CHAPTER 17

Leading for Change and Impact

Once stakeholders are sold on the value of work-life supports, how should leaders implement them and lead the process of adaptation and change management within the organization? The companies that are having the most success with work-life supports are those that are taking proactive steps to implement them. They are managing to a formula for change and are seeking to win over employees and leaders in terms of both hearts and minds. Success comes from providing ample information to help people move through a process to adapt to and adopt changes. Finally, success depends on measuring the effects of work-life support in order to prove return on the investment and continuously improve the process. This chapter addresses these requirements and approaches.

A FORMULA FOR CHANGE

Successfully managing change comes down to a formula. Few things in life fit neatly into a formula but these elements of change management actually do. In order to achieve successful change with people and organizations, attention to four elements is necessary. They include vision, dissatisfaction, knowledge, and perceived costs.

VISION

The first element of the formula for change is a vision of the future state. The vision must be clear, compelling, and, most importantly, it must be shared. In Breakpoint and Beyond¹ George Land and Beth Jarman discuss how a clear vision is true north for individuals, teams, and organizations. Decisions shape the vision to the extent that they point the way toward the direction the organization is going. The concept of “hologram thinking” applies here. With puzzle-piece thinking, everyone brings an element of a vision (or piece of the puzzle) and each piece is necessary in order to visualize the whole. A hologram is different. It contains the entire scene on every point of the image. Whereas a photograph shows light from a single point onto a single point, in a hologram, each point is showing the light reflected from every other point in the scene. Vision in an organization is like this. The goal is that each person possesses a sense of the whole future, not a partial view.

Figure 17-1 Formula for Change

The best leaders provide a complete and compelling vision of the future that is deeply shared by every member of the organization. The vision should address the organization’s aspirational, bigger-picture future, and also how the employee herself fits in and benefits personally.² If the leader has done her job well, each member of an organization has the entire future scene fully represented. Every decision for work-life support sheds light on future direction and on what’s important.

DISSATISFACTION

For change to coalesce, people need a healthy sense of dissatisfaction with the present. This condition, which is necessary for change, is the most forgotten and misunderstood condition. It is the burning platform. It is the articulation of how the present is no longer working. It is necessary to be sensitive when sharing this element of a message. People are invested in the present. Many of them have built their careers by creating the present reality, so it is important that the present be validated at the same time that changes are being advocated. Usually, the most effective approach is discussing how the present situation was built for all the right reasons with the best of intentions and the best knowledge at the time. Now that the company knows more and the context has changed, the current solution is no longer serving it.

In establishing the burning platform, companies must articulate what isn’t working today and what is a problem or a point of difficulty. Sometimes this seems counterintuitive—to point out the negative—but success lies in how it’s done. Earlier, I described Nick, a wise and long-term employee at a company with which I worked. Sometimes when sticky issues came up with employees, we would consult Nick. He always had his finger on the pulse of the organization and could give us an accurate read on what was really happening. One time, we were discussing a problem and Nick was asking questions to discover more and to brainstorm how we should resolve it. Nick asked whether the problem was real or whether people were simply engaging in “recreational bitching.” His point? The problem wasn’t genuine. The concerns had turned into excessive whining rather than articulation of real concerns about real issues. This perspective was a reality check on which issues really needed solving and which needed to be simply refocused.

When pointing out problems or challenges, leaders are not encouraging “recreational bitching” but rather identifying substantive ways that the present situation is no longer serving the organization. Leaders should explain that while past solutions may have served the organization, as the situation changes the solutions must change as well. For example, previous ways of managing—by supervising a staff that was in the office from 8 a.m. to 5p.m., Monday through Friday—worked in the past, but as companies move toward a more global workforce and must accommodate different working hours, that way of managing is no longer possible. Companies must manage differently.

KNOWLEDGE

Once stakeholders have a vision of where the organization is going (vision) and a sense of why it can’t stay where it is (dissatisfaction), people need knowledge of how to close the gap. They must know the practical first steps to make a change. They must have a sense of the actions necessary to move forward through the change (for example, research policies at other companies, create proposal for new policy, present the proposal to executive committee and get approval, add the new policy to policy manual, distribute and communicate the new policy to employees, train work team leaders). Much of this may feel mundane, but these stepping-stones will create the conditions for successful change.

PERCEIVED COSTS

These factors—vision, dissatisfaction, and knowledge—must be greater than the perceived costs that go with the change the organization is seeking. The costs may be time, money, people, or political influence. There are costs to every change so the goal is not to minimize or “spin” them, but rather to be honest with people about the investment (costs) that will be necessary. It’s a trade-off. The investment an organization makes will result in a better future (vision) as well as the relief of problems (dissatisfaction) when the organization’s leaders have the understanding and skills (knowledge) to implement successfully.

THE FORMULA

This approach can be expressed in the formula:

Vision × Dissatisfaction × Knowledge > Perceived Costs

For change to occur, vision times dissatisfaction times knowledge must be greater than perceived costs. For those who remember algebra, all of the factors on the left of the equation—vision, dissatisfaction, and knowledge—must be in place. None of them can be ignored (zero) because anything multiplied by zero is zero. If any one of the factors is missing, the perceived costs of a change will be too great for the change to occur. When managing the change and implementing work-life supports, it won’t be enough to attend to any one part of the formula. Success will be achieved when leaders attend to all the necessary elements of managing the change.

ENGAGING HEARTS AND MINDS

Previously, I discussed the importance of winning both hearts and minds. This “hearts and minds” approach is evident here as well. In general, on the emotional side of change, people progress through a fairly predictable pattern of moving from denial to resistance to exploration to acceptance and then to commitment. On the cognitive side, people move predictably from awareness to understanding to translation to action and finally to ownership.³ Most models of change conflate—that is, mix together—the emotional and cognitive side of change. To decouple them—to take them apart—is useful in building understanding of the process and helping people move through it. The effective management of change helps people progress through this process by providing direction and support as well as vision, dissatisfaction, knowledge, and truth about costs and investments.

Managing change through the process of implementing work-life supports builds organizational competencies. When organizations go through change related to work-life supports successfully, they enhance capability for the next change. Competence in dealing with change is a transferable skill that tends to increase overall agility. Author and former Time magazine editor Joshua Cooper Ramo says, “Resilience will be the defining concept of the twenty-first century.”⁴

Earlier I mentioned the concept of “future proofing,” in which organizations seek to ensure success into the future. The skill of future proofing is the ability to continually adapt and respond to changes both inside and outside the organization. The metaphor of a boiled frog is apt. It is actually possible to boil a frog⁵ without the frog jumping out of the pot. When the temperature of the water is turned up quickly, the frog will jump out of the water, but when the temperature of the water is turned up slowly, the frog continually adapts its body temperature until it is critically hot and beyond the point of recovery. The lesson is that leaders must continually assess situations and determine what type of response is necessary, especially as different employees have unique and varying “boiling points.” To simply adapt without thought, planning, or knowledge of the situation is to become critically incapacitated. This is the skill of future proofing: continually listening to the situation and environment and making conscious decisions regarding when and how to adapt and adopt change.

PROGRESSING THROUGH THE PROCESS

People progress through a relatively predictable set of concerns in a situation of change. The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership model suggests they start with contextual concerns (“Where is this coming from? What’s the context or big picture?”). They quickly move to personal concerns (“How will this affect me? Will this be good or bad for me?”) and from there, they move onto procedural concerns (“How will this work?”). After these concerns are resolved, they tend to bring up concerns regarding impact (“Will this matter? What will be the payoff of this effort?”), as well as concerns pertaining to collaboration (“How will we involve others and how will we get others on board?”). Finally, they concern themselves with refinement (“How will we improve this on an ongoing basis?”).

Figure 17-2 Change Management Influence

People also look for sponsors when they are going through change. These are the people who are promoting or supporting a change. At the beginning of the change, employees focus more on the messages and sponsorship from senior leaders, and this reliance on senior leaders tends to wane over time. In an opposite fashion, at the beginning of a change process, people tend to rely less on peers. Over time, the peer influence expands. Throughout the change process, the immediate work team leader’s involvement is crucial.

One company has made use of this knowledge by leveraging town hall meetings and MBWA (management by walking around). These venues give senior leaders the opportunity to speak with groups through “walkabouts” in order to share the vision for the change, discuss the reasons for the change, present how the employees will be supported, listen to reactions, and discuss the trade-offs. At the same time, the company sets up “coaching groups” in which peers can connect regarding the change and share what they’ve learned.

Leaders must share information in such a way that people accept the change. When there is a dearth of information, people will fill in the blanks, and spend unnecessary time wondering, postulating, and exchanging rumors about the future. I had a boss who used to say the rumor mill is always right because it is an immense brainstorming session. Eventually, every possibility is represented in the rumor mill. One of those possibilities is always the actual decision that is made. To quell rumors, it is generally best to communicate more and to communicate early. Even when decisions aren’t finalized, it can be productive to share as much information as possible with employees. Share what is known. Be open regarding the decisions that are not yet complete. Be transparent about how decisions are being made. Sharing information is always a judgment call, but in general, more information flowing through the system creates a situation with more trust and openness,⁶ and fewer distractions from rumors.

What are the implications for work-life supports? As leaders and organizations implement work-life support programs they must work through peoples’ concerns and respond to multiple questions through “lunch and learns,” website question submittals, FAQ documents, and the like. In addition, it is valuable for senior leaders to carry a strong message and invest time at the outset to get people on board and engaged with the change. Time is well spent in town hall meetings and in connecting formally and informally with people online and in person. Building peer support through communities of practice—groups learning together—and committee structures sets up work team members who will be strong peer supporters as the change process matures. First-line work team leaders have perhaps the most difficult jobs. They are frequently in a position in which they must adapt to the change personally—by shifting their leadership style or by developing their understanding of work-life policies, for example—at the same time they must lead and champion the change, sending a strong message of support. Due to the challenge of their roles, they also require support through the changes.

SUPPORTING THE CHANGE THROUGH ACTIONS

As in all aspects of work-life supports, leadership actions are essential for success. If leaders are supporting a change, what are they doing and saying? If an organization wants to hold a leader accountable for implementing and effectively executing work-life supports, what behaviors should it target? Here is a starting list. Leaders can use it as a self-assessment for their own progress in leading and managing the change.

• I am taking appropriate actions to be an overall sponsor for the change.
• I am personally acting in new ways (not remaining the same and simply insisting others change).
• I am clearly communicating and regularly reinforcing the change.
• I am staying aware of the obstacles and risks and managing them appropriately.
• I am paying attention to unique concerns and responding appropriately.
• I am setting and reinforcing clear expectations, including providing clarity on how decisions will be made.
• I am handling objections appropriately.
• I am obtaining feedback throughout the process.
• I am keeping people informed in order to reduce surprise or ambiguity.
• I have provided appropriate choice, involvement, and ownership to my team members.
• I am providing positive reinforcement of behavior that is helpful to a successful change.
• I am demonstrating patience in providing people with time to digest and accept the changes.
• I have provided clarity on why the change is occurring and “what’s in it for me” for individual stakeholders.
• I have provided support for employees who may need to build their skills or knowledge in advance of the change.
• I am providing opportunities for celebration.
• I am supporting my team members who are part of the change project team by allowing them time for that involvement.

MEASURING THE IMPACT

As work-life supports are implemented, it is critical to measure the impact and determine the extent to which they are operating effectively. Measuring successfully provides the opportunity to demonstrate ROI (return on investment), which is critical to maintaining funding for programs and support for policies and practices. The feedback and data obtained through measurement is infused into the system in order to continuously learn and improve processes. How do companies measure work-life supports?

• Some companies are using survey data. They implement work-life supports and then ask people whether the supports matter in terms of the employees’ satisfaction, productivity, and intention to stay with the company. Companies may poll employees through a special, dedicated survey. Occasionally, they poll using a few questions that are incorporated into the company’s overall annual survey.

• Other companies are measuring the impact of work-life supports by examining related data such as turnover rates. While turnover is admittedly affected by a multitude of other variables, companies that use this data believe that work-life supports are one important variable, and that turnover is a metric worth tracking.

• There are organizations that are using data from performance systems. They are tracking which groups in an organization are using work-life supports to a greater or lesser degree and then overlaying data from performance management systems in order to determine whether performance scores are higher in the groups with greater or lesser use of work-life supports. They are also implementing 360-degree feedback approaches in order to ensure that leaders and employees receive feedback and are accountable to multiple stakeholders.

• Another way that companies are tracking the effectiveness of work-life supports is through work team leader data. This is also a survey, but it focuses on the qualities of leadership. Companies are tracking the areas in which work-life supports are more deeply applied and then comparing these to leaders’ performance review scores in order to determine whether the provision of greater work-life supports is correlated with perceptions of improved leadership performance and behavior.

• Organizations are also leveraging exit interviews—the conversation a departing employee has with a company leader—to obtain feedback about the company and its policies, practices, leadership, and the effects of those on the employee.

• There may also be a connection to corporate boards, which are increasingly measuring their own performance. The Conference Board, a global business membership and research association, has conducted research that discovered that 90 percent of large organizations in the United States have boards that evaluate their own performance.⁷ It would be a coup to have this overall effectiveness measure include some aspect of employee satisfaction with work-life supports.

Organizations are also ensuring flexibility in measurement systems. They implement and then monitor in order to determine what changes should be made. Any measurement process is limited by current knowledge. The headlights on a car are not bright enough to shine to a final destination, but they will successfully carry its passengers any number of miles by illuminating one hundred feet at a time. Implementation is like this. Companies must begin measuring based on what they know today and based on their overall goals, connected to their desired business outcomes. As they progress, they may need to make adjustments. This is to be expected, and success will be accomplished through this incremental journey.

Measuring results of work-life supports is invaluable in cementing programs. In one example, a law firm had implemented a broad array of work-life supports, and within two years the firm was acquired. The acquiring firm was preparing to retract almost all the work-life supports. Fortunately, the law firm had kept impeccable records and data on employee satisfaction, client satisfaction, and billable hours. Because the data was so positive, the acquiring firm decided to keep the work-life supports in place. The data ensured the sustainability of the program.

Measurement approaches must make deposits into an organization’s “patience bank.” Similar to a bank balance, organizations have limited resources of time, money, and human capital. Organizations make withdrawals of these resources when they invest in new ventures, policies, or practices. Returns on these investments are important so that the organizational patience bank remains solvent—and it’s important to maintain a balance long enough that there is time for payback.

Organizations can be very impatient. Leaders make decisions or investments and they want to see results. Often, they want to see results almost immediately, especially if the companies are publicly held. If results don’t come quickly enough, organizations run the risk of removing investments too quickly. However, it is usually the bigger investments in more systemic changes that have the longest-term returns. Organizations must ensure that measurement systems make enough of a deposit into the patience bank to maintain a balance. With a greater balance in the patience bank, companies ensure that investments into programs or processes won’t be removed prematurely, before payoffs can be recognized. It will be necessary to invest time, money, and human resources for a work-life support program to be successful. Most of all, it is critical that the entire senior team understands the level of long-term commitment that is necessary.

ALIGNING FOR IMPACT

In order to create abundance, leaders must ensure that work-life supports—the benefits, policies, practices, and cultural norms—they provide are in sync with where the organization is going. When a leader or an organization considers selecting and implementing work-life supports, it is wise to consider a range of options. Some options will be a match to the current culture. Some will stretch the organization in new directions. Some will be too extreme and might interfere with the organization accomplishing its goals.

Alignment means selecting the right work-life supports that appropriately stretch an organization but don’t take it to the breaking point or create problems. For example, offering tuition reimbursement might be a match for where an organization is today. Offering time off work to attend classes may stretch an organization appropriately. Providing the opportunity for an employee to conduct research for his class during work hours may take an organization beyond its level of comfort with the current or the desired culture. Each organization needs to make its own choices and stretch toward a culture of work-life support and flexibility but stop short of reaching so far that the work-life support negatively influences the desired culture or gets in the way of a positive work environment.

An organization that pushes too far too fast will know it. Resistance or negativity will emerge, potentially overshadowing the benefits the organization receives in the form of engagement and enthusiastic commitment on the part of employees. To go back to the example, offering time off for an employee to attend class may meet with some questions from other employees but these may be easily handled if the school-attending employee is able to complete his work after hours. On the other hand, if the student-employee is conducting class-related research during work hours, this may become so distracting and take so much time away from the work of multiple employees that it becomes problematic. This may be pushing too far.

In addition, work-life supports must be integrated into the business. Rather than a program-of-the-month or a short-term solution, they will be most successful when they are part of the fabric of the organization and when they are fully integrated into existing processes. For example, integrate the training for leaders on work-life support options and their implementation into the existing leadership development curriculum. Or, rather than conducting a separate assessment for a worker who wants to take advantage of work-life flexibility options, integrate this assessment into the existing framework of performance reviews. Rather than launching a separate education or communication approach on work-life supports, include the education in the existing processes for communication such as monthly business updates or town halls. In other words, make the work-life supports part of the processes that are already woven into the way the organization does business. This will help work-life supports to take hold.

IN SUM

The goal of any change management or measurement approach is for work-life supports to become ingrained in the organizational processes and systems as well as in the actions, behaviors, and beliefs of leaders and employees. Following the change formula, engaging hearts and minds, managing to the predictable progression of concerns, and demonstrating tangible support for work-life supports will increase the likelihood of success. When work-life supports are viewed as common practice rather than as programs, success is close. When the implementation of work-life supports is habitual and taken for granted, success is also at hand. When work-life supports take hold, the organization is bringing work to life.