Opening the path to better
change management
Karan Watson, Ph.D., P.E.
Funded in part by the National Science Foundation through the
Foundation Coalition
When your organization is changing?
Nature of the Change Resistance to Change
Organization’s Culture
Leadership for Change Change Dynamics
Keep these factors in perspective
Karan Watson
What is the organizational culture
The culture of a group is a pattern of shared
basic assumptions that the group learned as
it solved problems … that has worked well
enough to be considered valid, and
therefore, to be taught to new members as
the correct way to perceive, think, and feel
in relation to those problems.
Artifacts Espoused Values Basic Underlying
Assumptions
Visible structures and Strategies, goals, Unconscious beliefs,
processes philosophies perceptions, thoughts, feelings
Karan Watson
Changing Culture
♦ “You cannot create a new culture. You can
immerse yourself in studying a culture ... Until
you understand it. Then you can propose new
values, introduce new ways of doing things, and
articulate new governing ideas. Over time, these
actions will set the stage for new behavior. If
people who adopt the new behavior feel that it
helps them ... The organizational culture may
embody a different set of assumptions, and a
different way of looking at things ...”
Edgar Schein, in Senge, Peter, The Dance of Change
Karan Watson
When your organization is changing?
Nature of the Change Resistance to Change
Organization’s Culture
Leadership for Change Change Dynamics
Keep these factors in perspective
Karan Watson
Understand the Nature of Change
Basic underlying assumptions
Espoused values, interests, or goals
Structure or composition of the organization
Rules or procedures for the organization
The Employees’ Values or Interests Adjusted
The Employees’ Skills for future have been strengthened
The Employees’ Relationship is Mended or Strengthened
This Specific Change Has Achieved Acceptable Resolution
Karan Watson
Satir’s Model to Individual’s
Successful Change Process
Energy for the Job
New Status Quo
wwwwwwwww
Status Quo
Sense of Betrayal
wwwwwwwwww
Situational Anxiety
is greater than
Learning Anxiety Learning Anxiety
is greater than
Situational Anxiety
‘Crisis’ of Decision
Time
Karan Watson
When your organization is changing?
Nature of the Change Resistance to Change
Organization’s Culture
Leadership for Change Change Dynamics
Keep these factors in perspective
Karan Watson
Why do people resist change?
“It has been said that the only people who
want to change are babies who have wet
diapers.” Rev. Sharon Patterson, Ph.D.
“Resistance isn't an indication that something
is wrong with what you are trying to
change. It is an indication that something is
happening.” James Hunt
Karan Watson
Origins of Resistance
♦ Resistance is inevitable, not bad
– Change generates anxiety
• Learning anxiety- not an expert, temporary
incompetence, time & energy, may not master
• Situational Anxiety- consequence if we don’t change
– People generally work to conserve energy-or
lower anxiety
– Why will people choose to change- the situation
• “because it matters”
• “because my colleagues take it seriously””
• “because it works”
Karan Watson
Signs of resistance
♦ Confusion
♦ Immediate Criticism
♦ Denial
♦ Malicious Compliance
♦ Sabotage
♦ Easy Agreement
♦ Deflection (change the subject)
♦ Silence
♦ In-Your-Face Criticism
Maurer, Rick, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, 2
Karan Watson
What do people do when they
perceive conflict with others
Competing Collaborating
Tendency to Be Assertive
Compromising
Avoiding Accommodating
Tendency to Be Cooperative
Karan Watson
How Intense is the Resistance?
♦ Level 1: Resisting the Idea Itself- a cognitive difference of
opinion.
– Misinformation, missing data, conflictive data, misunderstandings about
tradeoffs…
♦ Level 2: Resistance due to deeper emotional issues
– Feelings of being undervalued, taken advantage of, distrust, fear of
isolation, lack of incentives, loss of respect, world issues…
♦ Level 3: Deeply Embedded
– Historic animosity, basic differences in values, totally different goals…
Maurer, Rick, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Austin, Texas: Bard Press, 1996, chapter 8
Karan Watson
Responses to Resistance
♦ Dismissal: “You’re an idiot.”
♦ Bulldozer: “You just don’t understand and I will
try again to convince you of the correctness of
my approach.”
♦ Let’s talk: “What you say has merit. Let me
understand your concerns and let’s review how
an alternate proposal might address your
concerns.”
♦ Anticipate: Don’t be placed in a position of
selling a proposal; instead position yourself as
responding to a felt need
Karan Watson
Guides: Responding to resistance
♦ NO. 1: Maintain clear focus
– Keep both long and short view, persevere
♦ NO. 2: Embrace resistance
♦ NO. 3: Respect those who resist
– Respect vs. trust
– Listen with interest
– Tell the truth
♦ NO. 4: Relax
– Stay calm to stay engaged
– Know their intentions
♦ NO. 5: Join with the Resistance
– Begin together
– Change the game
– Find themes and possibilities
Maurer, Rick, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, Austin, Texas: Bard Press, 1996, chapter 5
Karan Watson
When your organization is changing?
Nature of the Change Resistance to Change
Organization’s Culture
Leadership for Change Change Dynamics
Keep these factors in perspective
Karan Watson
Staged Change Model
Oblivious to
You should facilitate stage-to-stage
needs, desires, changes, not the overall change
or efforts
Passive Information Gathering
Awareness that
things are
Passive information gatherers are
happening willing to invest less time and energy.
Interest in the
things that are
happening
Decisions about
what is
happening
Commitment to
aid or resist the
changes that are
Active Information Gathering happening
Active information gatherers are
willing to invest more time and energy. Action
Karan Watson
Are You in the
Change Ready Zone?
Kriegel & Brandt
“Sacred Cows Make
Challenge the Best Burgers”
Skill level Change Ready
required, Panic Zone
Speed of Zone
change,
Effort to
learn
Drone Zone
Resources
Competencies, Time, Reserves
Karan Watson
What we are feeling when faced
with a change?
Performance
Performance
Optimal Stress
Intended
Performance
Fatigue
Area of
Optimal Exhaustion
Performance
Ill health
Healthy Breakdown
High Stress Tension
Low Stress
Anxiousness
Boredom
Unhappiness
Stress Time when continually under high stress
Karan Watson
What is a mental model
Climb the Ladder of Inference
Observable data → Choice of action Take action based I can't count on
on personal beliefs John
Finally, people select an action based on
their beliefs.
Adopt personal
beliefs to be used in John always
People use the conclusions to adopt objects to my ideas
personal beliefs to use in the future. the future
People draw conclusions from the
assumptions and selected data
Draw conclusions
People make assumptions using the added Make assumptions
meaning. using the added
John knew when
People use their personal and cultural meaning
beliefs to construct meaning for the he objected that
data. this was important
Use personal and
People select the data they will use and cultural beliefs to to me
ignore the rest.
Figure
add 1. Ladder of Inference
meaning
Observable data
Select the data John objects to the
suggestions I make
Observable data
Karan Watson
Accept that people behave differently
C
O
O
P
ANALYZERS E DRIVERS
R
A
T
I
V
E
ASSERTIVENESS WITH PEOPLE
W
I
T
H
P
AMIABLES E EXPRESSIVES
O
P
L
E
Karan Watson
Complexity- People’s timing
Late Majority
Early Majority
34%
34%
Early Adopters
13% Laggards 16%
Innovators
3%
Rogers, Everett Diffusion of Innovations, fourth edition
Karan Watson
Group’s Approach to Change
Search for
Solutions
Identity
Crisis
Denial
Betrayal
TIME
Karan Watson
When your organization is changing?
Nature of the Change Resistance to Change
Organization’s Culture
Leadership for Change Change Dynamics
Keep these factors in perspective
Karan Watson
Where do you go from here?
♦ Leadership!!!!
– Leadership takes place every day. It cannot be the
responsibility of the few, a rare event, or a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity.”
Heifetz, Ronald and Donald Laurie, “The Work of Leadership,”
– Leadership is too important to be left in the hands of
the few people near the top of the organizational
hierarchy.
Karan Watson
Attributes of Effective Leaders
♦ Inner drive/energy: necessary to initiate and sustain
leadership of change over extended periods of time.
♦ Intellectual capacity: necessary to listen to input from
diverse sources and synthesize vision and strategy
♦ Integrity: necessary to synthesize vision and strategy
that benefits the organization first and the individual
second
♦ Mental/emotion health: necessary for self-confidence
and interpersonal skills
Kotter, John P., A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs From Management,
Karan Watson
Leadership for Change
♦ Change is hard work. ♦ Today competes with
♦ Leadership begins with tomorrow
values ♦ Better is better
♦ Intellectual leads physical ♦ Focus on the future
♦ Real changes takes real ♦ Learning from doing
change ♦ Grow people
♦ Leadership is a team sport ♦ Reflect
♦ Expect to be surprised
Sullivan and Harper, Hope is not a Method
Karan Watson
