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Part 4 • Leading
necessary for the manager to use external reinforcers, which can be positive or negative.6 For example, the manager might encourage the employees to keep working at the change by predicting that the desired positive results will occur. A small reward, such as a lunch or an afternoon off, might be awarded when the change has been completed successfully. The goal of this phase of the change process is to cause the desired attitudes and behaviors to become a natural, self-reinforcing pattern.
SKILLS FOR PROMOTING CHANGE Major change does not happen easily. The change process goes through stages, each of which is important and requires a significant amount of time. Exhibit 15.1 presents an eight-stage sequence
1. Create awareness of the need to change • Unfreeze current complacency • Demonstrate the need for change • Create a sense of urgency 2. Form a guiding coalition • Establish a team of opinion leaders • Assess problems and how to approach them • Develop a shared commitment for change 3. Develop a shared vision and implementation plan • Formulate a compelling vision that will aspire people to change • Develop strategies for achieving the vision. 4. Communicate the vision widely • Continually communicate the vision and strategy to all stakeholders • Members of guiding coalition model new behaviors 5. Empower Action • Overcome resistance to change • Provide knowledge, resources, training, and necessary authority • Create systems and structures to facilitate and reward change 6. Generate short-term wins • Begin by targeting highly visible projects that can be easily achieved • Visibly reward people who achieve wins with bonuses, recognition, and praise 7. Evaluate changes achieved, consolidate gains, and motivate greater change • Avoid experiencing letdown after achieving short-term change goals • Use credibility achieved by short-term wins to consolidate improvements and motivate employees to tackle bigger problems • Change systems, structures, and policies that impede change efforts 8. Make Change Stick • Refreeze new values and beliefs in the culture by rewarding new behaviors • Articulate connections between new behaviors and organizational success EXHIBIT 15.1 Eight Skill Sequence for Planned Change. Sources: Based on J. S. Osland, D. A. Kolb, I. M. Rubin, and M. E. Turner, Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach, 8th ed., (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2007), pp. 637–642; J. P. Kotter, Leading Change (Boston: Harvard Business School Press 1996), p. 21; P. L. Hunsaker, Management: A Skills Approach, 2nd Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2005), pp. 481–484, J. P. Kotter and D. Cohen, The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories about How People Change Their Organizations (Cambridge MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002).
