Successful Organizational Change: Transition, Communication, and Courage
By Renée Hanson,
University Consulting Alliance Manager
As UW leaders continue to shepherd their employees and organizations through change, we thought it would be useful to include this timely article from our archives.
Planning and making decisions around large-scale or high-impact change is a daunting enough task; ensuring that change is adopted and integrated by employees and into the organization may seem almost impossible. But by managing the transition, communicating about change, and exhibiting courage, leaders can increase the likelihood that organizational change will succeed.
MANAGING THE TRANSITION
Change occurs when something starts or something stops; transition is the gradual psychological process through which individuals and groups re-orient themselves so they can function and find meaning in a changed situation.
William Bridges, researcher and author of many books about change management, advises leaders to focus on this crucial transition aspect. By learning basic transition management strategies, leaders can bring employees—and organizations—through change with renewed energy and purpose.
Often leaders are so preoccupied with the content of the change that they plan and manage the technical, economic, and staffing aspects of organizational change with great care but do not foresee or know how to handle the psychological effects of change on people. Leaders and organizations are then unprepared when change disorients people and leaves them demoralized, self-absorbed, and mistrustful.
What organizational change ultimately requires is that people develop not just new skills and knowledge but a whole new way of looking at things, an internal re-orientation. Bridges contends that unless this re-orientation process is handled successfully, things will essentially remain the same. If people don’t go through the inner process of transition, they won’t develop the new behaviors and attitudes the change requires.
Bridges’ research has found that people’s success in transition is directly related to how they feel about four factors, represented by the acronym C.U.S.P.: control, understanding, support, and purpose. Each of these things is threatened by organizational change, but each can also be restored in some degree by managerial actions. In its simplest form, that is what transition management is: a way to help people recover a sense of C.U.S.P.
Leaders should consider how their employees might respond to the following questions—and how leadership can address any C.U.S.P. deficiencies.
- Do employees feel they have some control over the situation?
- Do employees understand, in terms that make sense to them, what is happening and why?
- Do employees have support, emotional and practical, for what they must go through?
- Do employees have a sense of personal purpose to give meaning to their experience and actions?
COMMUNICATING ABOUT CHANGE
One critical tool for managing a transition and ensuring that change is successful is communication. According to Bridges, effective communication is not the responsibility of the marketing and communications unit or the human resources department. Instead, leaders at all levels must shoulder the responsibility of communicating consistently and persuasively to employees.
In Bridges’ view, with large-scale or high-impact change, there must be a noticeable increase in both the quality and the quantity of communication. As major changes are planned and implemented, communication must differ significantly from the usual channels and methods.
Bridges believes that if it isn’t face to face, it isn’t communication. The pressure and anxiety of major change are significant impediments to the complex process of communication. To ensure change messages are being communicated effectively, leaders must get out of their offices and talk with people.
Along those same lines, Bridges believes that information plus technology does not equal communication. In fact, high-tech communication tools tend to hinder, rather than improve, the process of effective communication about deep change. No one has ever successfully changed an organization by communication via email, the internet, or PowerPoint presentations.
Finally, effective communication is a two-way street—leaders must not only speak but listen. Too often, especially in times of anxiety, small concerns snowball into insurmountable obstacles simply because no one took the time to listen and resolve the issue. Major breakthroughs in a change process start to take place when people feel heard.
LEADING WITH COURAGE
Dr. Merom Klein, director of The Courage Institute and co-author of the book The Courage to Act, offers advice that’s useful for leaders in our current environment. According to Klein, courage is always nice to have, but when leaders face adversity and the inner strength of their team is tested, courage is critical.
In Klein’s view, courage is a strength that all leaders can foster in themselves and those around them by making a conscious choice to face adversity head-on and take an active role in decision-making. In his online article “Courage is a Special Kind of Wisdom,” Klein offers a number of principles for leading courageously through these times of anxiety and fear, including candor, purpose, and will.
Candor Bring issues to the surface and identify fears. Don’t ask your team what you should do to make them feel more secure in their jobs. Such a question could create unrealistic expectations or lead to an unproductive complaint session. Instead, Klein suggests getting people involved in problem solving by asking, “What are the difficulties and worries that we’ll need to address and overcome?”
Purpose Klein advises appealing to employees’ pride, social responsibility, altruism, and desire to make a difference. You may not be able to promise your team job security in the short- or long-term, but you can focus on current needs and assure team members that they can contribute meaningfully to the organization today and—no matter what happens—take pride in a job well done.
Will According to Klein, “How you deal with frustration, setbacks, scrutiny—and draw people in, when they’re tempted to give up and back away—is a key factor in the success your teams will achieve.” Even in the face of adversity, you must show appreciation and ensure that team members feel valued by you. Rather than giving up or showing signs of defeat, Klein suggests keeping your team engaged and moving forward with questions like “How do we fix this? What’s the solution? What have we learned? Who else do we need to consult?”
The research of The Courage Institute has identified five courage factors that distinguish teams who are able to rise to challenges, make the most of opportunity, and execute change. You can assess the courage index of your team at The Courage Institute’s website: www.courageinstitute.org/your-courage-index.html. The site also features articles and other resources to help build the courage of your team to face these difficult times.
Change is a process, not an event. By practicing good transition management, communicating openly and persistently, and acting with courage, leaders can help ensure that change is successful for the organization and its employees.
