THE HUMAN SIDE OF CHANGE
A Practical Guide to Organization Redesign
Timothy J. Galpin Jossey Bass, 1996, 146 pp. ISBN 0-7879-0216-0
Galpin is consultant with Pritchett & Associates in Dallas. The book
provides a pragmatic approach to the "soft" side of change management based
on teams. The diagrams and outlines are helpful. Appendices contain
"toolkits" with key questions.
"Organizations don't change people-people change organizations." (back
cover)
Strategic change denotes the up-front, initial effort involving executives,
senior managers, consultants, etc. It is broad and organization-wide. There
are two goals, the technical goal of producing change recommendations and
the soft side goal of establishing momentum for change. (1)
"Grassroots change is the effort that drives change deep into an
organization." (2) Individual and team goals are set; measurements are
developed; people are trained and coached, reinforcement occurs, and changes
are implemented. (3)
The Change Process Model (this is shown as a pie chart) (4) 1. Establish the
need to change 2. Develop and disseminate a vision of the change 3.
Diagnose/analyze the current situation 4. Generate recommendations 5. Detail
recommendations 6. Pilot test recommendations 7. Prepare recommendations for
rollout 8. Roll out changes 9. Measure, reinforce, and refine changes
Steps 1 through 5 are primarily strategic change. Steps 6 through 9 are
primarily grassroots change. (12)
"A mistake often made is to turn the organization's attention away from the
changes once implementation has been initiated and rollout is complete."
Follow-up is needed if the changes are to stick. (10)
"Broad involvement is a key element of grassroots change. Involvement in
the effort leads to commitment and helps ensure the success of pilot testing
and rollout. Participation does not guarantee success, but both management
and employees find it far more difficult to criticize their own ideas than
the ideas of others during testing and rollout." (23)
You need a communications plan to beat the grapevine.
The Johari Window for organizations (37)
Organization -------------------->Feedback----------------> Known Unknown
Stakeholders Known Ex p o s ure I. Organizational arena II.
Organizational blind spot Unknown III. Organizational façade IV. Unknown
I. Mutual understanding and shared information. Maximize this window. II.
Blind spot. Others know but we don't. It's a handicap. III. The façade.
Hinders interpersonal effectiveness. Hide information IV. Creativity is
possible by exploring together.
· Messages should be linked to the strategic purpose. Explain why. · Be
realistic and honest. · Be proactive rather than reactive. · Repeat messages
consistently through many channels. · Utilize avenues of two-way
communication. Get feedback. · Insufficient communication from senior
leaders will often result in middle management killing the initiatives.
(39-41)
The resistance pyramid (from Nieder and Zimmerman) (43)
Top layer - Not willing Knowledge + training will help Middle layer - Not
able. Address through training and education Bottom Layer - Not knowing
Willingness can be increased by · Establishing individual and team
performance goals · Measuring people against the goals · Establishing
effective two-way coaching and feedback · Rewarding and recognizing people
for achieving the goals (44)
Components of the "Cultural Screen" (56) · Rules and policies · Goals and
measurement · Customs and norms · Training · Ceremonies and events ·
Management behaviors · Rewards and recognition · Communications · Physical
environment · Organizational structure
"The most difficult aspect to manage in any organizational change effort is
arguably that of cultural change." An organization must work on as many of
the above components as possible. (65)
Leadership of a change effort cannot be delegated. "The key people in an
organization-from top-level executives to frontline supervisors-must lead
the change process with commitment and skill." (67)
"Relationship power, not position power, creates the appropriate environment
for change." (68) "Management based on relationship power requires
employee involvement and motivation rather than blind acceptance." (69)
Key Attributes for Leading Change (70) · Creativity · Team Orientation ·
Listening skills · Coaching Skills · Accountability · Appreciativeness
"Listening is the attribute that communicates to others that their opinions
are valued." (72) "Coaching may be the most powerful attribute for
effecting change." "Accountability in the context of change means taking
persona ownership for the success of the effort." "Appreciation allows
change leaders to recognize and reward employee efforts to make the change
successful." (73)
"During the grassroots change phase, individual and team goals are set,
measurements are developed, people are trained and coached in new
techniques, procedures, and technologies, reinforcement is established, and
changes are implemented." 982)
"Focus on the people who must make the changes happen and then make them
stick-frontline employees and management." (83)
The Change Implementation Model (p. 83) · Set Goals · Measure Performance ·
Provide Feedback and Coaching · Be Generous with Rewards and Recognition
"The first step is to determine what information will be needed to
understand the changes more clearly. Managers and supervisors must also
gain a good understanding of their personal roles and their teams' roles in
implementing the changes." (84)
Then 1. Identify how to communicate the changes to the teams. 2. Develop a
mechanism for soliciting feedback. 3. Create a plan for acting on the
information coming back from the teams.
Guidelines for Effective Goal Setting (86 ff.) 1. Keep it simple. 2. Create
goals in line with goals at the strategic change level. 3. Make goals
achievable. 4. Make them challenging. 5. Involve the team in setting goals.
6. Set a time limit 7. Establish "What's in it for me?" 8. Clearly
communicate the change goals.
Guidelines for Effective Measurement (94) 1. Set specific, numeric
expectations. 2. Keep it simple. 3. Be creative. 4. Involve people in
designing their own measurements.
"Without feedback, learning and change occur haphazardly at best and
stagnate at worst." (101)
Guidelines for Effective Coaching (104 ff.) · Establish up front that
coaching will occur with everyone. · Make coaching timely. · Make people
comfortable enough to coach you. · Don't criticize. · Keep it simple and
informal. · Choose a time and place without interruptions. · Be specific. ·
Keep balanced. · Be empathetic. · Encourage team members to coach one
another about the changes they are making.
"Rewards are what people receive for completing a task or reaching a goal.
Rewards are tangible symbols of appreciation for a job well done."
"Recognition is how people know the effort they put into their work has been
noticed." (109-10)
Guidelines for Effective Rewards and Recognition (110 ff.) · Directly link
rewards and recognition to performance and the achievement of change goals.
· Involve people in designing rewards. · Try to make rewards and recognition
fair for everyone. · Be creative. · Make the rewards and recognition equal
to the effort required to achieve the goals. · Make rewards and recognition
timely. · Make them public and keep your team aware of them. · Communicate
success once change goals are reached. · Offer a few well-placed words of
praise and appreciation. · Remember the magic words.
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