• Schedule change

• IDEODesign culture

• Transition Management

• Difference between change & transition

• Stages & stakeholders

• Stages of transition

• Resistance to change

• Team Task: overview of a transition analysis plan

• Next week: Organizational Dx

Subliminal Influence

Case example: IDEO Design Company

IDEO Design Company

IDEO Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

How would you create an innovative culture like IDEO?

How administration presented problem & need

How the employees understood it

How the OD consultant summarized it

How external stakeholders viewed it

How the consultant billed the organization

How it was supported What the organization really needed

How OD plan was applied

How the OD plan was documented

How the Board of Directors classified it

Best Practices: Temptations Good & Bad

Advantages

• Networking with people & organizations that have “been there, done that,” and found what works for them

• Survey of a wide range of ideas & practices

• Evidence of successful application in a setting

• Saves time from “reinventing the wheel”

Disadvantages

• It may divert you from the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of OD: communicating, listening, examining your own unique processes, and arriving as a customized solution for your organization!

Resolution

• Network & explore best practices, AND make sure you create your own solution

What are the three stages of transition?

People discover they have to let go of what were normal, predictable, & comfortable environments. They feel loss of control. Some may feel genuinely optimistic. It is important to ensure that people respect each other’s perspectives

As people go through points of transition they can blame and become angry. They can feel uncertain, lost, afraid, or have outbursts of frustration & anxiety. The key is to be patient. Focus on going forward, not on the past. As with Endings, those with optimism should be encouraged

People have chosen to commit and participate in building the new processes within the new environment. Now that they are more comfortable with transition, they become impatient for progress & become hopeful about building new trust, relationships, & achievements

DenialAnxietyShock

ConfusionUncertaintyResentment

SadnessAngerFear

Blame

Undirected energy typified by confusion, anger, fear, frustration, anxiety, skepticism, apathy, isolation, dislocation, some optimism, discovery, & creativity

Commitment, enthusiasm, trust, excitement, relief/anxiety, hope/skepticism, impatience, acceptance, realization of loss

Identity: Have to let go of who we were in the old

Identity: Not who we were; not yet who we will be

Identity: Begin to identify with the new ways

Endings Neutral Zone New Beginnings

Three Phases of Transition(Bridges, W. (2003). Managing transitions. Cambridge, MA: De Capo)

Kubler-Ross’ Stages of Grieving are similar to losses during change

When we take hold of something new, we often let go of something familiar

Inefficient use of time, lower contact hours, need for new markets, merger of organizations, staff turnover

Mobilizing all employees into strategy teams to conduct planning and implementation in OD, operations, and strategy

Staff taken away from current tasks, required overtime, frustrated by demands outside of skill and competency areas

Staff behind on tasks, overworked and tired, delays in reorganization due to lack of knowledge

Expected benefits: staff “buy-in” & enthusiasm, more efficient use of time, more clients, better market match, integrated services, etc…

Good ideas that can backfire

Drivers

OD Plan

Short Term Result

Unintended Consequences

Organizational units will not be uniform in their reaction: Different stakeholders will respond differently

Who’s your internal market?:Different people have different commitments at different stages

How people react to change

• When you hear that some “change” is coming down the road, what is the reaction most people have?

• Why do they react that way?

• What does the intensity of their reaction depend on?

• Parochial self-interest-- some people are concerned with the implication of the change for themselves and how it may effect their own interests, rather than considering the effects for the success of the business; fear loss of turf, expertise, position

• Misunderstanding-- communication problems, inadequate information, rumors, poor transparency

• Low tolerance to change-- certain people are very keen on security, certainty, and stability in their work

• Different assessments of the situation-- some employees may disagree on the reasons for the change and on the advantages and disadvantages of the change process

Why people resist change…

Reducing Resistance to Change

• What can be done to reduce resistance to change (given the reasons we have identified)?

Stage 1:

letting go

Stage 2:

transition

Stage 3:

new directions

How people react

What they need

What managers can

do

The Transition Management Master Plan

InnovatorsEarly AdoptersEarly MajorityLate MajorityLaggards

Emphasis on what is needed to move people to the next stage