The Laban Johnson Group

Harnessing Planned Change

Phases

1. Denial – ''that won''t work, you''re not serious! This can''t be happening! We''ve always done it this way, or we tried this and it didn''t work!� - Offer constant, consistent communication about the change. Questions about how the change affects goals, jobs, interdependencies, lines of authority, resources, etc need clear answers. There will be unasked questions, too, so listen well.

2. Resistance – employees push back and their productivity plummets. They openly rebel against the change and may even start sending resumes to other companies. They refuse to use the new process or system, may even make a deliberate attempt to sabotage the change initiative. - Listen actively and openly. Allow team members to express confusion or doubts without worries of retribution; they need to know you understand their issues, concerns and pains. Change introduced the unknown which is the leading cause of fear for most people. If you listen to people as they express concerns you can do a better job of supporting the process.

3. Exploring Benefits: Employees may say “I''ll try it but I''m not convinced its going to work�. A shift in attitude occurs – not only in them, but also in people around them. The room will fill with ideas about how they can make the change work. - Be sure to offer direction that keeps the process moving forward. Don''t let them get going in the wrong direction with good intention, because by the time you catch up with them and turn them back around, you''ll have thrown yet another change at them.

4. Commitment – Finally, employees move into commitment, they embrace the change as the new and improved way of doing something. - Celebrate when your team members demonstrate commitment to the change. Acknowledge what they accomplished. An overt sign of recognition will better prepare them for future changed, which are inevitable.

Harnessing Unplanned Change (changes that you as PL were not planning for!): Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions: Leaders must exercise initiative, be resourceful, and take advantage of opportunities on the battlefield that will lead to victory. Accept just criticism and take corrective actions for mistakes.

Introduce the change by being clear about why its happening now. If you misjudged a situation, admit it. If you have unexpected pressure from above, say so. Fix problems, don''t affix blame.

Using SITREPS to Harness Change (situation report). They report Who what when where. Make choices on current information, not assumptions or old information.

Things in place to be able to deal with constant change:

* Really knowing a job – including having confidence that the person on your right or left also knows his or her job, that they have a grasp of the subject matter as well as technical competence.
* Executing tasks with confidence and precision.
* Staying calm and in control when the missteps happen – This is the direct result of thinking out contingency plans and detours.

The ability to stay on course during times of change is 90 percent planning, 10 percent reacting. The planning gives you understanding from the beginning how to adapt when things don''t go as planned.

Initiative: Through planning and communication tools such as SITREPS and Mission Briefs a leader reinforces what info is important and what isn''t, what actions would support the mission and what actions are extraneous. If a private sees the MODD the private takes the initiative and says “we have a problem here�. That kind of contribution is expected. There is never a sense that a person''s information isn''t important. Because of the training, the assumption is that each person knows what''s important and what isn''t. When people err in judgement, that''s addressed after the mission, not in the thick of a changing situation when continued initiative is vital to success. Change – even dramatic change of strategy or tactic – seems natural when its necessary to achieve a well-defined goal.

Excerpt from the book "Rangers Lead the Way: The Army Rangers'' Guide to leading Your Organization Through Chaos" by Dean Hohl & Maryann Karinch