a warm, decent woman, so pressed for time she consciously decided to avoid small talk at the office. She never opened up to people about herself or asked about their lives and interests. She didn't, that is, until her people rose up and expressed, through an intermediary, that they hated how she treated them. They wanted a real human connection with her, even if she was "the boss."
Good Evening
Corporate directors have their hands full. They must help their companies prosper, keep their shareholders happy, establish sensible CEO performance standards, and evaluate strategy and risk in a volatile business climate. How can board members keep all those balls in the air? These dilemmas have no easy answers, but Ram Charan, best-selling business author and leading expert on corporate governance, provides excellent suggestions for this formidable balancing act. Though his text sometimes digresses – interestingly – from its mission, Charan provides board members with many useful, if not entirely new, insights..
Directors face an unsettling new situation. With many businesses struggling and corporate watchdog groups demonstrating increasing bark & bite, CEOs aren’t the only ones taking the heat. Now , public attention turns also to boards and individual directors. In response, they must demonstrate maximum accountability and leadership , ‘ not just over-the-shoulder monitoring and passive approval “. How can boards do this best ? To find the answer, directors should ask 14 tough questions about their primary challenges .
If you are a corporate director or planning to become one or even if you sit on a nonprofit’s board, I believe you can gain a lot from reading this superb, savvy book.
Happy reading …..
Social Media for B2B - Social3i - School of Visual Concepts Dec 7 2011social3i
This deck was used as the foundation of a 7 hour workshop at Seattle's School of Visual Concepts on the uses of Social Media for B2B Marketing. It was presented by Social3i Consulting on Dec 7, 2011.
Two of our very own goddesses, media veteran Kimberley Kennedy and PR pro Elyse Hammett, APR gave this presentation for the PRSA GA Chapter monthly seminar on Thursday, January 12th at Maggiano’s Buckhead.
Informe del estado actual de la industria digital y las tendencias que están modelando el futuro del mercado online en Chile. Fuente: http://www.comscore.com/lat/
Navigate the complexities of change and adapt seamlessly to turn all the changes into opportunities for growth and development. Gain the tools and insights necessary to guide both individuals and organization through successful transitions.
20 Management ServicesSummer 2012 Change Management
Effective Change Management:
The Simple Truth
I
n a previous life I remember
walking into my new boss's
office for my induction talk
- it was my first day of my first
people management job and
I was full of excitement and
anticipation. Then he sat me
down and said: "Your job is
to get the unwilling to do the
impossible for the ungrateful."
I nearly turned around
and walked back out the
door! If we put our hands
on our hearts how many of
us would admit that change
management sometimes
feels like this? A recent
change management study
by Towers Watson surveyed
over 600 organisations that
have recently gone through
significant change and
unearthed the practices that
are at the heart of effective
change management. They are
simple truths and can make
the difference between success
and failure in many cases, but
evidence suggests that they
are often forgotten when in
the midst of a challenging
change project.
It is a fact that change is
a constant reality for any
organisation looking to
survive and thrive in these
turbulent and uncertain
times. When you boil it
up, change is about doing
things differently or doing
different things. Whether
you have to change, help
others change or define what
the change is, we all have a
vested interest in getting it
right. Our recently published
research shines a light on
what those organisations
that are effective at change
management have in common
when it comes to managing
change. So bearing this in
mind, the first issue to put to
bed is what do we mean here
when we say 'effective change
management'? In a nutshell,
if change programmes
achieve their stated goals on
time and within budget and
deliver sustainable benefit
then that would fit most
people's definition. We used
this definition to classify
organisations that are really
good at change management
and then looked at what they
did well in comparison with
their peers.
Significantly and perhaps
not surprisingly, we also
found that those businesses
that plan and execute change
well are also the ones that
are outperforming their
peers when it comes to
bottom line performance.
Companies highly effective
at both communication and
other change management
activities are 2.5 times as likely
to outperform their peers that
are not highly effective in
either area.
So considering the
prevalence of change -
and the effect of change
management on bottom-line
performance - there are plenty
of reasons to take a hard look
at how those organisations
are approaching change
management and to learn the
lessons.
From our research we
found that the following
are self-evidently true
Effective change management
is a little bit art and a little
bit science. The best change
practitioners balance rational,
data driven approaches with
a deep understanding of
emotional drivers. It's about
understanding the unique
needs of the business and its
people and then applying
insight and the right tools
to deliver the change. It is.
The purpose of this research paper is to identify why Human Resources (HR) is a change agent in any organization to drive organizational excellence. HR practitioners, as change agents, are responsible for easing the impact of changes in their organization and to empower employees against the consequences of these inevitable changes. Sometimes, the change helps to produce a significant increase in performance excellence and the company can boost sales and production without major additional cost.
Several vital competencies that are reviewed in this paper include how HR practitioners are path creators amongst the path breakers of organizational culture, by being change drivers and business focused. HR practitioners who are unable to function as change agents will inevitably create a barrier against their becoming a well-integrated strategic partner. Therefore, the role of change agent also mediates the relationship between certain HR competencies and organizational performance. This involves monitoring employee engagement and keeping levels high, developing strategies to retain top performers, and continuing to provide value-added services to employees.
Organizational Change Management Paper
Contents
Your paper MUST follow this outline:
Identify and describe a failed organizational change
Identify and describe one organizational change theory
Apply the theory above to the failed change above
In General
Strict APA formatting
Minimum three professional sources
Full use of in-text citations
8-10 pages on content
Title page
Running head
Table of Contents
Reference page
Due Date
Due by the 7th class meeting at class time
Late papers will suffer a 10% grade reduction
Managing Organizational Change
By Michael W. Durant, CCE, CPA
The increased pace of change that many of us have encountered over the past ten years
has been dramatic. During the late 1980s, many of us were grappling with issues that we
had never encountered. The accelerated use of leverage as a means of increasing
shareholder wealth left the balance sheet of some of America’s finest organizations in
disarray. Many of our largest customers, that for years represented minimal risk and
required a minimum amount of time to manage, consumed most of our energy. By the end
of 1993, many of these organizations had either resolved their financial troubles in
bankruptcy court or no longer existed.
Just as we began to think the external environment would settle down and our
professional lives would return to a normal pace, many of our organizations initiated
efforts to improve operating efficiency to become more competitive in the world
marketplace.
Competition has heated up across the board. To succeed, the organization of the future
must serve customers better, create new advantages and survive in bitterly contested
markets. To stay competitive, companies must do away with work and processes that
don’t add value.
This hypercompetition has invalidated the basic assumptions of sustainable markets.
There are few companies that have escaped this shift in competitiveness. Entry barriers,
which once exerted a stabilizing force on competition, have fallen in the face of the rapid
changes of the information age. These forces have challenged our capacity to cope with
organizational life.
Permanent White Water
Things are not going to settle down. Many things we used to take for granted are
probably gone forever. We cannot predict with any certainty what tomorrow will be like,
except to say that it will be different than today.
Peter Vaill has captured the essence of the problem of a continuously changing context in
a compelling image - “permanent white water.” In the past, many of us believed that by
using the means that were under our control we could pretty much accomplish anything
we set out to do. Sure, from time to time there would be temporary disruptions. But the
disruptions were only temporary, and things always settled back down. The mental image
generated by these thoughts is that of a canoe trip on a calm, still lake.
However, Vaill explains, in today’s environment, we never get out of the rapids. As soon
as we digest one .
2Change ImplementationDeyanira DiazSouthern New Ha.docxstandfordabbot
2
Change Implementation
Deyanira Diaz
Southern New Hampshire University
MBA 687
Dr. Rivero
October 2, 2022
Change Implementation
Organizational change is a complex process that requires detailed planning to succeed. A change management plan is, therefore, needed to ensure successful implementation. The plan helps manage the change process and controls schedule, scope, budget, resources, and communication. A change management plan also helps manage employee responses to organizational change. Employees respond differently to change. Some will be eager to use new processes and procedures, while others will resist. Bad communication, fear of the unknown, lack of support from the management, lack of understanding of the reason for the change, and fear of failure are some of the reasons why employees resist organizational change. No matter the reaction, a change management plan should provide a complete roadmap, as well as, tools to successfully implement change and support employees as they transition through change. In this report, I will analyze the pre-implementation and implementation stages of the change management plan in the U.S. branch.
Key Stakeholders and their Significance
Key stakeholders are individuals or groups with an interest in a change initiative and can either affect or be affected by the change. The president, the vice president, and business unit leaders are the key stakeholders in the change process. These individuals want to see successful change implementation to ensure company goals are met. Their main roles include creating a change vision and communicating change throughout the organization.
Each stakeholder’s role plays a significant part in gaining acceptance, buy-in, as well as, support for change across the organization and departments. As indicated above, one major role of the key stakeholders is to create a change vision. A change vision gives employees a picture of what the company will look like in the future after change implementation (Tanner, 2021). Also, a change vision tells employees why they should let go of the past and embrace the future. In other words, having a vision of change helps employees understand the reason for the change and the benefits it can bring. This, in turn, will create buy-in, support, and acceptance for the proposed change. Besides that, key stakeholders communicate the proposed change across departments and throughout the organization. Effective communication can encourage employees to embrace change and make them aware of the objectives and vision for change (Hasanaj, 2022). Additionally, effective communication can help the organization to convince employees that the existing state of affairs is no longer suitable. It can also encourage employees to support and accept the new state. It is necessary to be honest and clear when communicating change to create buy-in. It is also important to communicate how the change will affect employees to keep them engaged.
Every s.
Running head DQE PREP PAGE 1DQE PREP PAGE 47.docxjeanettehully
Running head: DQE PREP PAGE 1
DQE PREP PAGE 47
DQE Prep
Student’s Name:
University
DQE PART 1
Introduction
The concern of the Year 1 DBA year course primarily touches on many issues that connects with the customer welfare in a bid to retain the firm for business. The customer retention values will include embracing and driving change through innovation, creating fun and exemplary experiences for consumers, to be open-minded and creative, to build honest and open relationships through communication, team spirit and to work with passion and integrity. These values will guide employees to work with passion and integrity in the process of creating new products. These employees will also be required to communicate honestly with each other and with clients.
The industry entails the inculcation of latest communication methods for instance the application and use of data connectivity as well as mobile devices. The firms that operate under the telecommunication industry as such offer services in relation to internet and related issues. The firms however, have a unilateral or rather single internet provider as they only serve as resellers in the market ( Cohen, 2018). The firms also offer wireless communication service alongside the bulky purchase of the internet service. The firms in the industry have in all ways observed the policies as stipulated by the business all to ensure smooth running of their businesses.
Customer loyalty is the likelihood that the current customers will continue buying from a specific seller. Most of these customers will go a long way to recommending the company’s products to their friends to the advantage of the company. Because it is quite expensive trying to lure new customers to buy a certain product from a specific seller, most of the businesses will try much they can to retain the existing customers. This is achieved through provision of quality services and extensive advertising. Giving customers the reason to be loyal is key, most customers’ value being given great services with create quality and therefore they will go an extra mile even to send more with the current seller than trying to switch from one seller to the other. Customers will start thinking otherwise if the brand of the goods provided does not meet their needs.
Customer satisfaction in the case of the business in question would only possible to get its derivation from the responses through the questionnaires and survey carried out by the researchers in the field. Customer satisfaction by all incidences forms a primary pillar in as far as rating the firm is concerned and as such is the main arsenal for use by the business in keeping the clientele loyalty. It takes the firm a stepwise process in ensuring that the customers get what they really are in need of all the time. The degree of satisfaction as recorded by the customers offers a platform for the business in question outline the best way out in as far making busines ...
Generally change means making things different, to replace with another, growth opportunities. Change is life. If there was no change, we would not exist. Change is inevitable. In today's world, the only thing which is inevitable for all of us is constant change .As we progress from child through adulthood to old age, change happens, whether we like it or not.
1. Executive Education
EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
CHANGE INSIGHTS
AND HR IMPLICATIONS
Copyright 2013 The RBL Group. Reprinted with permission.
Dave Ulrich
Professor, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
and Partner, The RBL Group
Jon Younger
Partner, The RBL Group and Director, The RBL Group
Wayne Brockbank
Professor, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Dale Lake
President of Human Systems Development
2. EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
Executive Education
CHANGE INSIGHTS AND HR IMPLICATIONS
There are literally millions of books, articles, studies, and theories on change. Collectively, as authors, we have
over 120 years of experience studying and applying organization and personal change. Over the years, we
have been privileged to work with some of the most thoughtful and relevant thought leaders in the change
field. As we cull through this body of work, we propose the following 10 succinct insights on change that shape
how HR professionals become change champions.
Change happens
The pace of change is rising exponentially. Change occurs in
every part of our personal and professional lives. Fueled by
technology, we see increased globalization, customization,
political and regulatory reform, economic swings, information
flow, customer/employee expectations, aspiring leaders, and
organizational transformation. Individuals face an ever-shorter
half-life of knowledge as change emanates from new knowl-
edge made more accessible through the internet. Organiza-
tions also go through dramatic change. Of the original Fortune
500 in the United States in 1955, only 70 companies exist
independently 56 years later. From 2000 to 2010, about 50%
of these large, seemingly stable, companies have disappeared.
Obviously change happens in our personal and professional
lives.
HR professionals need to help their organizations face, accept,
and be open about the pressures for change rather than hide
from them.
Change requires response
Organizations (and individuals) have varying abilities to
respond to change. If an organization cannot change as fast
as the pace of change in its environment, the organization will
fall behind, decline, and disappear. The organization change
should at least match the pace of change of the environment.
Gary Hamel suggests that managers have to continually ask:
How do you build organizations that change as fast as change
itself?
HR professionals architect and design organizational agility,
flexibility, and responsiveness to external changes. Indeed,
some suggest that “built to last” should be reframed as “built
to change.”
Most changes fail
There are a lot of statistics about failure of personal and
organizational change. At a personal level, 98% of New Year’s
resolutions fail, 70% of Americans who pay off credit card debt
with a home equity loan end up with the same or higher debt
in 2 years. In another recent study, researchers found that of
$40 billion spent each year on diets, 19 out of 20 lose nothing
but their money. Marriage counseling saves fewer than 1 in 5
couples on the brink of divorce. Only 25% of those who have
experienced heart attacks sustain behavioral changes. Over-
coming personal struggles like eating disorders, depression, or
anxiety also have low long term success rates. Even faced with
such daunting statistics, some alcoholics, drug addicts, and
depressed people change. We are left with the question (which
we hope to answer in this chapter) why can some people
change and others don’t?
Organizational changes are not much more successful. 20 to
25% of initiatives (e.g., quality, customer service, reduced cycle
time) are successfully implemented; most corporate transfor-
mations start with enthusiasm and end with cynicism; leaders’
tenure in top jobs has consistently fallen.
Once again, however, some organizations transform them-
selves and their respective industries. IBM, first an office
machine company, then a computer manufacturer is today
an information technology services giant. Since 1971, South-
west Airlines has continued to reinvent themselves and been
profitable every year. Viterra has evolved to become the
largest Canadian owned agricultural company from a small
provincial co-op carrying $1.5 billion in unsecured debt. Nokia
was originally a maker of rubber boots. In recent times, Apple
reinvented the categories of mobile computing and infotain-
ment with the ipod, iphone and ipad.
HR professionals have to face the challenge of change failures
and work to improve these bleak numbers, which means
diagnosing why changes fail and learning from failures and
understanding the context in which change lasts or fails.
Change matters
Leaders and organizations that change succeed. In leadership
research, leaders who have learning agility are more likely to
be seen as effective leaders and have longer tenures in their
roles. Leadership research also shows that effective leaders
help make organization changes that enable implementation
3. CHANGE INSIGHTS AND HR IMPLICATIONS EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
Stephen M. Ross School of Business Executive Education
<< 3 >>
of strategy. Organization research on change suggests that
if companies change, they are more likely to survive; if they
don’t change, they wither and die. More often than not such
changes wither and die because one segment of the system
is attacked; e.g., trying to lose weight without concomitant
changes in lifestyle, changing to a just-in-time parts delivery
process without adequate information systems support or
vendor “buy in’.
Effective HR professionals learn to effectively help build indi-
vidual and organization capacity for change through regular
discussion that focuses the need, opportunity, priority and
impact of changes that drive business consequences.
Change enables
For some “change” becomes the outcome or goal of a leader
or an organization. More often, the capacity for change may
be seen as an adjective that enables other business goals, thus
change operates as a means not an end. So, we see leaders
working to build fast innovation; rapid globalization; agile cus-
tomer service; flexible collaboration; shifting brand, or rapid
strategy. In a world of precipitous change, organizations must
not only define the right outcomes, but move quickly to get
there. In the consumer products industry, for example, the ad-
age is that “first mover in new products or services gets about
50% of market share; the next 4 players split the rest.”
HR professionals can help leaders focus their strategies to
be clear and precise about what they are working to do, then
build in a capacity for change to rapidly deliver each outcome.
For example, after reducing its debt, Viterra transformed its
strategy from being a grain transporter to a company which
assists farmers to solve problems at every step of the crop pro-
duction process. Thus, when the farmer needs money to buy
crop inputs and seeds from Viterra, the company developed a
partnership with banks to extend credit, to provide the farmer
with best harvest times, to transport the extracted grain, and to
connect the farmer to customers in other countries.
Change requires assessing and
closing the know/do gap
Most people who are heavy (or another bad habit), know they
should lose weight (or change the habit). They even know how
to lose weight: eat less, eat right, and exercise more, but they
don’t do it. We often ask seminar participants to brainstorm for
60 seconds, “what do you know about effective organizational
change?” We generally find that the group will generate the
same lists in some of the leading change books. We know what
to do, but we don’t often do it.
HR professionals bring discipline to change processes so that
what people know, they do. As such HR professionals create
and use a change pilots’ check list. Just as an airline pilot must
assess the flight-worthiness of the plane before taking off, so
HR professionals must identify change readiness and chal-
lenges in a disciplined way.
Change arises from both evolution
and revolution
Change can be initiated in many ways. Evolutionary change
suggests continuous improvement, small steps, transactional
actions, rigorous planning, and reaching a tipping point. Revo-
lutionary change implies discontinuous change, bold moves,
transformational outcomes, immediate action, and anticipating
a new future.
HR professionals need to help line managers determine when
to do evolutionary versus revolutionary change.
Change can be pushed or pulled
Sometimes, change begins with a clear destination - specific
strategy, goal, or outcome, then concrete plans to help move
from the present to the future endpoint. At other times,
change begins with a direction - an aspiration, values, or orien-
tation, then taking early steps to move from the present to the
future. Destination change requires an engineering mentality
to stipulate the end state and the steps to getting to it. Direc-
tion change requires a pioneering mentality to articulate a
future and then act quickly to move forward.
HR professionals can help craft aspirations and define actions
to link the present to the future. HR professionals need to help
leaders craft purposes that have the power to draw out com-
mitment to desired end states.
Change occurs at multiple levels
We classify three targets of change: individual, initiative, or
institutional. Individual change helps people improve on their
behaviors and performance. Initiative change means accom-
plishing corporate programs (e.g., quality, innovation, cost,
service, teamwork, and so forth) in a timely way. Institutional
change implies transforming a culture or work environment
and consequently the entire organizational system to sustain
change.
HR professionals can be coaches for individual improvement;
agents for initiative changes; and stewards for cultural transfor-
mation.
Change follows a common process
In change literature, many programs, initiatives, tools, and
actions have been proposed as common processes for making
change happen. Some of the influential change processes are
summarized in Table 1.
4. CHANGE INSIGHTS AND HR IMPLICATIONS EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
Stephen M. Ross School of Business Executive Education
<< 4 >>
Change Insights: Summary
HR professionals need to create an accepted, shared, and
widely used process for implementing initiatives throughout
the organization. What such processes do when they are well
designed is to transform complex dynamics into much simpler
guides.
In Table 2, we summarize organization and personal implica-
tions of these 10 insights for HR professionals as change
champions.
HR Implications
These change insights have implications for how HR profes-
sionals can be change champions in their organization. HR’s
role as change champion comes from the HR Competency
research performed over the last 25 years. In the most recent
(2012) round of this study, we collected data from over 20,000
HR professionals and their associates from around the world.
In total, we identified 140 competencies HR professionals
Author Warner Burke John Kotter Dale Lake Price Pritchett Michael Beer Hay Group
GE Change
Acceleration
Process
Example
of Work
Organization
Change
Leading
Change
Change
Manual
Quantum
Leap
Organization
Change and
Development
Hay Model for
Change
Change Accel-
eration Process
Change
Processes
• Be self aware
• Monitor
external
environment
• Establish
a need for
change
• Provide clear
vision or
direction
• Communicate
the need
• Deal with
resistance
• Leverage
multiple
actions
• Have con-
sistency and
persistence
• Establish
sense of
urgency
• Create
guiding
coalition
• Develop
vision or
strategy
• Communica-
tion change
vision
• Empower
employees
for action
• Generate
short term
wins
• Consolidate
gains and
produce more
change
• Anchor new
approaches in
culture
• Design a
change
agenda
• Assess
the current
situation
• Create
dissatisfaction
or need for
change
• Activate
change
champions
• Influence
stakeholders
• Assess and
overcome
resistance
• Build team
and network
• Structure for
success
• Do project
management
• Monitor
progress
• Have
continuous
learning
• Give clear
marching
orders
• Nail down
each job
• Manage
resistance to
change
• Encourage
risk taking
• Create sup-
portive work
environment
• Attend to
transition and
change
• Take care of
“me” issues
• Communicate
over and over
again
• Dissatisfaction
• Model or
purpose of
change
• Success or
outcomes
• Cost of
change
• Resistance
to change
• Ensure
reasons for
change
• Identify
“change
agents”
• Assess stake-
holders and
sponsors
• Plan project
activities
• Communicate
changes
• Assess impact
on people
and structure
• Address the
impacts of the
change.
• Share process
change.
• Support
changes
• Train for new
skills
• Measure and
report on
progress
• Lead change
• Create a felt
need
• Define a
direction or
shape a vision
• Mobilize
commitment
• Make
decisions
• Dedicate
resources
• Learn, adapt,
monitor
Table 1: Change Process
5. CHANGE INSIGHTS AND HR IMPLICATIONS EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
Stephen M. Ross School of Business Executive Education
<< 5 >>
could possess and we had measures of individual HR effective-
ness and business performance. When we did factor analysis
on this data, we identified 11 of these competencies related to
HR being a change champion. These 11 items then statistically
clustered into two factors (see Table 3).
This data offers additional insights on the process of change
and implications for HR professionals. By statistically separat-
ing the initiating change from sustaining change, this data sug-
gests that HR professionals have to do more than get change
started; they have to be persistent at sustaining change. The
data in Table 3 also suggests that for HR professionals to be
seen as personally effective, they have to initiate change,
but if they want to drive business performance, they need to
sustain change. Most HR professionals have more experience
initiating or starting change than making sure they sustain the
desired changes.
Table 2: Organization and Personal
Implication of Change Insights
Insight
Organization Implications-
To what extent does our organization:
Personal implications-
To what extent am I able to:
1. Change happens Recognize, accept, and run into the pressure for and
realities of change?
Feel comfortable dealing with pressures for change
vs. ignoring or avoiding change?
2. Change requires
response
Build an internal capacity to respond to change that
equals external demands for change?
Demonstrate new behaviors consistent with chang-
ing business demands?
3. Most changes fail Learn from change failures and transfer those les-
sons to future change efforts?
Face and learn from my failures so that I don’t make
the same mistakes twice?
4. Change matters Increase, measure, and track our capacity to change
and share this information with employees, custom-
ers, and investors?
Monitor my personal ability to learn, adapt, and
change?
5. Change enables Move quicker than competitors on key organiza-
tional initiatives?
See change as a significant element of my ability to
accomplish my personal goals?
6. Change requires
closing know/do
gap
Recognize latest research and best practices on
change, then apply and adapt those findings to our
organization?
Study change theory and practices and adapt them
to my work setting?
7. Change arises
from evolution
and revolution
Balance change though continuous improvement or
advocate bold and dramatic change?
Continuously improve on my past and act on my
desired future?
8. Change can be
pushed or pulled
Start with a compelling future vision and fold the
present into the future or start with the present and
take incremental steps to go forward (tipping
point)?
Envision an aspiring future for my work and take
daily actions to approach that future?
9. Change occurs at
multiple levels
Focus change on individual, initiative, or institutional
efforts?
See how my personal changes model what I want to
see in the culture of my organization?
10. Change follows a
common process
Have a disciplined process that we apply to change
initiatives?
Have a regular and routine process of making
personal changes?
6. CHANGE INSIGHTS AND HR IMPLICATIONS EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
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Initiating change
Initiating change means getting started, turning pressures for
change into change initiatives, and taking first steps to move
change forward. Our research showed that seven compe-
tencies define the extent to which HR professionals initiate
change:
• Ensuring that key leaders are aligned around major
change initiatives
• Helping people understand why change is important
(i.e., create a sense of urgency)
• Identifying and overcoming sources of resistance to change
• Helping to set the direction of change with clear outcomes
• Building commitment of key people to support
change efforts
• Articulating the key decisions and actions that must
happen for change to make progress
As agents who initiate change, HR professionals help define
why change matters, what should be changed, and who sup-
ports the change. In defining why change matters, HR profes-
sionals need to build a compelling intellectual and emotional
case for change. The intellectual case often comes from
empirical evidence that successful change will lead to positive
personal or organizational outcomes. The emotional case for
change comes when people see and feel the impact of the
change on principles that matter to them.
To define what should be changed, HR professionals need
to turn complex challenges into simple opportunities. They
need to articulate change outcomes either as directions for the
change and/or destinations from accomplishing the change.
These outcomes need to be communicated with visual images
to capture the change, with verbal messages to enunciate the
change, with stories to emotionally capture the change, and
with metrics to track the change.
To build support for the change, HR professionals need to
involve key people to participate in the change process. Bob
Eichinger, one of our change heroes said,
“There is a magic bullet to change. The research is crystal
clear. People are less afraid of change to the extent they
participate in its design and execution. The more people are
involved in the determination, planning, design and execution
of the change, the less resistant they will be. Change leaders
need to be patient and design as much participation into the
process as is humanly possible.”
His observation implies that HR professionals need to figure
out how to mobilize commitment by identifying and involving
key stakeholders to a change. This may come from asking their
opinions, making them co-sponsors, inviting them to make key
decisions, and making them public advocates for the change.
To become better at initiating change, HR professionals need
practice. They can coach business leaders in the midst of
change and observe what they do well and not so well. They
can participate on teams charged with implementing business
initiatives. They can audit how well their organization has ac-
complished change in the past, synthesize lessons learned, and
propose new actions for the future. They can help establish a
tailored organizational change model that adapts lessons of
and research on change to their organization. They can help
build discipline to use this model on key initiatives.
They can examine how change has happened within the HR
department as new practices or structures are implemented.
Using the HR department as a testing and learning ground
helps them become change competent before working on
business issues. They can coach or consult with not-for-profit
community agencies going through change and observe how
change processes apply to these settings.
Sustaining change
Sustaining change means sticking with initiatives, making sure
that desired changes happen, and delivering outcomes from
the change. Our research identified 4 specific behaviors that
HR professionals can demonstrate to help sustain change.
• Ensuring the availability of resources to stick with the
change (e.g., money, information, technology, people)
• Helping to sustain change
Factor
Mean score
(out of 5)
Individual
effective-
ness (beta
weights
scaled to
100%)
Business
Performance
(beta
weights
scaled to
100%)
Initiating
change
3.94 53% 46%
Sustaining
change
3.91 47% 54%
R2 .296 .066
Table 3: Change Champion: Factors, mean,
individual effectiveness and business success.
7. CHANGE INSIGHTS AND HR IMPLICATIONS EXECUTIVE WHITE PAPER SERIES
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<< 7 >>
• Monitoring and communicating progress of change
processes
• Adapting learnings about change to new settings
As change champions who sustain change, HR profession-
als have to make sure that changes last by implementing
sustainable disciplines into their organization. In our work on
leadership sustainability, we have identified seven principles
of sustainability that HR professionals can master to make
change stick.
Simplicity: Simplicity means that the leaders focus on a few
key behaviors that have high impact on the most important
issues. Leadership sustainability requires that we find simplic-
ity in the face of complexity and replace concept clutter with
simple resolve. It entails prioritizing behaviors that matter
most, shifting from analytics with data to action with determi-
nation, framing complex phenomena into simple patterns, and
sequencing change. HR professionals should help prioritize
and simplify change priorities.
Time: Leaders put their desired behaviors into their calendar
and this shows up in how they spend their time. Employees see
what leaders do more than listen to what they say. Leadership
sustainability shows up in who we spend time with, what issues
we spend time on, where we spend our time, and how we
spend our time. HR professionals should monitor how leaders
invest their time as carefully as their money.
Accountablity: Leadership sustainability requires account-
ability where leaders take personal responsibility for making
sure that they do what they say. Accountability increases when
leaders assign personal commitments from others and follow
up on those commitments. HR professionals ensure account-
ability comes by making personal commitments public, by
following up on commitments, and by giving feedback on the
change efforts.
Resources: Leaders dedicate resources in order to sup-
port their desired changes with coaching and infrastructure.
Marshall Goldsmith found that when leaders have on-going
coaching, they are much more likely to enact desired behavior-
al change. We have found that a mix of self-coaching, expert-
coaching, peer-coaching, and boss-coaching can be woven
together to resource sustained change. Selection, promo-
tion, career development, succession planning, performance
reviews, communication, policies, and organization design may
be also aligned to support leadership change. HR professionals
may be coaches and HR architects for sustaining change.
Tracking: Unless desired leadership behaviors and changes
are operationalized, quantified, and tracked, they are nice to
do, but not likely to be done. Effective metrics for leadership
behavior need to be transparent, easy to measure, timely, and
tied to consequences. Leadership sustainability may be woven
into existing scorecards and may become its own scorecard to
ensure that leaders monitor how they are doing. HR profes-
sionals help create and manage these scorecards.
Melioration: Leaders meliorate when they improve by learn-
ing from mistakes and failures and demonstrate resilience.
Leadership sustainability requires that leaders master the
principles of learning: to experiment frequently, to reflect al-
ways, to become resilient, to face failure, to not be calloused to
success, and to improvise continually. HR professionals further
learning by advocating and modeling these processes.
Emotion: Leadership sustainability occurs when leaders not
only know, but feel what they should do to improve. This pas-
sion increases when leaders see their desired changes as part
of their personal identity and purpose, when their changes will
shape their relationships with others, and when their changes
will shift the culture of their work setting. HR professionals can
be meaning architects in their organizations.
HR professionals become change champions when their abili-
ties to initiate and sustain change are applied at the individual,
initiative, and institutional levels of change. At a personal level,
these change champions need to stay alive by continually
learning, learn to work the informal rules within their orga-
nization, start where they can and find early successes, build
coalitions of support, experiment and learn frequently, and stay
optimistic about the change process.
Conclusion: Becoming a Change Champion
If we could wave a magic wand, HR professionals worldwide
would master the insights on change and become change
champions. This may not happen all at once. But, we have laid
out the axioms that change masters must accept and the skills
they need to initiate and sustain change.
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References
We have had the privilege of personally learning from and
working with some of the thought leaders in the change
profession. We take the liberty of culling and synthesizing
their insights into our “top 10” list. It is difficult to give credit
to one person since we have tried to integrate their unique
contributions. Our personal thought partners include:
Chris Argyris, Ron Ashkenas, Dick Beatty, Mike Beer,
Warren Bennis, Bill Bridges, Warner Burke, Kim Cameron,
Ram Charan, Clayton Christensen, Bill Dyer, Bob Eichinger,
Malcolm Gladwell, Marshall Goldsmith, Lynda Gratton,
Gary Hamel, Dave Hanna, Gareth Jones, Todd Jick, Bill
Joyce, Steve Kerr, Jon Katzenbach, John Kotter, Ed Lawler,
Joe Miraglia, Bill Ouchi, Richard Pascale, CK Prahalad,
Jeff Pfeffer, Bob Quinn, Bonner Ritchie, Ed Schein, Len
Schlesinger, Herb Shepard, Norm Smallwood, Bob Sutton,
Paul Thompson, Noel Tichy, and Terry Warner.
Vicki Swisher. “Becoming an Agile Leader.” Los Angeles: Korn
Ferry, 2012.
Charles A. O’Reilly, David F. Caldwell, Jennifer A. Chatman,
Margaret Lapiz, William Self. The Leadership Quarterly 21,
104-113, 2010.
Foster, R.N. and S. Kaplan. Creative Destruction: Why
companies that are built to last outperform the market --- and
how to successfully transform them. New York: Currency, 2001.
William Joyce, N. Nohria and B. Roberson. What Really Works:
The 4+2 Formula for Sustained Business Success. New York:
HarperCollins, 2003.
Robert Sutton and Jeffrey Pfeffer. The Knowing-Doing Gap:
How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action. Boston:
Harvard Business Press, 2000.
Many were involved with the GE Change Acceleration
Process. Dave Ulrich was one of the team members in creating
this process.
Our HR competency study can be found in:
Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, and Michael
Ulrich. HR from the Outside In. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012.
Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, Michael Ulrich.
“HR competencies for success.” HR Magazine, January 2012.
Wayne Brockbank, Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Michael Ulrich.
“The Future is Now: HR Competencies for High Performance.”
Employee Relations, 2012.
Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, Michael Ulrich.
“HR Talent and the New HR Competencies.” Strategic HR
Review, 2012.
Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, Michael
Ulrich, “The state of the HR profession.” Human Resource
Management Journal, 2012.
Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank, Michael Ulrich.
“Evolving Expertise.” HR Executive, February 2012.
Personal correspondence with Bob Eichinger and part of a
presentation he has prepared called, “10 Essential Principles of
Change Management for Executive Dummies,” copyrighted
to Bob Eichinger.
This work on leadership sustainability is in Dave Ulrich and
Norm Smallwood’s Leadership Sustainability, manuscript not
yet published.
Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood. “What is leadership?” In
William Mobley (editor), Advanced Global Leadership, Volume
7, 3-30, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2012.
We have adapted these personal tips from an excellent and
classic article by Herb Shepard, “Rules of thumb for change
agents,” Organization Development Practitioner, pp. 1-6,
November 1975.
