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Leading change through uncertain times
One important theme that comes up regularly in my work with senior executives, especially in the current business climate, is that of successfully leading strategic change.
When Kurt Lewin wrote over 50 years ago, the management of change appeared to be a logical and systematic process. One had simply to be able to clearly articulate the desired future state, understand where the organization currently was with regard to that future ideal and put in place a project plan to manage the transition. The organizational architecture was unfrozen, reshaped and then refrozen.
In the 60s and 70s a whole new discipline of Organizational Development (OD) grew from the thinking of Lewin and others who followed in his footsteps. Numerous change models and tools were developed to analyze the needs of the organization and design the required transition. Many of these, such as McKinsey’s “& S”, Hay’s Cultural Web, the Gemini Consulting Model and Champney’s “Diamond”, are still in use today. Whilst these models still have their value, the assumption of the desired future as a new steady state, and the belief that organizational interventions have largely predictable and know outcomes, no longer seems to hold in a rapidly transforming world.
The leaders that I work with have come to realize that although they are certainly in charge, they can be much less sure of being in control. They know that they must act with intention, guided by a clear and inspiring vision of the future, but they are also aware that they must let go of any certainty of outcomes.
Many executives I speak to now question the idealized processes and models that are found in much of the literature on change. They are, however, essentially optimistic. They believe that real and positive change does occur in certain conditions and that, although they can not be sure of directly commanding change to happen and managing its realization, they can, and should, build the conditions that will make positive change more likely.
I work with leaders to help them understand that change must be both “top down” and “bottom up”. That is, it is essential that they create a clear and compelling vision of the desired future state of the business, and that they should communicate this with passion and persistence. They and their senior team need to create a broad sense of purpose, values and direction. Then, however, and this is the difficult bit, they need to let go. They need to avoid the mistake of killing change by over managing it.
Instead, they need to create the conditions in which change can happen, “bottom up”. By this I mean, fostering diversity and connectivity, clearing blockages, and challenging norms, habits and routines. That is, creating the right conditions and fanning positive sparks into flames. Experience has shown us that change will only become sustainable when a critical organizational mass has been reached. This means supporting and encouraging broad based leadership and initiative from groups, project teams and individuals.
This way of thinking about change requires leaders to be available, to connect with people, and to communicate in a direct and personal way. It requires visible leadership, where people are encouraged to hold an optimistic view whilst acknowledging and accepting difficulties. A key part of the art of strategic leadership here is the management of the critical connections between top down strategic direction and bottom up action and learning. The leader has to create the frameworks that allow dialogue and connection.
In working with leaders to manage these challenges and paradoxes I have learned to avoid and be suspicious of over simplistic, one size fits all, solutions. Each situation is different and the trouble must be taken to understand it as such. However, I have also learned that there are, with these reservations in mind, some clear top tips that can be offered to leaders who are struggling to make strategic organizational change work. I will list these out and explain these in my next article.
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