Jan Sverre Amundsen
Jan Sverre has previously issued two textbooks on the topics of change management and team development and coaching. He has over the two latest years worked as a freelance consultant and advisor within project management and change management, and he still does. 9 788205 535022
Leading sustainable change
This book emphasizes the requirements to leadership in change processes and provides a model that sets the course towards lasting and sustainable change.
Jan Sverre Amundsen
JAN SVERRE AMUNDSEN (b. 1955) has for decades held leading positions in change management and project management within multinational companies and industries in Norway, Scandinavia, Europe and South America. He is genuinely inter ested in how change projects can provide value to the organisation and its stake holders, and his experience gathered over many years have brought insights that should be shared widely. Successful change is in principle dependent on two key elements, the important line leader ship role and the structure and process applied in planning and execution.
Experience from more than three decades of working with organisational change and business transformation, in multiple companies across industries and national cultures, has taught me some important lessons. These lessons have convinced me of the fantastic potential most organisations can unlock by developing the way change is planned and executed. The most important elements can be briefly summarised as follows: Change is a continuous effort. Organisations integrating change into their day-to-day operations, using the most professional and inclusive methods, are the most sustainable. The value of the change rests with its adoption, and adoption is too often lacking. Active organisational change management is required to capture the benefits of any change initiative. Successful change can only happen when it is driven by leaders within the organisation. A project manager or change manager can only facilitate the process. The leaders must mobilise for change. Sponsorship by all leaders, from the CEO to first line mana gers, is crucial to realising change. The roles might differ, but are equally important. Sponsorship is the single most impor tant element for success, and when absent the most frequent reason for failure. Sponsorship and leadership are intricately connected to organisational values. The individual perception of purpose or sense of belonging, autonomy and mastery are important contributing elements in successful change.
Leading sustainable change
A model based on key lessons learned from a career in change and transformation
How successful is your organisation when implementing planned changes? Are you struggling to capture the value from change initiatives? Are planned changes dragging out in time or simply fading away? Have you ever reflected on why change initiatives fail and what it takes to make them successful? Why are your team members not embracing change? If you ask yourself these or similar questi ons, this book will be of great value to you.
leading sustainable change
Leading sustainable change.indd 1
30.08.2021 14:59:22
Leading sustainable change.indd 2
30.08.2021 14:59:22
jan sverre amundsen
leading sustainable change A model based on key lessons learned from a career in change and transformation
Leading sustainable change.indd 3
30.08.2021 14:59:23
© Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS 2021 1. utgave, 1. opplag 2021 ISBN 978-82-05-53502-2 Cover: Gyldendal Akademisk Layout: Laboremus Typesetting: have a book Font: Minion Pro 10,5/15 pt Paper: Amber graphic 90 g Printed by: Opolgraf, Poland, 2021 Inquiries regarding this book may be directed to Gyldendal Akademisk Postboks 6730 St. Olavs plass 0130 Oslo Norway www.gyldendal.no/akademisk akademisk@gyldendal.no All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from publishers.
Leading sustainable change.indd 4
30.08.2021 14:59:23
Preface
After three decades of leading and facilitating change processes in major international corporations in Norway, Europe and on both American continents, I have gained substantial knowledge and experience from project management, and most of all, from managing change. I am very grateful to companies like Hydro, Equinor, TietoEvry, Yara International and Cargotec for giving me the opportunity of encountering so many challenges across cultures over so many years. My experience tells me that, even though the cultures may differ, the mechanisms that apply to successful change have a lot in common. Three decades of change has also influenced me, my values and my core beliefs. The need to share this knowledge and experience has grown with time. The core of this book is a model for change, which remains universal even though my own background has coloured the content. This influence applies to both the model and the book itself. The book is split into three main parts. The first part brings leadership and values into focus as the fundamental element for successful change. The second part presents the model as a universal approach to change. The third and final part connects the dots between the various aspects of leadership and successful change. Over recent years I have had the pleasure to get to know Agata Belanger, a coach and personal growth enthusiast. Agata has been a key contributor to this work and added substantial value through her critical review and analytic capabilities.
5
Leading sustainable change.indd 5
30.08.2021 14:59:23
preface
Her work has ensured a substantial leap forward in the quality of the end product. Through direct and constructive feedback, and her unique ability to see opportunity, she has provided the inspiration behind this project. Thank you, Agata, for your stimulating conversation, your dedication, and your thoughtful and insightful contributions. Stathelle, May 2021 Jan Sverre Amundsen
6
Leading sustainable change.indd 6
30.08.2021 14:59:23
Table of content
introduction why this book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 My personal “Why?” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Influence of my environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lessons learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Target group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design of the book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13 13 14 15 16 16
section 1 setting the change leadership agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1 Leadership and management – some initial reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . So how does this relate to the topic of change management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Structural and qualitative change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Scandinavian leadership heritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the characteristics of Scandinavian leadership? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The universal intrinsic motivators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Leadership and values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How do we ensure consistency? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Fixed and growth mindsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Leadership and management styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Which leadership style(s) support sustainable change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who do we select to be leaders and how do we help them grow? . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 High level prerequisites for change – The ADKAR model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17 20 22 23 24 25 25 26 26 28 28 30 32 39 40 41
7
Leading sustainable change.indd 7
30.08.2021 14:59:23
table of content
section 2 an overall model enabling sustainable change . . . . 43 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The change model and the book structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Diagnosing the need for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What drives the need for change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Environmental drivers (external) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marketplace drivers (external) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Business drivers (internal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organisational drivers (internal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cultural drivers (internal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leader and employee behaviour (internal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leader and employee mindset drivers (internal) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Change Diagnostics – Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Response to the diagnostic – Creating the desired future state and the plan that gets you there . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The phases of the change model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 1. Prepare for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 2. Build the change foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 3. Embed – make it stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Prepare for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analyse stakeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who is a stakeholder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Why are we doing a stakeholder analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who is responsible for stakeholder management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How do we perform a stakeholder analysis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the consequences and potential risks if stakeholder management is not done properly? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assess organisation impact and readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organisation impact assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How do we do an organisation impact assessment? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organisation readiness assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Readiness assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is the risk involved if readiness of the impacted organisation is not known? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Build the guiding coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is this all about? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who is a sponsor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who is a change champion? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who is a key influencer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is a change network? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the risks if there is no guiding coalition supporting the change? . . . Wrapping up: What is “Prepare for change” all about? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43 44 45 46 46 46 46 46 46 46 47 49 52 53 54 54 55 55 56 57 57 58 59
60 62 62 63 66 66 70 71 72 72 72 72 72 73 74
8
Leading sustainable change.indd 8
30.08.2021 14:59:23
table of content 5 Build the change foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Plan – do – check – act: The Deming wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Ready to start building the change foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 A revisit to the ADKAR model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Building awareness of the need for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Building desire to support the change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Build knowledge about how to change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Build the ability to demonstrate new skills and behaviours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Reinforce to make the change stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Mobilise sponsorship and role modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 What is a sponsor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 What is a role model? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Who are influencing what in a change process? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 What are the role and duties of the sponsor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 What are the practical tasks of a sponsor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 What is the sponsorship spine? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 How can we assess the quality of the sponsorship spine? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 And then? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Are there any challenges related to assessing sponsorship? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Which leadership style will be most feasible for a sponsor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 How does sponsorship relate to formal governance structures? . . . . . . . . . . . 98 What is the purpose of this group and what is the value you will bring to the table – as a group and as individual members? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 What are the risks involved if active sponsorship is not in place? . . . . . . . . . 100 Build understanding and conviction through two-way communication . . . . . . . 100 Stages of change – The Kübler-Ross curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 What is communication and why is it important in a change process? . . . . . 102 What is the difference between communication and information? . . . . . . . 102 What is the reach and what are the impacts of the various communication channels? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Shaping the communication strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 What is the objective of the communication strategy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Build the communication plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Working with change communication – Ten important questions to ask yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 As a leader and sponsor – do you really invest emotionally in the change? . . . . 111 What are the risks involved if communication is not planned and targeted? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Build the knowledge and skills required for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 What is the difference between training and learning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 How can learning be enabled? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
9
Leading sustainable change.indd 9
30.08.2021 14:59:23
table of content The comfort zone model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . So what then is learning all about in a change context? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building the knowledge and skills approach for a particular change . . . . . . . Building the training plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the risks involved if required knowledge and skills are not developed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reinforce through systems and structures – remove barriers to change . . . . . . . What is reinforcement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is the overall objective of reinforcement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reinforcing communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barrier identification and removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is a barrier? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Who is responsible for identification and removal of barriers to change? . . . . When do we identify and remove barriers to change? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How does barrier identification and removal work with risk management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Implementing systems and structures that enforce the change . . . . . . . . . . What are the risks involved if reinforcements do not take place? . . . . . . . . . Handling resistance to change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Do change management right the first time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expect resistance to change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Formally manage resistance to change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Identify the root causes of resistance to change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engage the “right” resistance managers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feedback loops and risk surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The change management risk survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How do we define the survey? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other types of readiness surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other types of feedback loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the risks involved if feedback loops are not in place or risk surveys are not conducted? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Embed – making the change stick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A fundamental reflection on change and adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Challenges related to embedding the change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manage adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The managerial perspective on adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The leadership perspective on adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surveys used for mapping and understanding adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the risks involved if adoption is not well managed? . . . . . . . . . . . . Establish performance targets and measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some requirements for KPIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the risks involved if performance metrics and targets are not established? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
Leading sustainable change.indd 10
116 118 118 119 121 122 123 123 123 125 125 127 127 127 127 128 128 130 130 131 131 133 134 135 135 139 139 140 140 141 142 143 144 145 147 147 148 148 152
30.08.2021 14:59:23
table of content Manage performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 What is my key takeaway from this story? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 What are the risks if the change is not properly managed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
section 3 connecting the dots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 1 My value set is my main connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Which are my core values and beliefs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All individuals have their strengths and these represent unique value to an organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Our unique strengths can only be released through challenging and supportive leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As human beings we all have a basic need to play a meaningful role . . . . . . . . . . A “growth mindset” culture is always preferable to a culture where “fixed mindsets” dominate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transparency and direct and constructive feedback are key to success . . . . . . . . 3 What is my model organisation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
157 158
158 160 160 161 161 162
definitions and terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
11
Leading sustainable change.indd 11
30.08.2021 14:59:23
Leading sustainable change.indd 12
30.08.2021 14:59:23