change leadership opportunities for project vulcan

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Change Leadership Opportunities for Project VULCAN

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ProjectLogoContents

• Challenges for VULCAN• Steps for effecting change• Expectations management• Methods for dealing with resistance• Factors influencing change strategies

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ProjectLogoPEM Replacement Faces Challenges

Because of the goals and the scope of the VULCAN project, there are many challenges that must be overcome:

– Integrating 40+ local fiefdoms (the plants)– Developing strong executive leadership– Interfacing with multiple other areas (other projects, other departments)– Developing a desire for change in an organization that may have little additional

enthusiasm for change

The key to any successful technology implementation rests with how the organization is managed, not with the technology. The top reasons for failure cited by a study of technology projects:

1. Need for managing change is not recognized (Change Management) 2. Top management's short term view and quick fix mentality (Project Planning) 3. Rigid hierarchical structures in the organization (Change Management) 4. Line managers in the organization unreceptive to innovation (Change Management) 5. Failure to anticipate and plan for the organizational resistance to change (Change

Management)

Source: Grover, Jeong, Kettinger& Wang. The Implementation of Business Process Reengineering. Journal of Management Information Systems, 1995.

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�� Planning for and Planning for and Planning for and Planning for and

Creating ShortCreating ShortCreating ShortCreating Short----Term Term Term Term WinsWinsWinsWins

• Identify opportunities to demonstrate positive results early• Develop project plans that incorporate successes in every phase• Celebrate successes to sustain enthusiasm and to expand the effort

Creating a VisionCreating a VisionCreating a VisionCreating a Vision

• A vision must be created to link the present to the future• The vision must guide & motivate people’s actions• The vision must be desirable and achievable• Develop strategies on how to realize the vision

Communicating the Communicating the Communicating the Communicating the VisionVisionVisionVision

• Communicate the purpose & goals of the effort to everyone constantly• Maintain the sense of urgency & need for action• Ensure that the effort does not get lost in the corporate “noise”

Sustaining the EffortSustaining the EffortSustaining the EffortSustaining the Effort

• Include project activities in personnel evaluations & development plans• Manage staffing to prevent burn-out• Reinvigorate the project with new people, new themes & new goals

Institutionalizing New Institutionalizing New Institutionalizing New Institutionalizing New ApproachesApproachesApproachesApproaches

• Make “the new way” the only way• Transition the deadline mentality to a sustaining mentality• Inculcate a culture of & processes for continuous improvement & change

Empowering Others to Empowering Others to Empowering Others to Empowering Others to ActActActAct

• Eliminate organizational obstacles to change• Extend the change mandate to others• Evangelize the change effort within the organization

Establishing a Sense Establishing a Sense Establishing a Sense Establishing a Sense of Urgencyof Urgencyof Urgencyof Urgency

• Change efforts require the efforts of many motivated people• Without a deadline, “analysis paralysis” can stymie change efforts• 50% of change efforts fail due to a lack of urgency

Forming a Powerful Forming a Powerful Forming a Powerful Forming a Powerful Guiding CoalitionGuiding CoalitionGuiding CoalitionGuiding Coalition

• Change leaders must have the “weight” to move the organization• Coalition membership should grow with the scope and success of the project

Effecting Change is a Holistic Process

Source: John Kotter, Leading Change, HBR 1995

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ProjectLogoExpectations Lead Results

Expectations

Actual Results

ExpectationsGap

Time

FailedExpectations

Organizational Impact

• Success and failure are based upon people’s expectations and perceptions– not on the actual results

• Initially, people’s expectations for the results of a change effort are dramatically higher than the actual results that are delivered.

• Tremendous effort must be made to bring expectations in line with actual results – without destroying the project’s momentum

• If results trail expectations too long, then the organization’s drive for change will diminish and ultimately disappear

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ProjectLogoChange Resistance Takes Many Forms

• Parochial self-interest• Misunderstanding & lack of trust• Different assessments• Low tolerance for change

Source: Kotter & Schelsinger, Choosing Strategies for Change, HBR 1979

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ProjectLogoMethods for Dealing with Resistance

• Education & CommunicationEducation & CommunicationEducation & CommunicationEducation & Communication – the various constituencies within the organization should be educated about the goals, benefits and challenges faced by the change effort. On-going effort must be made to ensure that the project stays fresh in people’s minds

• Participation & InvolvementParticipation & InvolvementParticipation & InvolvementParticipation & Involvement – Key people should be given roles in the change effort to ensure their on-going support and commitment to the project – even if only in a token or “advisory” role.

• Facilitation & SupportFacilitation & SupportFacilitation & SupportFacilitation & Support – Where people are being displaced or fiefdoms are being dismantled, explicit facilitation might be used to act as a forum for those most negatively impacted by the project. Adjustment support (re-training, outplacement, etc.) might also be required both as an aide for those impacted and as a statement about the organization’s commitment to both its people and to the change effort.

• Negotiation & AgreementNegotiation & AgreementNegotiation & AgreementNegotiation & Agreement – If one or more powerful constituencies exist that can actively resist the project, then an explicit negotiation might be required to identify areas of concern and strategies for dealing with those concerns in order to move the project forward.

• Manipulation & CoManipulation & CoManipulation & CoManipulation & Co----optationoptationoptationoptation – While manipulation or “hijacking” someone else’s work may be an expedient method of implementing change, it can lead to serious negative consequences in the long-term.

• Explicit & Implicit CoercionExplicit & Implicit CoercionExplicit & Implicit CoercionExplicit & Implicit Coercion – In some cases, an explicit or implicit use of organizational power may be appropriate to coerce compliance with the efforts of the change project. However, if improperly or excessively used, such tactics can have the most negative long-term consequences.


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ProjectLogoEffort Varies Inversely with Speed

Speed & Forcefulness

Effort & Effectiveness

Lower

Higher

Education & Communication

Participation & Involvement

Facilitation & Support

Negotiation & Agreement

Manipulation & Co-optation

Explicit & Implicit Coercion

Higher

Lower

When explicit change management strategies are required, a choice must be made as to how to deal with each situation. While more forceful strategies are faster, the less forceful strategies tend to have the most long-lasting positive effects.

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ProjectLogoFactors Influencing Implementation Speed

Key situational variables:• The amount and type of resistance that is anticipated• The relative positions of the change initiators versus the change resistors within

the organization• The locus of relevant data for designing the change and of needed energy for

implementing it

SlowerSlowerSlowerSlowerProject is not clearly planned

in the beginning

Lots of involvement of others

Attempt to minimize organizational resistance

FasterFasterFasterFasterClearly planned with a

compelling vision

Little involvement of others

Attempt to overcome any resistance
