The Leadership Advisor
"The ability to lead well is the defining characteristics of great people and organizations."
March 2006
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"Transition is the way we all come to terms with change." ~ William Bridges

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By Phil Eastman
There may be no more discussed subject over the past fifteen years in business circles than the subject of change. There are the ever- present phrases that state “the only constant in life is change” and the well understood but seldom heeded advice that “all people resist change”. Both are true, yet organizations continue to both lead and manage change poorly.

In order to provide some framework for this discussion, let me clarify what I mean by change. I am not speaking of the routine flexibility that we expect from our organizations where we may encounter new challenges daily based on the vagaries of the market place. I am speaking of the type of paradigm shift that jars people from their routine behaviors and requires fundamental shifts in thinking and behavior. When this type of change occurs, it is incumbent on leaders to both lead the change well as manage the process of creating the change.

To lead a change effort requires the organization’s leadership first to have taken into account that the change is necessary for the organization to compete and grow in its market place. Because of the human and organizational cost of change, no one should knowingly engage in organizational change without careful deliberate consideration. If fact, this type of deliberation is critical to being able to state why the change is necessary and to create a vision of what the organization will be like once the change is fully implemented. Leadership must be able to articulate why change is happening in order to move the organization forward. If the leadership cannot articulate why the change is happening, then they should seriously contemplate whether the change is necessary.
ADKAR
by Tim Creasey
Let’s begin with a few things we can agree on. First, creating a competitive advantage and implementing new strategy requires change. The most important changes you will implement impact how people do their jobs. If people don’t make the changes to their jobs that you expect, you will not achieve your objectives. What do you do?

Prosci is a research and publishing firm that has been studying how to successfully implement change for over seven years. Four benchmarking studies over seven years with more than 900 participants has shown that while change can sometimes seem chaotic and uncontrollable, there are repeatable steps that can be taken to ensure changes are successful. To prepare yourself to take on the challenge of managing change, you need to begin by understanding:

  • How individuals experience change
  • What change management looks like in action
  • How you can begin addressing resistance while increasing the speed of adoption and overall participation in the change

Individual Change Management
To be able to effectively manage change, you must first understand how individuals experience change. Jeff Hiatt, Prosci’s CEO and founder, describes the five building blocks of successful change in the ADKARŪ Model. Successful change begins with an Awareness of the need for change. Next, individuals make the personal decision to support or participate in the change based on their Desire. Once an individual has awareness and desire, the next step is to acquire Knowledge on how to change. Ability is the next building block; the demonstrated implementation of the new skills and behaviors. This is when the change takes place. Finally, there must be Reinforcement to keep the change in place. For an individual to make successful change, whether personal or professional, all five building blocks of ADKAR must be present.

The fastest way to learn the ADKAR model is to apply it to a recent change that you had difficulty getting someone else to implement. Ask yourself:
  • Did the person have an adequate awareness of the need for change?
  • Did they have the desire to make the change?
  • Did they have the knowledge to make the change?
  • Did they have the ability to act on new skills and behaviors?
  • Were reinforcements in place to sustain the change?

Failed change results from a breakdown in ADKAR, and the model can help you diagnose why change is not being implemented. ADKAR describes the outcome or result of successful change, and it can be used to better guide your change efforts.

Tim Creasey is the Director of Strategic Planning at Prosci and is co-author of Change Management: the people side of change (available on Amazon). In his five years with Prosci, Tim has written tutorials, developed management processes and tools, designed and instructed webinars, and spearheaded the analysis of the last two change management benchmarking studies. You can find out more at the Change Management Learning Center at www.change-management.com. He is based in Prosci’s Boise office. He can be reached at tcreasey@prosci.com.
Change Symbols
The english word for change is represented by two symbols in the chinese language. Hidden Danger & Hidden Opportunity. Change is hard because of these 2 reasons. Good or bad we are faced with the unknown and in general, we don't like it.

As leaders what should we do when change is upon us? Here are a few suggestions:
  • Articulate the compelling reasons for the change
  • Provide a reasonable vision of the future
  • Align the entire organization to the change
  • Provide the plan, process, and timeline for change
  • Measure results not activity
  • Communicate continually
It is good to keep in mind, you cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change.

Leading the Change,
Phil Eastman & Lorene Rasmussen
Leadership Advisors Group

phone: (208) 344-0471
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