Change Management for a Change: Masters of Change, Volume I

By Marc Hanlan Ph.D.

Across the millennia, leaders have used Programs to achieve their objectives. Even today, Programs are the most common way that organizations make change happen. People are the most critical factor in the success of Programs, yet their support and participation are often taken for granted. Change Management is the art and science of having people prepared with the best tools and aligned to support the Program's success.

Change Management is the key to successful Programs.

Written by an expert in the field and the author of several textbooks on change and transformation, this book offers a comprehensive real-world step-by-step guide to enable success in small- and large-scale Programs. From new perspectives on resistance, alignment, leadership, and more, this volume includes a 'primer' on Change Management, 91 key activities that make a difference, and more than 65 common challenges (and their practical solutions). As the first of four volumes in the Masters of Change series,

It's time to try Change Management for a Change.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667822631

Book preview

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Change Management for a Change

© 2021 Marc Hanlan.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written consent of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-66782-262-4 (print)

ISBN: 978-1-66782-263-1 (eBook)

This book is dedicated to the people I love and cherish, who have walked with me on my path, lighting my way. Seann Hanlan, Kyle Hanlan, Jesse Greenlan, Jeanne Anastasi, and others have shown me the way.

I simply follow and add my own light.

Thank you from my head, heart, and soul.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION & USING THIS BOOK

Purpose: Why Read this Book?

Why is another ‘Change’ book needed?

Writing Format

Content Format:

CHAPTER TWO: WHAT IS OCM AND OTHER BASICS

What IS Organizational Change Management (OCM)?

Why Do OCM?

How and What to Do ‘OCM’?

Program-based OCM

Phase-based OCM

Strategic and Tactical OCM

Key OCM Program Considerations

Background OCM Basics

Management and Leadership: New Definitions

Three Different Languages of Change

Resistance

Is OCM Worth It?

CHAPTER THREE: OVERALL OCM

General Description: Overall OCM (across all phases)

Key Business Purpose of Overall OCM

Business Challenges of Overall OCM

People-Related Challenges of Overall OCM

Opportunities of Overall OCM

Resourcing of Overall OCM

Timeline and Activities of Overall OCM

Informal Commentary on Overall OCM

CHAPTER FOUR: BEFORE IT STARTS

General Description of the Before It Starts Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Before It Starts Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Before It Starts Phase

Business Challenges of the Before It Starts Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Before It Starts Phase

Opportunities of the Before It Starts Phase

Resourcing of the Before It Starts Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Before It Starts Phase

Informal Commentary on the Before It Starts Phase

CHAPTER FIVE: PREPARATION PHASE

General Description of the Preparation Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Preparation Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Preparation Phase

Business Challenges of the Preparation Phase

Opportunities of the Preparation Phase

Resourcing of the Preparation Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Preparation Phase

Informal Commentary on the Preparation Phase

CHAPTER SIX: DESIGN PHASE

General Description of the Design Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Design Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Design Phase

Business Challenges of the Design Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Design Phase

Opportunities of the Design Phase

Resourcing of the Design Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Design Phase

Informal Commentary on the Design Phase

CHAPTER SEVEN: TEST PHASE

General Description of the Test Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Test Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Test Phase

Business Challenges of the Test Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Test Phase

Opportunities of the Test Phase

Resourcing of the Test Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Test Phase

Informal Commentary on the Test Phase

CHAPTER EIGHT: FINAL TRANSITION PHASE

General Description of the Final Transition Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Final Transition Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Final Transition Phase

Business Challenges of the Final Transition Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Final Transition Phase

Opportunities of the Final Transition Phase

Resourcing of the Final Transition Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Final Transition Phase

Informal Commentary on the Final Transition Phase

CHAPTER NINE: CHANGE OVER PHASE

General Description of the Change-Over Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Change-Over Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Change-Over Phase

Business Challenges of the Change-Over Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Change-Over Phase

Opportunities of the Change-Over Phase

Resourcing of the Change-Over Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Change-Over Phase

Informal Commentary on the Change-Over Phase

CHAPTER TEN: ADAPTATION PHASE

General Description of the Adaptation Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Adaptation Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Adaptation Phase

Business Challenges of the Adaptation Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Adaptation Phase

Opportunities of the Adaptation Phase

Resourcing of the Adaptation Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Adaptation Phase

Informal Commentary on the Adaptation Phase

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE NEW STATUS QUO PHASE

General Description of the New Status Quo Phase

Key Business Purpose of the New Status Quo Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the New Status Quo Phase

Business Challenges of the New Status Quo Phase

People-Related Challenges of the New Status Quo Phase

Opportunities of the New Status Quo Phase

Resourcing of the New Status Quo Phase

Timeline and Activities of the New Status Quo Phase

Informal Commentary on the New Status Quo Phase

CHAPTER TWELVE: AFTER IT ENDS

General Description of the After It Ends Phase

Key Business Purpose of the After It Ends Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the After It Ends Phase

Business Challenges of the After It Ends Phase

People-Related Challenges of the After It Ends Phase

Opportunities of the After It Ends Phase

Resourcing of the After It Ends Phase

Timeline and Activities of the After It Ends Phase

Informal Commentary on the After It Ends Phase

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: DOING IT AGAIN AND BEYOND

General Description of the Doing It Again & Beyond Phase

Key Business Purpose of the Doing It Again & Beyond Phase

Key OCM Purpose of the Doing It Again & Beyond Phase

Business Challenges of the Doing It Again & Beyond Phase

People-Related Challenges of the Doing It Again Phase

Opportunities of the Doing It Again Phase

Resourcing of the Doing It Again Phase

Timeline and Activities of the Doing It Again Phase

Informal Commentary on the Doing It Again & Beyond Phase

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OCM

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: INDEX OF BUSINESS CHALLENGES

APPENDIX B: INDEX OF PEOPLE CHALLENGES

APPENDIX C: LISTING OF KEY ACTIVITY SUMMARIES

APPENDIX D: SAMPLE OF VOLUME II: OCM ACTIVITIES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

No author truly writes alone…and I’m no exception. When I write from experience, I’m writing with the support and teamwork of those I worked with throughout my life. When I write from expertise, I’m writing with the advice and counsel of many professors, teachers, and guides in my life. When I wrote this book, it was with the help and support and many folks. Unfortunately, I have to limit my acknowledgments to a few. To everyone, thank you!

Thanks to the clients, partners, and leaders who have asked me to help them with their Program success. Through planned activities and unplanned challenges, we have together weathered, learned, created, and enjoyed significant change and results.

Thanks to the many OCM teams I’ve worked with and the extraordinary journeys we’ve traveled. From large-scale Programs that crossed countries to small efforts with enthusiastic teams, I owe great thanks to every one of you – thanks for the rides and I look forward to many more.

Scott McKay worked closely with me across many states and many more miles, partnering in OCM work with thousands of people involved in Program change work. His dedication to learning and helping others was only matched by his indelible sense of humor. Thanks, Scott, for helping me solidify and communicate many of the ideas in this book and series.

Jim Furr is an OCM consultant par excellence who was also an executive in manufacturing operations: a valuable perspective for OCM work. Thank you, Jim, for your perspectives, advice, and OCM experience across the years.

Dr. Claude Cloutier has been and continues to be a source of exceptional wisdom in change and fairness. His expertise in change and human systems is matched only by his decades of real-world consulting and executive experience. Thanks, Claude, for the many ways you have guided and helped shape my thinking and perspective.

Trevor Spunt is an extraordinary Organizational Effectiveness consultant with a wide range of experience helping clients with change management, culture shift, leadership coaching, skill-based training, and much more. Despite the demands on his time guiding large and small companies, he still found the time to provide OCM perspective, advice, and detailed suggestions for each Chapter. Thank you, Trevor; this book would not have been the same without your help.

Dr. Kyle Hanlan is an expert in cross-disciplinary fields and has helped me shape and communicate the ideas in this book for several years. His knowledge of policy, governance, and communication combined with his attention to detail has helped this book evolve into an effective handbook. Thank you, Kyle, for your help in this book and how to communicate the ideas behind it.

Jeanne Anastasi has continued to provide practical advice anchored in today’s reality while always reaching for what’s possible in the future and beyond. She has the unique ability to quickly see to the heart of the matter. Thank you, Jeanne, for reminding me what’s important in life, love, and partnership.

Thank you, everyone!

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION & USING THIS BOOK

…said the Queen, Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

Through the looking-glass, C. Dodgson [Lewis Carroll]

Purpose: Why Read this Book?

First, some quick questions:

Have you ever had to drive or support changes in your organization to achieve some new objectives or just to compete and ‘stay in place’?

Have you ever wondered why some Programs succeed and some fail to achieve their expected goals?

Have you ever faced challenges and resistance to your Change efforts – from customers, employees, or even your bosses?

Have you ever wondered why it takes so long and so much work to get agreement from everyone on making changes?

Have you ever felt frustration over peoples’ apparent reluctance to accept the changes and move forward?

Have you ever had difficulty completing a project or program?

If you have not, Congratulations! You are doing some things very well – even if you are not aware that you are doing so well¹. You may still be interested in this book to help others help themselves.

If you have had some of these experiences, you are not alone! In numerous studies going back to the 1990s, most programs that involve change fail to achieve their goals on their first iteration. In general, the larger the scale (people or dollars), the greater the chance of ‘failure’ if failure is defined as simply not achieving the original (tangible) goals and (intangible) outcomes.

The information and processes in this book have helped hundreds of Change efforts achieve success in rapid time, increased productivity and profitability, with people having fun achieving those goals and outcomes.

The purpose of this book is to provide a general reference and ‘go-to’ resource for those involved in Program-based Change efforts.

This book includes three themes: What is Organizational Change Management (OCM) and General Background (Chapters 1 and 2); How do you ‘Do’ OCM (Chapters 3 through 12); and What is Beyond OCM (Chapter 13).

Whether Program- or Project-based, these efforts have a defined purpose with explicit objectives; they have defined start and stop dates².

This book is designed to offer you some new options, new paths, and new opportunities to find your own best path for leading and evoking change in your organization. Sometimes, it might help by simply reinforcing what you already know and are doing. Some other times, it might help by suggesting that you not do some activities in some situations. Either way, it is intended to be reference book with context and real-world advice.

Why is another ‘Change’ book needed?

There are many thousands of books, videos, workshops, and academic programs designed to help people move through change programs as seamlessly as possible; they can all be helpful. When combined with experienced coaches, mentors, and experts, they can be invaluable. At the same time, there are a limited number of resources that offer help through each phase of the Change effort; there are even more limited resources that offer real-world advice to real-world challenges and problems overall, and those unique to particular parts of the Change effort.

I have been involved with Organizational Change Management (OCM) for decades, from many different roles: Participant, Stakeholder, Entrepreneur, Manager, Executive, Sponsor, Leader, Coach, Consultant, Project Manager, Researcher, Academic, Teacher, and more. I have worked in very small companies, very large companies, in private and public sectors, domestically in the US and globally. I wish that I had had a resource that I could understand and that helped me with my problems at the time, whether I was in the role of executive or consultant or participant. I also wanted a resource that didn’t require me to actually read through the entire book when I needed an answer to my problem now.

This book, in conjunction with others in this series, is intended to address that gap.

Who is the intended audience for this book?

This can be useful for anyone planning, going through, or being impacted by Change in the organization. It may be most useful for those professionals planning a major Change effort, and those planning to support a major Change effort. Its modular approach, easy-to-find layout, and encyclopedia-like format means that it also serves as a continuing reference source for anyone looking for help in dealing with change in a group setting.

For the Sponsoring Executive and impacted Executives, this is intended to provide an outline of how to ensure that your strategic and operational goals are achieved throughout the Change effort. It includes mechanisms and activities to provide ‘leading indicators’ of success as the Program progresses. There are listings of Business Challenges throughout the Program lifecycle and potential mitigation approaches to minimize risk. Effective OCM speeds benefit realization, lowers risk, and builds competitive advantage for your organization.

For the Participant in Change efforts, including managers and employees who may be involved in future Change efforts, this is intended to provide you with an overview of common activities, opportunities to increase your influence of the Change effort, and to develop your own Change capabilities. It can help you to reduce stress, optimize your time and resource investment, and support you as you make key decisions throughout the Change effort.

For the OCM Consultant, internal or external, this series is intended to provide a detailed look at potential OCM activities, including: a phase-by-phase look at key activities; detailed descriptions of how to measure and leverage the effectiveness of key activities; course-correct as appropriate to keep the Program on track; and advice on dealing with dozens of key business and people-related challenges that OCM typically encounters. This book and its corresponding series are intended to be an over-the-shoulder guide to full-lifecycle OCM as well as a go-to, how-to reference source of actions, applications, and advice that may be key to successful OCM.

For the OCM Change Leader, this series is intended to provide key perspectives on the application of OCM to achieve a successful change. In most OCM efforts, the emphasis is on system installation over program implementation. As a result, very often the key business and cultural benefits of the program are not achieved. In some of the most successful programs, OCM is considered a strategic function under the Change Leader rather than a project-based activity. In either approach, successful Change Leaders can benefit from understanding the essential approaches, objectives, and outcomes of OCM. Integrating both strategic and tactical OCM in a real-world environment, is the intent of this book.

For the Program Manager, this series is intended to provide both a ‘people-centric’ view of program success and an ‘implementation’ focus on Benefits Realization. This book/series offers a detailed map to measure and monitor the effectiveness of the Change effort, provide ‘leading indicators’ of change, and to more fully integrate the intangible and tangible aspects of Program success.

For anyone interested in Change in a Program setting, this series can show the purpose and activities of OCM and how they can help the organization achieve its tangible goals and intangible objectives in a shorter time, with less risk, and significantly less cost.

How much OCM experience or expertise is needed for this book?

None!

As if we were having a discussion over lunch, this is written in a conversational style that requires no previous OCM experience, training, or education. I will try to explain the concepts in everyday language to better understand. Since this series is very ‘real world’ based upon actual Change efforts, there are many references to situations that might seem unusual or even counter-intuitive to the casual reader. Rest assured that everything in this series is based upon the actual experience and expertise of me and my compatriots in OCM.

For those readers who might still be confused by some of the change- or project-based terminology, Kyle Hanlan’s excellent reference, Practical Definitions for the Working Professional³ may be helpful.

Writing Format

To better communicate a wide range of subjects within an even wider range of context, I am uncomfortable writing in a single style. The subject of ‘change’ is so vast and (by definition) so impactful that a single style cannot capture, let alone transmit, the meaning of this material. To make matters even more challenging, we are limited to a book being our primary medium for communication.

As with my Creating Effortless Change book⁴, this book has been built around my experience in Organizational Development (OD)⁵ and OCM internal and external consulting, and more than a decade as an executive in companies driving significant change. Throughout that time, I have used several different ‘media’ to listen, communicate, and influence change – from formal templates and project management tools to informal one-on-one dialog to offering stories of my own experience to better communicate the many levels of concurrent change. I have also done the same multi-level approach in my teaching – but this book is more ‘hands-on’ than the classroom; folks involved in real-world change certainly have a lot more at stake than learning in a graduate course. In any case, Change Management for a Change cannot be communicated in a ‘simple’ textbook, no matter how extraordinary the writer: yet, ‘book’ here we are.

To help our communication, I have included several types of writing style: (standard) text, graphics, ‘chat’ mode, and footnotes.

Standard Text:

This is the conventional writing format for books of this type: straightforward, third-person, academic style of non-fiction. It is designed to deliver facts, information, and some context in traditional ways. This format will be used for the majority of this book – particularly in the sections of each Chapter that deal with specific activities, resources, and potential actions/remediations.

However, Change Management deals with many intangible topics, from resistance to perception to general impacts; to adequately cover these topics, more than words are needed. To the Standard Text format, several additional formats are included as follows.

Graphics:

When I read fiction, I can get lost in words almost immediately as they paint pictures, videos, and complete real-time immersion in my head and around me. With fiction, pictures can limit my imagination and anchor what I’m envisioning and ‘hearing.’

With non-fiction, I can quickly get bored with the words, words, and more words. While there are great ‘books to teach us how to read books⁶,’ I often want to visualize what the author is describing and see more in the way that the author view their topics. In some cases, I just want to skim through the book and see what topics might interest me.

I have included graphic summaries of the material, highlighting the major points in the text. I believe in using ‘real-world’ examples wherever possible; these graphics include some of the actual materials used to describe this material to my clients and students. That has resulted in some small text sizes in the graphics; if in doubt, simply read the accompanying text.

While graphics greatly enhance communication, they can also impact page formatting. For this reason, there may be significant differences between the printed and eBook versions.

(Footnotes⁷). I have tried to provide relevant references, background, and other brief information in footnote form. This avoids a separate ‘reference’ section; you can read or not read it while reading the primary material. All quotes are attributed as best-known sources for the quotes, as is general background.

Content Format:

OCM is not a simple task, yet it can be straightforward. To better understand OCM activities, it is very helpful to know which to implement when, and by whom. This book is intended to provide both general guidance and specific recommended activities. The content format is set in a ‘matrix’ form to offer both.

The ‘How To Do OCM’ general content of this book is presented in an integrated format between chapter and section. From Chapters 3 through 13, each chapter covers a Phase of typical Change implementations. Within each Phase Chapter, there are nine Sections which cover the major considerations for successful OCM.

Depending upon your specific circumstances, this book can be used as a ‘general read’ or a specific reference source, allowing you to quickly review and search for topics that may be of most benefit to you.

This can be considered as a matrix form of reference material as you progress through your Change Implementation:

Figure 1-1: Format of Each Chapter

CHAPTER OUTLINE:

Chapter One: Introduction

This chapter is included for context. It includes a brief outline of the purpose and format of Volume I. Volumes