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Loading ...Why is managing change so difficult?
By Joaquim P. Menezes -
Also read about The Art of Change Management (includes video)
Kurt Lewin, the German-born psychologist, considered by some as the “founder of social psychology”, was one of the first to investigate the phenomenon of change.
Lewin’s three-stage model of change is very useful in understanding the change process in enterprises as well as individuals.
The first stage, he called “unfreezing.”
It involves overcoming initial resistance or inertia and shifting or dismantling the existing “mindset”. Defense mechanisms have to be bypassed, fears recognized and dealt with.
In the second stage the change occurs.
This transitional period is typically a period of upheaval, even confusion. Old ways are modified or discarded – but people involved in the change may not yet have a clear picture what replaces the previous practices.
The third and final stage Lewin called “refreezing”. The change is implemented; the new mindset is reinforced and crystallized, and people are comfortable with the new state of affairs.
It seems to me that if change is to be effective none of these stages should be unduly rushed.
When an enterprise seeks to introduce a significant company-wide change, for instance, in stage one (the “unfreezing” phase) - the “bull in a China shop” approach usually doesn’t work.
Trying to dismantle existing structures and mindsets in a ridiculously short timeframe, ruthlessly ripping out old practices and enforcing new ones, without taking the trouble to educate those involved or affected by the changes about the need for them, could be counterproductive, even disastrous.
At the same time, those spearheading change projects must also be firm and decisive.
There are status quo addicts – who instinctively oppose change – openly and sometimes in covert ways (by trying to subtly sabotage change initiatives). Change champions should have the skills to deal with these individuals.
Bottom line: those spearheading change projects in organizations – and CIOs are increasingly finding themselves in this category – are in effect treading a very difficult middle ground between sensitivity and decisiveness; between attempting to get grass roots buy in for a change from all stakeholders – and then forging ahead even in the midst of resistance (and handling this resistance firmly and creatively).
Keeping to this middle ground is getting very difficult today. With many large business all sorts of external and internal pressures are forcing them to introduce change very quickly – usually with less than heartening results.
Last year, in an IBM survey of 765 CEOs, more than 80 per cent admitted their organizations haven’t been very successful at managing change in the past.
Why is change management so difficult today - and howdoes an organization effectively manage change today despite the challenges involved?
Those are questions I posed to Teresa Rose, a professor with the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo.
Professor Rose is eminently qualified to respond to those questions. For years now, she has taught organizational theory and strategy and organizational change at the University.
What’s more, she has also done extensive research on the subject of organizational change in global advisory firms and knows a great deal about the opportunities and the pitfalls of change management initiatives.
You can read about Professor Rose’s insights and ideas on effective change management in this article. (As a bonus, we’ve even included a video of the interview)
Posted on September 27th, 2007 by Joaquim Menezes and filed under Best Practices |
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