Chapter 4 / Role of Top Management in Handling Change It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to Change and others are not. ~ James Gordon ~

KEY ROLES DURING CHANGE MANAGEMENT 2

THE ROLE OF TOP MANAGEMENT Change can either “Make or Break” an organisation There are three basic facts of change Initial denial phase Transition phase Adapt to change Success of change ultimately rests in the hands of top management Top management plays a key role in communicating the vision and goals, objectively setting targets and defining results to accomplish change They reinforce change agenda using their position and external links They need to generate sense of collective responsibility and value employees Developing a culture that cuts hierarchy Giving organisational goals priority over personal goals 3

THE ROLE OF TOP MANAGEMENT The top management MUST - Communicate the vision for change, and tie the vision to business needs by showing how the change will impact profits, productivity or quality of work life Realistically address the existing gap between the current situation and the envisioned situation, and present to the people a powerful, reasonable and well planned strategy – a blueprint for success Drive speedy implementation of strategy to convince people Minimize the perceived threats from change Hold interactive sessions, rather than imposing one way talks Acknowledge that change is difficult and that every concern is worthy of attention Be firm on the agenda, but sensitive to the concerns Listen and attend to the employees’ individual, special needs or issues, while handling change 4

THESIS – ANTITHESIS - SYNTHESIS A philosophy adopted by 19th century German thinker G.W.F Hegel who contended that historical evolution is the outcome of conflicting opposites thesis is a statement antithesis is the counter statement synthesis implies resolving this conflict by offering a solution at a higher level, by combining the positive elements of both the thesis and the antithesis How can it be applied to organisational Change current organisational situation is the thesis new system or the ideal situation is the antithesis if you try to impose that the new system is better than the old because of a, b, c, d, e reasons, you pose a challenge that is most likely to be resisted strike a “synthesis” between the current and the ideal situation communicate the positives in the current system and the desirables from the ideal system. to bring about a synthesis 5

PARTICIPATION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE Organisation wide change calls for the active participation of the Board of Directors whose involvement may be core or superficial, depending upon the complexity and urgency of the project Board should formally approve of the project as well as the Change Management Plan before embarking on it Involvement of Board members in the project may also open up other strategic areas that require change, for the outcome of the current change project to be visible Including Board development as a part of the change strategy may be a good way of ensuring Board support to the change project 6

MANAGING CHANGE SUCCESSFULLY – HOW CAN CEOs ACHIEVE THIS The CEO needs to adopt the champions role to drive change across the organisation the more powerful and visible the champion is, the more successful the change project tends to be Change projects in most of the best practice organisations were found to be spearheaded, planned and managed by the CEO of the company However, the CEO must also play a major role in planning and implementing the change process underlining the significance of the change and ensuring organisation wide support and commitment The CEO needs to effectively handle pressure situations, wherein the Board may want to see how the change has affected a return on investment too soon 7

MANAGING CHANGE SUCCESSFULLY – HOW CAN CEOs ACHIEVE THIS (Cont..d) Carolyn B Aiken and Scott P Keller, in a McKinsey Quarterly issue identified four pointers that define the CEO’s role in a Change initiative Realistic, meaningful vision the more personally can the CEO engage people in his vision and the more actively he can assure people of the value add that comes with the change, the more successful the effort will turn out to be Walking the talk the CEO, can inspire his organisation by role modelling expected behaviours Secure and dedicated project team a matrix with "business performance" on one axis and "role-modelling desired behaviour" on the other can help zero in on the right talents Personal touch the impact on the team’s morale and efforts to successfully achieve change is a lasting one when the CEO goes out of the way to dedicate himself to operational difficulties at hand 8

© Copyright 2011 The Art of Change Management Implementing Change from the Top ISBN: 978-93-80227-60-3 Published by Embassy Books, India. www.artofchangemanagement.com Author: Percy Agreras Dastur www.percydastur.com Email: contact@percydastur.com