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Leading Your TeamThrough Change

Workbook

Objectives:

• Understand the line manager’s role in managing change

• Understand strategies for coping with change and building personal resilience in self and others

• Develop techniques for handling reactions to change and overcome resistance

• Manage individual and team performance through change

Experience of change

Consider your own experiences of major a change. What drove it, what were the challenges, what was positive about it?

Kotter: an 8 stage model for managing change effectively

Developed by John P.Kotter, Harvard Business School professor, in 1995 this model is helpful for understanding and managing change. Each stage acknowledges a key principle identified by Kotter relating to people’s response and approach to change.

Steps 1-3 in this model involve creating a climate for change, getting people ready for it. Unless you invest time in this, there’s a massive risk the change initiative will fail.

Step 1: Create Urgency

Change comes about because of some underlying crisis. Sorting out a problem provides the platform to get people talking about what needs to change. For change to happen, it helps if everyone understands the necessity for change and really want it. Develop a clear and compelling rationale for the change proposed. This may help you spark the initial motivation to get things moving. This isn't simply a matter of showing people poor performance statistics or talking about new competition. Open an honest and convincing dialogue about what's happening to drive the need for change.

Personal and Professional Development November 2018

What you can do:

Do a risk benefit analysis to show how the benefits outweigh the risks Do a Forcefield analysis to identify what’s driving the change and what may restrain it Identify potential threats, and develop scenarios showing what could happen in the

future. Examine opportunities that should or could be exploited. Start honest discussions, and give dynamic and convincing reasons to get people

talking and thinking. Request support from customers, outside stakeholders and industry people to

strengthen your argument.

You have to work really hard on Step 1, and spend significant time and energy building and communicating a clear rationale, before moving onto the next steps. Don't panic and jump in too fast because you don't want to risk further short-term losses – if you act without proper preparation, you could be in for a very bumpy ride. If you are a line manager tasked with implementing a change, you need to force clarity, seeking as much information as you can get on what’s driving the change, where the sense of urgency is coming from. Unless you are clear on this, you will struggle to communicate it convincingly to your team.

Step 2: Build a team to drive change forward

You can find effective champions of change throughout the organization – they don't necessarily follow the traditional company hierarchy. To lead change, you need to bring together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power comes from a variety of sources, including job title, status, expertise, political importance and personal charisma. Once formed, your "change coalition" needs to work as a team, continuing to build urgency and momentum around the need for change.

What you can do: Identify the true leaders in your organization, as well as your key stakeholders Work on team building within your ‘change team.’ Check your team for weak areas, and ensure that you have a good mix of people

from different departments and different levels within your organisation.

As a line manager you need to build a network to help you drive the change. Seek support from Senior Management, HR, and your peer group. Which of your team members are likely to welcome the change? Sound them out and get them on board at the earliest stage. They may be able to allay the fears of others in the team.

Step 3: Create a Vision for Change

When you first start thinking about change, there will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to a simple vision that people can grasp easily and remember. A clear vision can help everyone understand why you're asking them to do something. When people see for themselves what you're trying to achieve, then the directives they're given tend to make more sense.

What you can do: Determine the values that are central to the change. Develop a short summary (one or two sentences) that captures what you "see" as

the future of your department/organization. Get clarity on the vision if others are driving the change


Create a strategy to execute that vision and ensure that you and your ‘change team’ can describe the vision succinctly and confidently.

Steps 4-6 focus on engaging your people and enabling them to implement change.

You cannot impose change - people and teams need to be empowered to find their own solutions and responses, with facilitation and support from managers, and tolerance and compassion from leaders. Management and leadership style and behaviour are more important than clever process and policy. Employees need to be able to trust you.

Step 4: Communicate and consult

Communicate promptly – stop the rumour mill! Tell staff what you can as soon as you can

Be consistent: don’t communicate for the sake of it, but be aware you may need to repeat your messages and in a variety of ways for people to ‘receive’ the information

Provide context: organisational or business objectives may seem remote to employees. Line managers can provide the local context that makes change meaningful to individuals and teams and help them understand how the change will impact them.

Choose the right channels: the more face-to-face communication you have with staff the better. Use team meetings to brief staff. You may not be able to answer all questions during a fixed meeting time, so consider using email or newsletters to respond to queries. And hang around after the meeting has officially ended.

Always use plain English. Jargon will only dilute your message and confuse your audience.

Get feedback. Be approachable and available. Walk the floor or be around at coffee time will help you to gauge how staff are feeling. You should be able to work out what messages are not getting through or how to tackle any resistance to change. Encourage constructive criticism – it can produce good ideas and show you trust your staff.

Consult with staff as individuals. They will all respond to changes differently. Take time to understand individuals.

Take peoples' concerns and anxieties seriously; address them openly and honestly. Give people the information they want and need, as far as you can When there is uncertainty, explain why it is necessary, what action is being taken and

when it will be resolved. Apply your vision to all aspects of operations – from training to performance reviews.

Tie everything back to the vision. Lead by example

Communicate, communicate, communicate!


Step 5: Empower action

Look at your organizational structure, job descriptions, and performance and compensation systems to ensure they're in line with your vision.

Provide lots of support and constructive feedback on progress and achievements Recognize and reward people for making change happen. Identify people who are resisting the change, and help them see what's needed.

Take action to quickly remove obstacles

Step 6: Create short-term wins

Organisational change needs momentum, a sense of achievement, and optimism. Therefore, it is essential that results are achieved quickly.

Short-term wins serve four important purposes:

1. Provide us with feedback about the validity of our vision and strategies.2. Give those working hard to achieve the vision recognition and encouragement.3. Build faith in the change project — attracting those who are not actively involved.4. Take away power from cynics.

Look for the low hanging fruit — short-term wins that can be achieved cheaply and easily — and make these as visible as possible. Ensure you set a manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones.

You also need to look out for those successes that happen unplanned – personal and team success stories. Publicise and celebrate. Enhance the feel good factor; create positive energy, confidence and a drive to continue

Steps 7-8 Implement and sustain

Step 7: Don't let up

Many change projects fail because victory is declared too early. Real change runs deep. Quick wins are only the beginning of what needs to be done to achieve long-term change. One success using a new system is great. But if you can achieve 10 successful outcomes, that means the new system is working. To reach that 10th success, you need to keep looking for improvements.

Each success provides an opportunity to build on what went right and identify what you can improve.

What you can do: Foster and encourage determination and persistence Emphasise need for ongoing change Encourage ongoing progress reporting Highlight achievements After every success, analyse what went right, and what needs improving. Set goals and milestones to continue building on the momentum you've achieved.


https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm

Step 8: Make it stick

Finally, to make any change stick, it should become woven into the culture of your team/organization. It's vital that everyone continues to support the change. This includes existing and new staff.

What you can do: Talk about progress. Tell success stories about the change process, and repeat

other stories that you hear. Include the change ideals and values when hiring and training new staff. Reinforce the value of successful change in 1-1s, performance reviews and career

development discussions

Role and Responsibilities

Why is your role key?

What are the key parts of a manager’s role in supporting and leading their team through a period of change?

What skills does a manager need to lead their team through change?


Communicating Change

First, in groups, use the table on page 7 to prepare for a team meeting to communicate one of the following changes. (10 minutes)

Second, agree who is going to communicate the change, and communicate it to the other group. (15 minutes)

When listening to the communication think about your own emotions and reactions to the news.

Evaluate as a group how it went. (5 minutes)

Scenario 1: You need to implement a change in procedure that you anticipate the team will not be happy about. This change has been imposed on you; however you need to adopt a positive mind-set when communicating the procedural change to your team.

Scenario 2: A team member has recently left and, for various reasons, you have decided not to replace them. You need to communicate this to your team.


Prepare to communicate the change:

Intro

Rationale

Develop a clear and compelling rationale

for the change proposed

Vision

Create a simple vision that people can

grasp easily and remember.

Timetable

Possible objections/concern

s

Next steps

After the team communication, what worked well? What might you have done differently?


Resilience – key characteristics of resilient people

Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from setbacks and adversity.

Resilient people demonstrate seven main characteristics:

1. Realistic Optimism

Highly resilient people have a realistic, optimistic view of the world, which is based in reality. They persist in seeking goals despite obstacles and setbacks and tend to operate from hope of success rather than fear of failure. They view setbacks as being due to manageable circumstance rather than personal flaw.

2. Emotional Awareness

Highly resilient people are able to identify their feelings and, where necessary, to control them. They can label their feelings, rather than labelling people or situations. They can recognise how their feelings affect their performance and understand the link between their feelings and what they think and say.

3. Empathy

Highly resilient people are empathetic. They understand and identify their own emotions; they can understand and identify the emotions of others. They are attentive to emotional clues and listen well. They show sensitivity and understand another person’s perspective. They acknowledge and reward people’s strengths and offer useful feedback while identifying people’s needs for further growth.

4. Risk Taking

Highly resilient people are prepared to take appropriate risks. They are willing to try new things and view occasional failures as essential stages in the process towards ultimate success. Importantly they are able to ask for help when required without feeling angry, resentful, inadequate or intimidated.

5. Problem Solving

Highly resilient people are able to look at problems and challenges from a comprehensive perspective. They view problems and challenges from many different perspectives and have confidence in their ability to solve problems.

6. Confidence

Self-efficacy is the belief you can do a particular thing. The stronger the belief the stronger the self-efficacy. Highly resilient people recognise their strengths and weaknesses and use their strengths to help them cope with adversity. They have positive ‘self-talk’

7. Tolerate Ambiguity

Highly resilient people tolerate ambiguity well so they do not rush to make judgements or snap decisions. They step back and think about things before acting. They have the ability to stop, and choose whether to act on a desire to take action.


Building Resilience at Work

Enhancing your personal resilience can help you to:

Understand how to remain task focussed at work during periods of stress

Increase your adaptability and confidence when experiencing tough times

Experience more hope, optimism and positivity

Understand how to turn advertising into a growth experience – using it to develop new

ways of working and living

Prevent stress that negatively affects, work, colleagues and family

10 things you can do to build your own resilience – NHS

Be active Take control Connect with people Have some ‘me’ time Challenge yourself Avoid unhealthy habits Help others Work smarter not harder (prioritising) Accept the things you can’t change Try to be positive

1.

What managers can do to support your team (extract from University of Cambridge Managing Stress and Wellbeing at Work policy – Staff Guidance)

Examples of ways in which you can exhibit good practice with staff include:

▪ promote effective management practices including those covering induction and probationary processes, mentoring, staff review and development (appraisal), informal group and individual consultation, an ‘open-door’ policy on the part of line managers, good communication throughout the institution;

▪ encourage awareness of stress and its negative impact on staff health and satisfaction, performance and productivity;

▪ ensure that all staff have clarity over their role, responsibilities and accountabilities and are


regularly reviewed;

▪ ensure that staff have access to staff development to develop skills,

▪ give positive feedback when staff have done well, constructive criticism when things have not gone so well and actively listening to their responses;

▪ set work targets and standards that are realistic but include an element of challenge;

▪ be aware of, and managing, change processes impacting on staff, including the effects of computers on their work; during organisational change providing regular updates;

▪ promote and modelling the behaviours recommended in the University's Dignity at Work Policy; addressing work related conflict, knowing when to refer problems to external agencies;

▪ help staff balance work and personal/family commitments; helping staff accommodate disabilities;

▪ develop action plans to control problems identified by the risk assessment process

2. What staff can do

ensure you are clear about your role and your manager's expectations;

ensure you have clear job objectives that are regularly reviewed and monitored;

manage your time effectively;

ensure there are areas of working life that you have control over;

cultivate constructive relationships with your manager and colleagues

identify and request support required to do your job;

be aware of University policies protecting staff well-being;

know how to access objective, confidential support when necessary e.g. Occupational Health, Human Resources, Counselling Service;

review work/home balance regularly, engaging in activities/hobbies outside work and exercising regularly.

How people react to change: the change curve


1. Shock/Denial Provide information to enable understanding and to tell people where they can get support from

This is a critical stage for communication. Make sure you communicate often, but also ensure that you don't overwhelm people: They'll only be able to take in a limited amount of information at a time. But make sure that people know where to go for more information if they need it, and ensure that you take the time to answer any questions that come up.

2. Frustration/DepressionAs someone responsible for change, you should prepare for this stage by carefully considering the impacts and objections that people may have.

Make sure that you address these early with clear communication and support, and by taking action to minimize and mitigate the problems that people will experience. As the reaction to change is very personal and can be emotional, it is often impossible to pre-empt everything, so make sure that you listen and watch carefully during this stage (or have mechanisms to help you do this) so you can respond to the unexpected

3. Acceptance/ExperimentOnce you turn the corner, the team starts to come out of the danger zone, and is on the way to making a success of the changes. Individually, as people's acceptance grows, they'll need to test and explore what the change means. They will do this more easily if they are helped and supported to do so, even if this is a simple matter of allowing enough time for them to do so.

As the person managing the changes, you can lay good foundations for this stage by making sure that people are well trained, and are given early opportunities to experience what the changes will bring. Be aware that this stage is vital for learning and acceptance, and that it takes time: Don't expect people to be 100 percent productive during this time, and build in the contingency time so that people can learn and explore without too much pressure.

4. Commitment/IntegrationThis stage is the one you have been waiting for! This is where the changes start to become second nature, and people embrace the improvements to the way they work.

As someone managing the change, you'll finally start to see the benefits you worked so hard for. Your team or organization starts to become productive and efficient, and the positive effects of change become apparent.

Whilst you are busy counting the benefits, don't forget to stand back! The journey may have been rocky, and it will have certainly been at least a little uncomfortable for some people involved: everyone deserves to share the success. What's more, by celebrating the achievement, you establish a track record of success, which will make things easier the next time change is needed……

Different types in your team


As well as people being at different places on the Change Curve, you will also see different ‘types’ emerging as you observe their support for change (low to high) and their reaction to change (passive to active).

Typical behaviour “Not whilst I’m around” May sabotage passively (not making decisions,

slowing down plans) or actively (striking) Can be overt or covert

“Not another change initiative” May be a natural cynic May be waiting for a role May have seen it all before Often has an ally Can be cynical due to past bad experiences

“I’ll wait and see, whatever” May be indifferent or waiting to be convinced Easily swayed Not bothered

Change is inevitable Puts up with it but does not get involved May be in favour but distracted by other

commitments

“How can I spread the word?” Enthusiastic support Does the job for you Enthuses others Can-do High energy


Preparation for this afternoon

Thinking about a significant change facing you and your team, using the types and the model above:

1. Think about where you and your individual team members, or people you work with, may be on the curve above.

2. Think about one team member that you need to have a conversation with about a change that is being proposed or is currently being implemented. The team member could be at any point on the curve.

a. Prepare how you would approach that conversation. b. Think about how you would try to overcome their resistance and/or help them

to develop their personal resilience and/or harness their enthusiasm


Handling individual responses to news of change

You recently held a meeting to tell your team about major change that will impact on them.

Dev

In the team meeting, Dev was excited by the prospect of change. From previous discussions with him, you know he’s been feeling in a rut and is ready for a new challenge.

Polly

Polly was quite vocal in the meeting. She raised a number of objections and concerns. She was quite dismissive of the ability of management to make the right decisions.

Gina

Gina didn’t say much in the meeting. On the way out you asked her how she was and her reaction was ‘I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens won’t we?’

Chas

Chas did a lot of head-shaking and sighing in the meeting. He has a tendency to be negative anyway and said this was ‘just another pointless change.’

On the next page, consider how you might go about managing them following the news of the change.


Typical behaviour Your behaviour and actions

(Polly)

“Not whilst I’m around” May sabotage passively

(not making decisions, slowing down plans) or actively (striking)

Can be overt or covert

(Chas)

“Not another change initiative”

May be a natural cynic May be waiting for a role May have seen it all before Often has an ally Can be cynical due to past

bad experiences

(Gina)

“I’ll wait and see, whatever” May be indifferent or waiting

to be convinced Easily swayed Not bothered

Change is inevitable Puts up with it but does not

get involved May be in favour but

distracted by other commitments

(Dev)

“How can I spread the word?”

Enthusiastic support Does the job for you Enthuses others Can-do High energy


A role-play to watch

Watch the discussion taking place. Make a note of what the manager does to support the discussion and, for example, to manage emotions, build resilience and overcome resistance.

Consider if there is anything you would do differently.

Your chance to practise

In pairs, use your preparation after day 1 to practise a conversation with your team member.

Brief your partner to respond ‘in type’. Have the conversation. Reflect on what worked well, and what you might do differently. Reverse roles and repeat.

What worked well? Anything you might do differently when you do speak to them?

Key learning for you

For more ideas and to watch online resources, see Managing Challenging Conversations:


Leading Your Team Through Change – recently releasedat http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/online-learning


http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/online-learning

Managing performance through change

Whilst change can often have a positive effect on some team members there is a danger with others that there is a dip in performance and productivity, people take their eye off the ball, spend too much time and energy thinking about the change and worrying about things they can’t influence, and ‘business as usual’ can take a back seat.

What can you do to ensure that individual and team performance levels remain high during a period of change?

Consolidating change – make it the new norm

What can you do to embed and consolidate change within your team?


Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development

Teams mature and develop. Like individuals they have a fairly clearly defined growth cycle. This has been categorised as having four successive stages:

Stage Manager’s role and actionsFORMING The team is not yet a team but a set of individuals. This stage is characterised by talk about the purpose of the team, the definition and title of the team, its composition, leadership pattern, and life-span. At this stage too, each individual tends to want to establish her/his personal identity within the team, make some individual impression.

Direct…

STORMING Most teams go through a conflict stage when the preliminary and other roles, on norms of work and behaviour, is challenged and re-established. At this stage of lot of personal agendas are revealed and a certain amount of inter-personal hostility may be generated. If successfully handled this period of storming leads to a new and more realistic setting of objectives, procedures and norms. This stage is particularly important for testing the norms of trust in the team.

Coach and support…

NORMING The team needs to establish norms and practices – when and how it should work, how it should take decisions, what type of behaviour, what level of work, what degree of openness, trust and confidence is appropriate. At this stage there will be a lot of tentative experimentation by individuals to test the temperature of the team and to measure the appropriate level of commitment.

Facilitate and enable…

PERFORMING Only when the three previous stages have been successfully completed will the team by at full maturity and be able to be fully and sensibly productive. Some kind of performance will be achieved at all stages of development, but it is likely to be impeded by other processes of growth and the individual agendas

Delegate and oversee…


Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development

Where are your team on Tuckman’s model?

What makes you think that?

What do you need to do to get them to, or keep them at, ‘performing’?


ExerciseThink about some changes which were implemented recently.

What type of change was it? Organisation, department or team?

How did you feel about it?

How did your team react? What characteristics of the change curve did you notice?

What did you do to support them?

Knowing what you know now, what else could you have done?


Your notes and action plan

Reflecting on the Change Leadership Questionnaire, identify particular actions or ideas that you wish to START, STOP or CONTINUE. If possible identify when and with whom you will put these in to practice.

For more ideas and to watch online resources, see Managing Challenging Conversations: Leading Your Team Through Change – just releasedat http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/online-learning


Think itInk itDo it

Review it

Start – what you are not doing but think you should or could try

Stop – what is not working (for you and/or others)

Continue – things that are working well

http://www.ppd.admin.cam.ac.uk/online-learning

step 8: make it stick - admin.cam.ac.uk · web viewfrom previous discussions with him, you know...

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