In developing and coaching senior business leaders we are often asked at the TNO (www.tno.org.uk) for our insight and advice on how to initiate significant organisational change when all around you appear to be resistant or lukewarm about the prospect. There is of course no absolute panacea for "unfreezing" difficult change situations, but based upon our observations of business leaders in action these are some of the significant leadership practices that seem to make a real difference in overcoming inertia to change:
- Broadcast Your Direction – a clear description and communication of what you want to achieve and most importantly why will help focus on the issue of change. The more exciting, compelling and visionary you can make this articulation of direction, the more likely that people around will give you their interest and attention. It may not be enough to lay out your direction on only one occasion - you may have to constantly re-iterate your determination to change so you demonstrate to others that you really mean it. It is important to ensure that your stated direction is backed up by a clear and credible plan of how to you intend to achieve the change in question.
- Master the Data & Information – most people, in order to respond, need to know and understand why they should change and indeed what are the implications for them. Clear data and information which simply states the case for change can be a powerful way of unlocking people’s resistance to change. Combined with a strong personal conviction the case for change becomes compelling. The more that the data supporting the case for change is linked to customers, competitors or the profitable success or survival of the enterprise, the more likely that people will pay attention to it. It is important to make sure that the data is credible and that you as the leader of change demonstrate a complete understanding of its implications.
- Analyse & Deal with the Obstacles – be sure that you have assessed the scale and degree of resistance to change that you are likely to encounter. Keep your ear to the ground and make sure you are inviting regular feedback as you move into communicating and implementing change. Make a plan to tackle each main obstacle. In particular try and anticipate the people who will have most difficulty in absorbing or responding to change and target them for specific attention, support and/or action. You may need to deal swiftly and firmly with those who seek to sabotage.
- Sell the Benefits – remember that in any change situation you are looking to achieve a critical mass of people who buy in to the desired change. You need therefore to refine and restate your case for change to include clear statements of benefit for the majority of this effected by the change. You may have to separate out the short term debits that everyone may suffer in the interest of the longer term gain. The benefits may well be different for different people – you will need to tailor your message to different audiences.
- Find Allies – look for people who can help you communicate the arguments, sell the benefits of change and who can act as your change ambassadors. Use them to help persuade others by giving them a very active role in your change process. This way the change message becomes more "viral" and less dependent upon you personally as the leader.
- Take Symbolic Actions – most people will not believe change is really going to happen until they see tangible actions as evidence. It is vital therefore that early symbolic action is taken to show that your intent to change is real. The symbolic action does not itself need to be of particular significance in the overall scale of change, but to be effective it does need to signal a new way of doing things and be visible for all to see. In our observation, taking early symbolic action is a distinctive characteristic of all effective transformational leaders.
- Set the Agenda – to further demonstrate your urgency and determination for change, it is important to back up you direction and communications with a clear agenda of actions (with time scales) which shows how you will quickly move from intent into action. This will further act to persuade doubters that you are serious about the intent to change.
- Open Up for Ideas – give people the clear indication that whilst the direction of change may be set (the what), there may be many opportunities for them to influence the way change is implemented (the how). Individuals are more likely to be committed to the process of change if they believe thay they can have some influence over how the change may turn out in practice. Let it be known that you welcome and are looking for active help to implement the change.
- Involve & Implicate People – individuals find it much harder to resist change if they are involved in the action. Giving individuals around you early accountability for achieving something that will help the change move forward can be a highly effective way of turning people who are negative or neutral into positive supporters of change. Once involved it is much harder for an individual to withdraw their support. The more engaging and inclusive you can make the process of change the quicker individuals will come on board.
- Be Brave – change invariably requires courageous actions – actions that often challenge the conventional or established ways of doing things. Challenging historic vested interests is a risky business particularly when it might involve as a leader taking difficult and painful decisions about key people. An ability to stay objective, stick firmly to your chosen course of action and not be easily deflected is an important component of overcoming resistance and inertia in others.
Tim Chapman
June 2010
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