68 / LEADING OTHERS
Managing change
Individuals, managers, teams, and organizations that do not adapt
to change in timely ways are unlikely to survive in our increasingly
turbulent world environment. Managers that anticipate change, learn
to adapt to change, and manage change will be the most successful.
Overcoming resistance
Change is the process of moving from
a present state to a more desired state
in response to internal and external
factors. To successfully implement
change, you need to possess the skills to
convince others of the need for change,
identify gaps between the current
situation and desired conditions, and
create visions for desirable outcomes.
Experienced managers are aware
that efforts to change often face
resistance. This can be for a variety of
reasons, including fear, vested interests,
misunderstanding, lack of trust, differing
perceptions of a situation, and limited
resources. You need to be able to
counter this resistance to change
through education, participation,
and negotiation.
TURN TO THE POSITIVE
Try to use any resistance
to your proposed change
for your benefit, by making
it a stimulus for dialogue and
a deeper, more thoughtful
analysis of the alternatives.
Tip
Promoting change
Major change does not happen easily.
Effective managers are able to establish
a sense of urgency that the change is
needed. If an organization is obviously
facing a threat to its survival, this kind
of crisis usually gets people’s attention.
Dramatically declining profits and
stock prices are examples. In other
cases, when no current crisis
is obvious, but managers
have identified potential
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MANAGING CHANGE / 69
Managing change
Individuals, managers, teams, and organizations that do not adapt
to change in timely ways are unlikely to survive in our increasingly
turbulent world environment. Managers that anticipate change, learn
to adapt to change, and manage change will be the most successful.
problems by scanning the external
environment, the manager needs to find
ways to communicate the information
broadly and dramatically to make others
aware of the need for change. Managers
also have to develop and articulate a
compelling vision and strategy that
people will aspire to, that will guide the
change effort. The vision of what it will be
like when the change is achieved should
illuminate core principles and values that
In focus
PHASES OF CHANGE
Planned change progresses through
three phases:
Unfreezing This involves helping
people see that a change is needed
because the existing situation is
undesirable. Existing attitudes and
behaviors need to be altered during
this phase to reduce resistance, by
explaining how the change can help
increase productivity, for example.
Your goal in this phase is to help the
participants see the need for change
and to increase their willingness to
make the change a success.
Changing This involves making
the actual change and requires
you to help participants let go
of old ways of doing things and
develop new ones.
Refreezing The final phase involves
reinforcing the changes made so
that the new ways of behaving
become stabilized. If people
perceive the change to be working
in their favor, positive results will
serve as reinforcement, but if not,
it may be necessary to use external
reinforcements, which can be
positive or negative.
pull followers together. Lastly,
institutionalizing changes in the
organizational culture will refreeze
the change. New values and beliefs
will become instilled in the culture so
that employees view the changes as
normal and integral to the operations
of the organization.
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