Successful Change Changes Everything

Transcription

1 Successful Change Changes Everything AN ANTHOLOGY OF ROLE-SPECIFIC CHANGE MANAGEMENT GUIDES SPONSOR S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT PA G E S 1-5 CHANGE AGENT S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT PA G E S 6-9 TARGET S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT PA G E S L AMARSH.COM 505 N O R T H L A K E S H O R E D R I V E, S U I T E 1210 C H I C A G O, I L L I N O I S U S A P F L A MA R S H G LO B A L

2 Sponsor s Guide to Change Management If you are a change management practitioner, you have many resources to help you understand and apply your role. This resource is not one of them. It is written for those whom LaMarsh Global call Sponsors - those people who have Targets of change reporting to them and who, because of the position they hold in the organization, have the authority to order up a change and who provide the resources to implement it. Still, you may value this ebook, so read it and pass it on to the key Sponsors of change in your organization. Sponsor s Guide to Change Management You can t escape it, the many articles about being a leader of change that are showing up in the magazines and newspapers, paper or electronic, that you read today. And you don t disagree. You know that as a leader you play a key role in the effort to get employees to embrace the changes your organization is making. Our experience at LaMarsh Global is that leaders accept the role of Sponsor of change, but the articles exhorting that role don t go far enough. What does it really mean to be a Sponsor of change? The answer becomes quite clear when we look at the changes you are making through the eyes of the people being asked to change. What do they need from you? Knowing will help you to define the action steps you need to take. First and foremost is the clear understanding on the part of the people impacted that you, their boss or boss s boss or even their boss s boss s boss, support this change. While you may have set up a project team to implement the change, if the people impacted do not report to those people in their day-to-day work, the first thing they want to know is whether or not the management cascade they sit in DOES support the change. And they don t want to hear that from the project team, the people we call the Change Agents. They want to hear it from all the managers in the org chart above them. So the wise Change Agents make sure the management cascade is supportive of the change before they concentrate on the employees impacted. They look to you to check both your willingness to accept the change and your willingness to support the change. If you have issues or concerns about the change, work 1 SPONSOR S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT them out with your management cascade and with the Change Agents. Then, Change Agents will ask you to give the speech. Make sure that you share with your direct reports and those below them your commitment to the change AND your intent to hold people accountable for changing. So there is a lot of work the Change Agents will do before you share with the people impacted that you are fully behind the change effort. Look at it this way: ACTION STEPONE The Change Agents identify who is going to be impacted and who those people report to. We call this process building a Key Role Map. ACTION STEPTWO The Change Agents assess leaders/managers in that Key Role Map to determine issues/ concerns or lack of willingness or skill on the part of key individuals that could prevent them from operating as good Sponsors. ACTION STEPTHREE Having dealt with any issues existing in the Sponsor Cascade, the Change Agents write the speech. They prepare the message to be delivered by the Sponsors, design the venue in which that message is delivered and work with the Sponsors to ensure the speech (the memo, the video, the conference call, the Town Hall meeting whatever venue(s) is most appropriate) is delivered. And you are not done yet. You need to reinforce your commitment with every opportunity that comes up. Once is not enough. Throughout

3 First and foremost is the clear understanding on the part of the people impacted that you, their boss or boss s boss or even their boss s boss s boss, support this change. the life cycle of the project, the Change Agents will call on you multiple times to reiterate your support. You don t just wait for them to ask. You scan your organization and look for opportunities to let people know you are behind the change. But it s not enough just to give the speech. There are other key elements of the change that you need to be involved in. Certainly you have to agree that the Desired State is acceptable to you, but your agreement has to go further. You need to answer two questions: (1) How many of your employees must embrace the change 100%, 75%? (2) What level of acceptance do they have to achieve: 100%, 10%? The answers to these questions are key. People being asked to change need to make a choice -- to accept the change or to choose not to change. They can t make an informed and thoughtful choice unless they know the answers to these questions AND the key follow-on question of what would happen to them if they chose not to change? The consequences for refusing to change -- to drag out the implementation until it loses its energy or misses a key implementation date, for continuing to follow the old process even when it should have been retired, for refusing to take part in opportunities to understand the change and build new abilities to perform -- need to be understood by the employees, but it is only you as the leader who can define them. Two more places where your role is critical occur during the implementation. first time, she will not be called out because she failed to meet her job performance standards. Employees are held accountable by you for their performance on the job as it has been defined through the job descriptions, performance criteria, KPI s, SMART Goals or whatever your organization calls the key requirements for a defined period of time within the current state. So, obviously, you need to work with the Change Agents to determine what could cause what we call the dip in the delta, or the lowering of performance expectations that are a natural part of the implementation. Then, have the Change Agents recommend alternative plans to reduce that dip to whatever degree possible. Remember, you will need to communicate to the employees your understanding that a certain amount of dip cannot be helped and if they are making a good faith effort to change they will not be punished for the consequences. But change often plays havoc with the employees ability to meet these requirements. The effort to learn the new way that occurs during the implementation -- the time taken away from their day job to attend training, to practice the new way, to attend meetings discussing the change, all those -- cause employees concerns. Often they believe you are judging them solely on that day-to-day performance criteria and that their efforts to change, to expend the time and effort to embrace the change, could result in a poor performance review. It will make them reluctant to change even if they want the change because the effort to get through the transition or delta could be perceived as too dangerous. The third shift employees on the production line in the manufacturing plant need to know that if their production quotas will not be met the week they are in training on the use of the new bar coding process they will not be punished with a poor performance review. The accounts payable clerk who cannot close the books by the 7th of the month, because she is transitioning to the new system that will eventually allow her to close the books by the 5th, needs assurance that this week, when she is unstable and awkward in her use of the new system as she faces it for the 2 SPONSOR S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT Change Agents, by the nature of their assignment to implement a specific change, often lack a key perspective that the Targets of K. Judge

4 Clearly Define the Roles and Responsibilities of the Sponsors and Those of the Change Agents SPONSORS Make it clear that resistance will be addressed Demonstrate the willingness to own the Desired State including the level of acceptance by the Targets Address your own issues regarding willingness and ability to act as an effective Sponsor Commit the resources that are required to reduce the resistance Address the key issues of multiple changes and the possibility of a Dip in the Delta Do the communicating Provide the rewards and reinforcements CHANGE AGENTS Systematically identify the Target populations and the sources of potential resistance Identify the actions required to reduce the resistance and build the plan of action Write the speeches Determine what those need to be change have -- knowing that multiple changes are impacting employees simultaneously. Without clarity of the importance of each change, the people impacted do their own prioritizing. They usually make decisions for themselves, based on the impact and value of each change as they see it. Because they lack the strategic perspective you have as the Sponsor, they cannot always make the most optimal prioritization. Besides that, each Change Agent group or project team is pushing them to focus on the change that group has been charged to implement. So here is another obvious place where Sponsors play a key role. They need to charge Change Agents with the responsibility to look at each Target group and determine what changes are impacting them specifically. LaMarsh Global has a tool called the Concurrent Change Assessment which looks at this list and assesses the impact on your change of having multiple changes happening to the Targets at once. It is a powerful resource for Change Agents to address this very serious issue, and often a great source of Target Resistance. After Change Agents complete this work of determining the degree to which multiple changes may cause resistance and building a case for addressing the issues that surface, make the recommendation that reports come to you for action. That s your job, not the employees job. This is what Sponsorship too often looks like. CASESTUDY Leonard Capleton is the Vice President of Operations at the Strandor Medical Center, a healthcare system consisting of seven hospitals, 23 clinics and a variety of specialty operations. As Strandor introduced a new procurement and supply management system for both medical and maintenance products throughout the complex, Leonard recognized that he was a key Sponsor but only for those who work in the areas of inventory control and product scheduling. Many, indeed most, of the people who would be impacted and asked to change are not in his chain of command. Because Leonard has been such an outstanding Sponsor of this change, the project team had been reluctant to engage other leaders and had relied on Leonard to speak about the change, to explain why it is necessary, what Strandor will look like after the change is completed and how it is being done. That thinking by the project team was challenged, however, when they conducted the training on the new system. At the end of each training session, the groups of Targets deluged them with many questions. The most common were, Does my manager know about this change?, Does my manager support me in this?, What do I do if my boss doesn t like this change?, My manager is mad that I took the time off the floor to come to this training. Will Mr. Capleton protect me from my boss s frustration that I am not getting my regular work done? The project team realized that they had made a mistake. They went directly to the Targets and forgot that between the Targets and the CEO Sister Madeline, there were as many as five layers of management, or Sponsors, in some parts of the organization. They had not realized that Leonard Capleton did not have the managerial authority over many of the Targets so the questions they were asking in the training could not be answered by him. This team, and Leonard, would have benefited from a more thoughtful approach to the role he should have played, and they might have started with an assessment such as the one on the next page. The assessment on the next page can be used by project teams to test the current level of sponsorship. It can also be used by leaders themselves to determine how they feel about the roles they need to play and how ready they are to perform. You might want to consider a change facing your organization and assess yourself and even ask those Change Agents you are working with to fill it out about you. 3 SPONSOR S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

5 Sponsor Assessment Sponsor Being Assessed: Change Project: Person Completing Assessment (optional): Date: Don t have enough information Never Rarely Usually Always 1. Has a clear vision of the Desired State Understands what it will take to achieve the Desired State Understands the external drivers of change and cost of not changing Is open and flexible regarding the Desired State Is open and flexible regarding the path to the Desired State Communicates personal commitment to the Desired State Communicates from the perspective of the Target audience Keeps him/herself and the organization constantly focused on the Desired State, in public. 9. Keeps him/herself and the organization constantly focused on the Desired State, in private. 10. Encourages people to express concerns and fears, and to seek additional information Recognizes and acknowledges the personal changes required Recognizes and acknowledges personal and organizational changes required throughout organization Is willing to provide the resources to achieve the Desired State Will align rewards/reinforcement to support the Desired State Requires feedback on measurable/observable increments toward the Desired State Scoring History Assessment Total Score 15 x 25 = % Observations Assessment Legend Less than 45%: Serious danger Between 46 and 65%: Serious concern 4 SPONSOR S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

6 Now take off your Sponsor hat and consider how you, with your day-to-day leadership hat on, ensure that the New Current State does not slip back. Look around you. Find out what changes your employees are being asked to make. Are you being asked to sponsor those changes? Are you willing to sponsor these changes? Are you able to sponsor these changes? If the answer to any of these questions is no, the change is in trouble and so are your employees. Maybe you need to reach out to the Change Agents if they have not reached out to you. Your sponsorship is critical to successful change and to the future of your organization. Commit to that sponsorship and increase the chances of success for the organization and for you as a leader. And there is another commitment you need to make after the change is completed. From a Managed Change perspective, we talk about the Sustainment of Change and you play a key role there too, but not as a Sponsor. The change has been made and your Sponsorship was a major contributor to its successful implementation. Now take off your Sponsor hat and consider how you, with your day-to-day leadership hat on, ensure that the New Current State does not slip back. Holding people accountable for continuing to do things the new way and making sure they get recognition for maintaining this way of working is what leaders do. And you are both: a Sponsor of change and a leader in the New Current State. K. Judge 5 SPONSOR S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

7 Change Agent s Guide to Change Management A well-managed change must be understood to be a disciplined process with four major action steps. Change Management is a Process While many effective change management practitioners operate on instinct and experience, we have found when we analyzed what they do that there is a structured process flow to their activities which even they may not be aware of and may not be visible to others who watch them and wonder, Why did she do that? Why did he do this now instead of earlier (or later)? We at LaMarsh Global argue that making that process visible is valuable to those experienced individuals to ensure they do not skip any of the steps in the process. Equally important a visible, defined process is critical to individuals for whom the action steps of a well-managed change are not intuitive, who operate best when they follow a defined set of actions. And there is another reason. More and more organizations today are committed to building effective change management as a basic capability through the organization. This, by definition, calls for a common methodology that is visible and accessible to everyone involved in the change: the change management practitioner, the project team members, the leaders and managers who will be Sponsors, and the people impacted the Targets of the change. 6 CHANGE AGENT S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT The four steps in that process using the LaMarsh Global Managed Change Methodology: STEPONE Determine the Resources Required Key Role Map STEPTWO Put the Governance in Place STEPTHREE Apply Managed Change Identify the changes to be made and who is to make those changes Current and Desired States Determine the existing or potential resistance InfoMatrix Design and implement the action steps to prevent or mitigate that resistance Communication Learning Reward/Reinforcement STEPFOUR Exit the engagement Sustainment Plan Exit Strategy

8 LaMarsh Global Managed Change is the core of this methodology, so let s examine it in greater detail. The goal of the Managed Change Methodology is to reduce the risk of failure, the possibility that the change will be less than fully successful or might even collapse because of the difficulty people have accepting the change. The way to prevent that or at least seriously reduce it is to enable people to make the choice to willingly embrace the change and to be able to successfully change. How do we do that? STEPONE Determine Who Will Be Impacted by the Change First, we need to find those people who will be impacted, what we at LaMarsh Global call the Targets of change. While the size of the change and the size of the population affected are critical to determine the resources required to do change management, this list of targets, identified in a tool we call the Key Role Map, considers everyone impacted, whether the change is large or small for those groups or even individuals. The size of the change does not dictate the reactions of the people affected so it is critical to identify and consider all populations impacted. A new technology which dramatically changes key processes for many people may not trigger a great deal of resistance in the population required to make the most change BUT could cause another group, for whom the changes are minimal, to experience massive resistance. So this first step is to find and list everyone who is going to be impacted. And don t forget those outside your organization: customers, vendors, government, media, community any groups that will be different because of the changes you are making. Separate the people impacted into one or more categories of roles and then: Assess the willingness and ability of leaders to be Sponsors of the change Assess the willingness and ability of members of the project team and other Change Agents to address the needs of the people going through the change Analyze the orientation of the various target populations toward change in general STEPTWO Put the Governance in Place One critical source of resistance is the experience that people have had with previous changes. Many have learned to mistrust the process of change based on their past experiences. There are many things that have to be done in a well-managed change to diffuse that perception. One critical one is the project governance that is put in place. A well-structured governance will enable the change management person/team to be integral to the project structure. In this diagram you can see how change management sits at the program or project team level and works also with the sub-projects or work streams or geographies or business units working on the change. (figure one) STEPTHREE Apply Managed Change Identify the changes to be made Current and Desired States The third step in a well-managed change is to use the Key Role Map built in Step 1 and systematically determine for each group what are the sources and degree of existing potential resistance. FIGUREONE Senior Leadership COMMUNICATION LEARNING REWARD Change Management Team Program Management Team Change Agents PROJECTONE PROJECTTWO PROJECTTHREE PROJECTFOUR 7 CHANGE AGENT S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

9 Managed Change InfoMatrix FIGURETWO TARGET GROUP STAGES OF CHANGE KEY ROLES CRITICAL VARIABLES CURRENT DESIRED DELTA SPONSOR CHANGE AGENT TARGET CULTURE HISTORY Consider these two sources of resistance that LaMarsh Global has identified in our years of working with target groups all over the world, in every industry and for every type of change. Determine the reason(s) for leaving the current state Why is this a key activity in a well-managed change? If the Targets cannot understand or cannot accept the need to leave their current state why would they leave it? This is the first source of potential resistance in each target group. The project team s charter should have this information but our experience is that it is defined from the organization s perspective Targets need this argument for change defined from their more local, even, personal, perspective. If they feel their jobs are being done well, their department or plant is operating successfully, and it is others who are contributing to the problems the organization is having, they will resist. If they can t see the immediate or ultimate consequences to THEM if things don t change, they will resist. Define the desired or future state In order to choose to support a change project and to choose to change, it helps a great deal for people to know what their future state will be like for them. Take the work done in making the decision to change that defined that future and ensure that it is represented in a way that will be meaningful and understandable to the various target populations. If that desired state is not attractive to certain populations make sure that the balance of reasons to leave the current state and the choice of the desired state are clearly articulated: that even an unattractive desired state is better than staying in the current state. This is a hard message to get across but if it does not exist the change should be reexamined. Design a plan to help people through the delta, the transition, the implementation Even people who welcome and are willing to change may find it difficult, resulting in resistance. There are many reasons for the resistance that can develop in the delta phase. One is the fact that the change and the effort to change take time and attention away from the day to day work. What do you want me to do, get my work done or spend time learning the new way to do the work? A legitimate question. If we don t address it many people will chose their day work because that is what they are being measured on and those measures were not adjusted to align with the new current state. If there are multiple major changes going on that impact a particular target group, and if those changes are not being coordinated by the project teams and leadership, the Targets are left with the need to prioritize and determine which should get their attention. Their prioritization will, naturally, be based on their own interpretation of what is important, which may or may not be in the organization s best interests. It is in the implementation, the delta, that the majority of the Targets work is done. If their experience in past changes is that the work they do to change is not worth the effort, they will not be willing to make that investment. Determine the existing or potential resistance InfoMatrix It is a simple tool but the most important one in the change management practitioner s bag of tools. You know who the Targets are, you know what the sources of resistance are. Now match the individual target groups with the predicted or existing resistance factors specific to them. A simple spread sheet will do it. (figure two) The InfoMatrix This is a living document that exists throughout the life cycle of the project. It is constantly updated as new information comes forth indicating resistance issues that were not initially identified. As issues are addressed and eliminated, they are removed or shadowed to indicate successful and thoughtful attention to a problem that the targets had with the change. 8 CHANGE AGENT S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

10 Design and Implement the action steps to prevent or mitigate that resistance Communication Learning Reward/ Reinforcement Communication This step is often misunderstood, though recognized as critical by change management practitioners. They know communication and learning are key to a successful change. But communicate what? Not what they or the project team or the senior leaders think should be communicated. Change management is target-centric. What that means is that the content of the communications must be what the Targets need to know: the information that will help them to choose to change and to change with a minimum of effort. As that need is defined in the InfoMatrix the connection between these two tools is vital. The communication content is built from the questions, concerns and issues taken from the InfoMatrix. Learning Change Management Practitioners DO recognize the value of training as an important asset in the change process. Note that we at LaMarsh Global use the term learning, not training for this critical element. The reason is that learning has two parts. The actual physical time spent in training (whether instructor-led or electronic) is only the first step. Practicing what has been learned and gaining ability and facileness over time is a key part of the learning process. So we need to plan and build in time for both and identify ways to monitor both. Reward/Reinforcement Now to the reward/reinforcement system too often ignored or not considered. We believe there are two elements here, two separate plans to be made and executed. The reward system plans for changes in the standard way of rewarding people. What changes in their reward system are needed (being paid, performance goals, job title, and job description)? If those elements of what rewards them for doing their job do not change when they now perform in a new way, they will not sustain the changes they have made. The second element of this change management system is the reinforcement needed by the Targets as they go through the delta, struggling with the new way, trying to effectively and efficiently apply what they learned in the training. This requires a plan to identify what to observe as progress and how (and who) to acknowledge their effort and their progress. STEPFOUR Exit the engagement Sustainment Plan Exit Strategy When the project is completed, the desired state achieved, there are two more critical activities the change management practitioner must accomplish before moving on to the next change. Sustainment Plan The desired state representation contains measures that needed to be realized for that desired state to become a reality. Now needs have been met. But they could slip. They could gradually return to the old ways because people remember being more comfortable, more efficient, more at ease doing things the old way. So before leaving, make sure whoever owns the new current state is left with a monitoring plan to ensure there is no slippage and a reinstituting plan if there is. Exit Strategy Did the organization learn anything about change in this project? Did you? Did people build their skill as Sponsors, Targets, and Change Agents? If so, documenting and celebrating learnings are important parts of closing down the project. So is keeping a record of what was done: tools used, problems solved, lessons learned. These notes will help the next change management practitioner and help to build an organization that manages change well: the ultimate goal of effective change management. The Change Agent s Guide to Change Management Change management requires a disciplined process. The four action steps described here are the foundation of that process. No step can be skipped because one builds on the other. These steps are based on a fundamental premise. Making it easier for people to accept change means that we the Change Agents have to do the following: Figure out who is going to be impacted by the proposed charge Identify what might cause them to resist the change Design ways to use communication and training and rewards to help them overcome their resistance Implement those identified activities that will address the targets needs So simple a premise. So hard to execute. The four steps presented here make it much easier to execute: the Change Agents Guide to Change Management. Change management requires a disciplined process. The four action steps described here are the foundation of that process. No step can be skipped because one builds on the other. 9 CHANGE AGENT S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

11 Target s Guide to Change Management Over the years we have provided much support for change management practitioners whose job it is to help people impacted by change to move through the delta and successfully achieve new, future desired states. A key part of that effort has been our concentration on the role that management plays. We have built a process for developing their capability and willingness to be effective Sponsors of change. As Change Agents and Sponsors have become increasingly skilled, we realize that if we are not careful we could be sending the wrong message to those who have to change. The effort we are putting into the role of change management practitioner and Sponsor to help Targets of change does not mean that they, the Targets, can be passive and rely on those in charge of the change to do all that is necessary. Targets of change have a role to play as well that makes them partners with key Change Agents and Sponsors. This ebook is for Targets -- those who for the good of the organization s change efforts and their own good, need to be proactive and not passive to become true partners in the change process. A Target s Guide to Change Management Victim? Target? Partner? The third role in change needs a guide as much as the Sponsors and Change Agents do Changes in your organization s business and how your work is done are impacting you. Your leadership wants to be sure you get the support you need as you and your organization go through these changes. As a part of this support, reading this ebook will help you explore how change affects you personally. It will also help identify the obstacles facing you as you experience changes and build plans to enable you to deal with each. You will come away with a basic process to help you gain more control over specific changes happening to you. As part of that control, you will be able to create a list of questions and concerns that can be given to your leadership. And finally, you will learn how you can participate in change and develop action plans for yourself to help you move forward. K. Judge 1 0 TA R G E T S G U I D E T O C H A N G E M A N A G E M E N T

12 K. Judge Successful change needs management, change agents and the people impacted to operate as partners in the change. Importantly, there is a downside to the changes you are being asked to make when you are not feeling like a true partner in the change process. Change happening to you when you feel that you don t have any control over it can cause worry and anxiety. When you don t feel you have control, you can become frustrated and feel that management cares more about the changes than you as an employee. In their effort to help you to accept the change, Change Agents make sure to identify everyone who is being asked to change by proactively thinking about what concerns, fears and/ or questions these Targets may have. They then determine what they can do to reduce or prevent relevant fears, concerns and/or questions to make it easier for you to change. Good for them. And for your organization, it also causes problems when you as the employee don t feel control over the change process. When this happens, you can t work with the same level of energy and your concerns and issues can seriously threaten changes that need to be made. Change Agents and Sponsors may not get it right and they may miss key resistance sources you are experiencing. They might even misread the depth of your reaction to the change, but it s you who is experiencing change and only you know best what your reaction is and what you will need in order to eventually change. You are also the only one who can make the determination of whether or not you will make the choice to change. Leaders and Change Agents believe everyone will have to change. You do have a choice, and that choice must be communicated. Even though the old computer system is being taken away or your desk is being moved five -- or 500 miles -- down the road and it appears you have no choice, you can chose not to change. You can leave the organization, though the consequences of that choice may be severe, it remains a choice. To make an informed choice you need to know what the real consequences will be if you chose not to change. Successful change needs management, Change Agents and people impacted to operate as partners in change. Partnership means groups agree to work together for a common goal. In this case it s simple -- successful change for the organization and you, the employee. It takes willingness on the part of all parties to make it happen. In most organizations today, leadership is making the commitment and is willing to establish such partnership. So, what do you need to do to fulfill your role as a partner? You need to figure out if you have concerns and issues around any particular change. You need to accept that there are ways you can get answers to your concerns, not always initially, and not always fully, not because management is keeping things from you but because information develops over time in any change. There are three basic elements to being a partner in change that Targets need to understand and accept: 1 While you may not be able to control the change, you can control how you react to it. 2 You have the right to seek information and support needed to cope with the change. 3 You have the right to make a choice to change or not to change. Resistance to change is a normal reaction when we face changes that threaten to knock us out of the place we are comfortable. We experience resistance in our personal lives when we find out we have to make a change. Even positive changes like getting married, buying a car or even rearranging the furniture in the living room can trigger related concerns. It makes sense that as you start to change you may also start to second guess the decision and begin to resist the change or wonder if you will be willing to make the change. 1 1 TA R G E T S G U I D E T O C H A N G E M A N A G E M E N T This natural and normal reaction to change can result in uncomfortable feelings. We have all experienced similar reactions, maybe even all of them at times. I know how to do my job, and others recognize my skill. I am going to look like a fool trying to manage these new robots they are installing. Are they kidding? I have been using an Excel spreadsheet that I designed years ago. It works well. Everybody gets paid and gets the right amount of pay. I m not giving up my spreadsheet. I ve been keeping track. I counted seven big changes our foreman has announced this month alone. I can handle changes, but not that many! Can you believe the changes being talked about? I don t see any reason to change from the way we do things now. And I don t like the changes we are making. The new break schedule means I can t play cards with Herman and Eileen from the other line. They will now have different break time. We ve been playing every day for 6 years. Why change that? Are they trying to tell me the way I work today is wrong? That I m not a good employee? They say I have to uproot my family and move to the new location. Why can t we stay here? Watching how the company has done changes in the past I don t believe these will be any more successful this time than the last time or, if it is successful, the way it will be done is too painful. Let s look at what Targets need to do in the partnership. A critical first step is to do a thoughtful assessment of your own orientation to change. Consider your experience with past changes and your reaction to them. Use this Target Assessment to help you gain a perspective on how you approach change.

13 Target Change Assessment In general when it comes to making changes: Don t have enough information Never Rarely Usually Always 1. I am willing to take risks I am willing to disrupt the status quo I am willing to fight for the changes that I believe are valuable I am able to accurately assess and articulate my feelings I am bored if things stay the same for too long I am able to live with a high level of disruption and lack of definition I am willing to try to adjust and negotiate the Desired State I am willing to adjust and negotiate the change process I am willing to spend time building a Personal Change Plan I recognize that change is a critical part of my job and my future Scoring History Assessment Total Score 10 x 25 = % Number of Don t Know Enough About Myself Assessment Legend Less than 45%: Serious danger Between 46 and 65%: Serious concern Observations 12 TARGET S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

14 Then build your own Personal Change Management Plan for each of the changes facing you. A Personal Change Management Plan Gather Information About the Change Develop Understanding of the Change Make an Informed Choice Choose to Resist // Choose to Accept // Accept the Consequences // Get More Support The end result is an opportunity for you to be more objective and rational in your decision to change or not to change. There are three steps to help you build your own safety net collect the information you need, analyze that information and design an action plan for yourself. Be a partner and gain more control over your life at work. Our most recent book, Change Better Survive and Thrive During Change at Work and Throughout Life, details the Personal Change Management Plan and provides you with both a paper copy of the accompanying workbook and an access code to download an electronic copy from LaMarsh.com. Organizations that recognize the value of building a change partnership with their employees will be stronger and more competitive. Employees who are willing to embrace that partnership, and do their part, will experience less stress, have more control, and make a large contribution to that success. What You Need to Do Gather Information about the Change COLLECT INFORMATION Are you satisfied that you know enough about the change you are being asked to make? Why change? Change to what? How the change is being done? Develop Understanding of the Change ANALYZE THAT INFORMATION Now take the information you have and sit down and study it. Do you have enough understanding of the change to decide how you are going to act: to support the change or to go after more data or to decide not to change? Make an Informed Choice Choose to Resist // Choose to Accept Accept the Consequences // Get More Support MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE With the information and the understanding you have gained, knowing what kind of support you will need if you change, and with the knowledge of what will happen if you choose not to change, make an informed choice about this change facing you 13 TARGET S GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

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