Business executives believe that organizations need to adapt to change in order to have a competitive advantage. Change management programs involve organizational buy-in, design of change initiatives and seamless implementation of those initiatives. In a survey of North American executives, 54 percent stated they have successfully rolled out change management initiatives at their organizations. However, employees can be weary of change if they do not fully understand the initiatives and have experienced past change program failures. In fact, 48 percent of employees think their organizations lack the capabilities to sustain change initiatives.
For businesses to be successful, executives have to create management strategies that promote staff retention, revenue generation and a positive workplace culture. All employees have to support the change programs for business to have success in the future. Some of the common change models include Holocracy, the McKinsey 7-S and Kotter’s 8-step change initiative.
#1 Holocracy
Holocracy philosophy is the distribution of power to specific teams and employees at all levels are subject to the same rules. Organizations using Holocracy are more adaptive to change and have a clearer company mission with built-in reassessment to address future issues.
#2 McKinsey 7-S model
The McKinsey 7-S model uses strategy, structure, management activities, core values, style, capability of employees and competencies to see how the organization works. The model eases change transition and equalizes staff roles.
#3 Kotter 8-step Change Model
Kotter’s 8-step Change Model creates a sense of urgency, builds change teams, forms a strategic vision, enlists volunteers, empowers action, produces short-term wins, supports acceleration and incorporates change. This model is easy for businesses to adopt even in traditionally hierarchical systems.
Traditional management practices are bogging businesses down and make them unable to compete in today’s global market. Executives have to prepare their teams to adapt to these change models so they can control the implementation process and enhance business benefits. To learn more about the top business management models for effective management, check out the infographic below created by the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Online Master of Business Administration program.
This story is about a Medical Scheme Migration Project with the goal of having to migrate company staff from one medical scheme to another within six months. The project manager, Cathy Rodrigues, was working with a 3rd party admin organization in the medical industry dealing with medical schemes. They were experienced external consultants who helped to make a strong, dynamic project team to enable a smooth migration.
It was mandatory for the affected staff to migrate onto the new scheme. The fact that there was a cost difference between the two medical schemes and that the scheme they migrated onto was more expensive, complicated the migration especially due to the staff resisting the migration. The project also involved a large stakeholder audience of 1472 people.
Resistance
The project required a huge change management intervention, yet there was no change manager assigned and it became the responsibility of the project manager to facilitate the change.
Due to the sensitive nature of the project, people having to leave a medical scheme that they’ve been on for years, to go to a different and more expensive one, and medical aid being a very personal matter, a petition was started against the migration. It was mitigated by giving staff a month’s grace. During the month’s grace Exco gave staff an ultimatum: they could get quotes from other schemes, and if it was cheaper they didn’t have to migrate to the new scheme, if it was more or the equal to, it was company policy to follow through with the original plan to migrate. A month had to be added to the project timeline to allow for this grace period.
Extensive information sharing
Much information had to be shared about the new medical scheme and group awareness sessions were arranged for this purpose. However, attendance of group awareness sessions was poor. In addition, provision was made for staff to have individual sessions with a consultant, but many were not attending the one on one sessions. Some of the managers would not allow all call centre agents to attend one on one sessions. Or people would leave it to the last minute.
Later the project team discovered that staff actually experienced IT difficulties in booking seats for the sessions through a booking system that was setup which caused some of the appointments to be double booked.
When disgruntled staff members complained to their direct managers, they would contact the project team, which again flooded their mailboxes. in some cases, line managers also weren’t aware of the awareness sessions and kept staff members from attending.
Migration successful
Despite all the resistance and initial setbacks caused by technology and the logistics of having to assist a large number of people personally with migrating to a new medical scheme, the project was delivered successfully. Only one month’s delay was experienced, with no scope creep because all staff members were migrated onto the new scheme.
The project team was a very diplomatic “no nonsense” team who worked well together.
Lessons Learnt
It is recommended to adopt a top down approach – engage with HR, Exco and line management before engaging with staff. Projects like this have to be handled with extreme sensitivity, people could be getting a worse deal than they had before. The petition that caught the project team by total surprise is an indication that it wasn’t addressed and handled correctly.
Change Manager is essential
On projects with a large stakeholder audience and of a sensitive nature, having a change manager onboard from the beginning, is essential. A project manager needs to focus on execution of the plan, achieving deliverables and reaching milestones. Most project managers are not equipped with the required change management skills and experience to compile a separate change intervention that could address stakeholder’s fears and concerns using words that would speak to their hearts. A change manager would be able to focus on the human side and take care of multiple communication strategies required for awareness, information, training and acceptance.
If no budget provision was made for a change manager, the project manager should motivate and even insist on bringing a change manager on-board to ensure a smoother transition and to take care of the human factor of change on this scale. For a professional project manager it would be the right thing to do to negotiate funding with the sponsor, because your reputation is also at stake.
Stakeholder engagement
It’s very important to have project kick-off sessions with the line- and top managers of the company explaining the project scope, timeline and change plan due to the sensitive nature of the change. They could then be empowered to assist as change agents to the staff members who approached them with their objections and complaints.
The communications need to be positioned well, not as was the case of the team who flooded inboxes with impersonalised messages promoting the medical scheme which probably from the start didn’t position the scheme very well. They also didn’t have any banners or visual posters to promote the scheme.
Technology
Although technology is there to help us on projects, it can cause havoc, like the double-bookings that were experienced. Always have backup plans in place and if the worst happens, then put workarounds in place to limit the impact of the issues.
Without sufficient and formal change interventions taking care of all the communication requirements with a large audience, using email makes it very difficult to track and measure effectiveness of dealing with people’s experience of the change.
Cathy Rodrigues started out as a Project Administrator. Then she moved to a leading international bank and transitioned into a Junior Project Manager and eventually became a Senior Professional Project Manager. Her passion for being a PM remains unchanged, with her overall objective to manage tangible, soul satisfying projects that result in a positive outcome for all end users and stakeholders.
Most experienced project managers will know that effective Change Management has become essential in delivering successfulprojects. The question is what type of skills does a Change Manager need to be effective and how are those skills different from project manager skills?
The answer can be found in a report published by Afro Ant, as the outcome of a conversation attended by change managers and project managers in September 2014. You will find the summary of the change manager skills as well as a comparison of different focus areas between project and change managers.
Definition of Change Management
Change management is a combination of science and art – in the practice of change management, the “what” is often a science, but much of the “how” will always remain an art, as much a function of who you are than of what you know.
How does the role of a Change Manager typically differ from the role of a Project Manager?
The main differences lie in their focus areas. The project manager will focus on delivery on time, within budget, of specified quality and to the satisfaction of stakeholders. The change manager will focus on systematically managing the change as to minimise the impacts and to maximise the benefits. Project are ultimately about change in order to deliver benefits. See the comparison at the end.
Skills of a Good Change Manager
Operationally a change manager requires a very good understanding of change management principles and associated theory, methodology, techniques and tools, and the ability to apply these in a practical and flexible manner.
Then facilitation skills, influencing skills, strong conceptual and analytical thinking skills need to be present.
Change managers need to quickly understand what their projects are about and develop appropriate change management strategies and plans. You need to translate the real change into communication that all stakeholders will understand. You need to engage with the project team in a constructive manner.
With project management and planning skills, you also needBusiness acumen: demonstrated ability and experience in understanding business strategy, structure, processes and enabling technologies.
In addition, a change manager must have the ability to handle significant pressure and to persevere, meaning to stay focused and to maintain a positive energy level despite setbacks. You need the ability to learn from problems and to see tasks and projects through to completion.
Passion and Maturity
A change manager will have passion to deliver to standards of excellence. You need a proven ability to manage quality of own and others’ work. You need appropriate and effective prioritisation and self-management. This includes the ability to work to deadlines and a commitment to deliver on time.
A change manager will be decisive and assertive, innovative with problem solving skills, as well as administrative skills. You need to be able to manage ambiguity and to create order and structure.
People Skills
A change manager definitely requires above average ability to work with people, to have empathy and to establish trust and rapport. You need insight into individual and team dynamics and the ability to establish trust with senior leadership.
Effective conflict resolution and negotiation skills are required to build relationships, to establish rapport and relate to people in an open, friendly manner while showing sincere interest in others. You will have the ability to build and maintain mutual trust.
Communication
You need proficient language skills, the ability to recognise and use the appropriate interpersonal styles and communication methods to ensure understanding acceptance of a change, idea, plan or product.
For communication you need business writing skills, effective listening, presentation development and delivery. Effective use of tools like MS PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook. Even some-time learn the basics of pogrammes like Frontpage or Access.
Other skills would include:
Self-starter, being self‐motivated
Resourceful and crea7ve
Ambitious and hard-working
Strongly disciplined
Achievement orientated
Assertiveness
Reliable
Practical and pragmatic
Flexible /adaptable
Reasonable and open-minded
Energetic and positive
Passion
Above all a change manager needs to be passionate about the work they’re doing. The ability to engage authentically will bring you far. That means to bring yourself into the work that you do. It requires honesty, openness, congruence, self-insight and that you are okay enough with whom you are to share that with the people you deal with in your work as a change manager.
Change manager vs Project manager skills
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Many people believe that an effective Change Management process, has become essential in delivering successful projects and getting a return on investment. This is Part 2 on a series about Change Management Processes. In this article we look at how to measure your return on investment (ROI). Part 1 was about the expected benefits from effective change management.
Projects bring about change. Whether it is new technology, updated systems, or changes to processes – if there are people involved, they will most likely need to be doing something differently for the project to realise its benefits. By understanding the benefits of implementing Change Management properly, as outlined in the previous article, you can then determine whether the cost spent on Change Management yields a favourable return.
How to measure ROI
To show if something has improved or worsened, you need to measure it against a baseline. Here are a few ideas to do that.
#1 Adoption and Usage rate
In the case of a new or modified system, you can evaluate how many people are using the new system or following the new process.
#2 Customer service feedback
Organisations would be aiming for an improvement in customer service. You can measure the success of an implementation by measuring customer satisfaction. Customer service levels could be measured before the change, after implementation and after some time has passed.
#3 Assessing the productivity
Employee productivity could be assessed before, during and after the change to assess impact on productivity or service levels.
#4 Feedback from affected parties
Survey stakeholders before, during and after the implementation to provide insights into readiness for change and the likelihood of success of the change.
#5 Staff retention
Compare staff retention rates before, during and after implementation. If more key staff are leaving during implementation it may highlight an issue that needs to be addressed.
The most accurate way to measure Change Management ROI depend on each individual change situation. Therefor the ideas stated above should be considered as a starting point to measure ROI.
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Many people believe that an effective Change Management process, has become essential in delivering successful projects and getting a return on investment. This is part 3 in the series about change management. This article will look at the negative effects of insufficient change management as well as the barriers to a successful implementation of change. Click Part 1, Part 2 to read previous articles before this one.
Barriers
Common barriers to the successful implementation of change, include the following:
Lack of shared vision and an understanding of what needs to be accomplished
Change fatigue
Timing
Lack of leadership support or alignment
Sustainability of the project
What is happening outside and in parallel to the change
Not enough understanding of how to measure the value of a benefit.
Negative Effects
When change management is insufficient, it can have some negative effects. Let’s look at a few.
Employee retention levels may drop
During times of change, especially when the people component is being neglected, it may bring about the loss of key staff. If people are not being heard or equipped to manage the change, people may choose to move onto another environment.
Insufficient focus on managing the impact of change on people
The objective of change management is to minimise the impact of a project and to support the realisation of benefits and to embed the change. Without sufficient change management the focus on the people aspects of the change is neglected and all benefits reliant on people will not be realised.
Risks may not be highlighted
One of the roles of a Change Manager is to highlight the risks that would impact on people. A lack of risk management, may also have an impact on the project timeline.
Drop in customer service
If users who are going through a change experience a productivity dip, or an inability to use the new system or any other negative side effects, it will have an effect on the customers they deal with. It can result in loss of customers and damage to an organisation’s reputation.
Increased resistance to change
People who are not involved in the change process and having change forced upon them, often shows signs of active resistance or even anger. Often just by engaging with employees and allowing them the space to raise and address concerns, can provide a platform for resolving their issues before they impact on project success.
Lower adoption or adaptation to change
Without managing a change properly there may be an increase in resistance and a greater likelihood of impacted staff not adopting a new system or new way of working. Change Managers often play the role of a bridge between the solution and the users and without this bridge there may be poor or no adoption.
Lack of ownership or shared vision
A project or change initiative has an end date. This means that after project completion some-one will need to own the change and ensure its sustainability going forward. During the course of the project there needs to be alignment and shared vision. When perceptions and visions aren’t aligned and no-one is taking ownership of the success of the implementation, the benefits will ultimately not be realised.
Negative impact on productivity
Productivity dips can be caused by factors such as a lack of planning, duplication of effort, despondent employees, ill-equipped stakeholders and business as usual versus project responsibilities overlapping. By equipping the individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to cope with the change, the dip in productivity can be minimised.
In addition to this, the issue of role uncertainty can negatively impact the individuals within the project team and stakeholders involved. When people are unsure or what they’re supposed to be doing, they can swing from either doing nothing or doing too much of the wrong thing.
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Many people believe that an effective Change Management process, has become essential in delivering successful projects and getting a return on investment.
In answer to the question if there is a Return on Investment for Change Management, we can turn to a Report that was published by Afro Ant in April 2014. This report was the output of an Ant Conversation, hosted by Afro Ant (and co-sponsored by Old Mutual) which was attended by 24 professionals who work in the field of Change Management or work closely with Change Managers. This conversation, centered around ROI, encouraged the sharing of insights, opinions, and lessons learned from working in the field of Change Management – specifically around the benefits of implementing Change Management properly, the negative effects if this is not done, and how the ROI on Change Management can be measured.
This is the first of a series of 3 articles about the Change Management process. It will cover the benefits of change management, ideas for how to measure return on investment (ROI) and negative effects of insufficient change management.
What is Change Management
Change management can be defined as a framework for managing the effect of new business processes, systems and structures or culture changes to achieve a required business outcome.
Directed change can be defined as the change in business and operational practices that is required to ensure the sustained realisation of business outcomes. It’s implemented within constraints.
It’s important to understand the objectives and scope of the change and what the expected benefits of the implementation are in order to determine if you’re doing the right things and doing them well. A measurement for the effectiveness is also needed.
Benefits of Change Management
When we talk about Change Management and its benefits, there is a distinct link back to how Change Management is managed. Some of the benefits of Change Managements are easily recognised, but there are other benefits that are not as overt, but would have a bigger impact on your project. When you implement change management you can expect some of, although not limited to, the following benefits:
#1 It will give you a structured approach to change
In addition change management will assist in managing the transition.
#2 Benefit realisation
If a change (to adopt a new way of working) is not managed properly, many of the benefits may not be realised.
#3 Change management will provide effective communication.
That means the ability to provide clear and consistent communication so that individuals involved in, or impacted by the change, know what they need to know, when they need to know and are able to work towards adopting the change.
#4 Role Clarity
Change managers work with the project and leadership team to confirm roles and responsibilities, and guidelines so that stakeholders understand what is expected of them and when.
#5 Making change sustainable
Structured management of change support working with stakeholders to make sure that the change is sustainable and that it lasts. A key element of this is to transfer knowledge from the project to the stakeholders, equipping them with the skills they may need to maintain the change.
#6 Stakeholder involvement
Change should be done with people. It gives people being impacted a voice and makes them part of the change initiative. Stakeholder buy-in and leadership engagement in driving the change has been identified as a driver for success.
#7 Leadership involvement
Change management focuses on ensuring that change leaders are enabled and empowered to lead.
#8 Faster adoption
Managing the change brings faster more visible adoption of the new way of working and user proficiency.
#9 Impact on Productivity
Change management aims to minimise the impact on stakeholders and the disruption to daily operations.
Any project manager who has ever worked on projects that required change interventions, can attest to the value of change management and the positive impact that effective change management had on successful project delivery.
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During a Change Management initiative, an important aspect of Programme Management is StakeholderAnalysis and Mapping. This is all about: “Who is this change going to affect and how are they going to react, and what do we have to do to support them?”.
How well you listen to and respond to ALL of your stakeholders’ issues is a significant measure of the effectiveness of your management of these relationships. As a project/programme manager of change, it is important to be seen doing stakeholder relationship management.
Leadership skills make a big difference to successfully managing stakeholder relationships. This is where the management of expectations matters. Here are 3 key questions to address in managing expectations in a change management initiative, and specifically in relation to your employees.
1. Do your people really know what is expected of them?
Do your people know how to translate the high level vision and strategy into actionable steps? People are very different in the ways they process information, interpret life, and in the ways they are motivated. Many (probably most) of them are not able to make the leap from hearing and understanding your vision and strategy to translating that into purposeful productive action. This does not mean that they don’t understand it, or agree with it, but it does simply mean that the leap is too great for most people to make – without your practical assistance.
2. Do they know what they can expect from you?
It is extremely important to that they know that you will work with them in “grinding out” in practical, manageable detail what the high level strategy, vision, values things actually mean for them as the “troops” in action.
3. Do they know what is expected of each other?
They also need to know what these actionable steps mean for them in terms of what they can and should expect from each other.
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Source: Strategies for managing change by Stephen Warrilow
If you want to work with Stephen Warrilow, take advantage of his 7 FREE “How to Do It” downloads that will take you through all of the key stages of “How to manage change” – and show you how to manage change successfully.
Communication Strategy- Say what you mean and mean what you say
When change is initiated through projects, a good Communication Strategy is at the heart of any successful change management process. It is important that an effective communication strategy is defined about the reasons, the benefits, the plans and proposed effects of that change. This Communication Strategy should be maintained throughout the duration of the change management programme.
Your communication strategy needs to address the key questions:
What are the objectives?
What are the key messages?
Who are you trying to reach?
What information will be communicated?
When will information be disseminated, and what are the relevant timings?
How much information will be provided, and to what level of detail?
What mechanisms will be used to disseminate information?
How will feedback be encouraged?
What will be done as a result of feedback?
Your communication strategy needs to address the key EMOTIONAL questions
William Bridges focuses on the emotional and psychological impact and aspect of the change through these 3 simple questions:
(1) What is changing? Bridges offers the following guidance – the change leader’s communication statement must:
Clearly express the change leader’s understanding and intention
Link the change to the drivers that make it necessary
Sell the problem before you try to sell the solution
Not use jargon
(2) What will actually be different because of the change? Bridges says: “I go into organizations where a change initiative is well underway, and I ask what will be different when the change is done-and no one can answer the question… a change may seem very important and very real to the leader, but to the people who have to make it work it seems quite abstract and vague until actual differences that it will make begin to become clear. It should be priority to get those differences clear”
(3) Who’s going to lose what? Bridges maintains that the situational changes are not as difficult for companies to make as the psychological transitions of the people impacted by the change. Transition management is all about seeing the situation through the eyes of the other guy. It is a perspective based on empathy. It is a management and communication process that recognizes and affirms people’s realities and works with them to bring them through the transition. Failure to do this, on the part of change leaders, and a denial of the losses and “lettings go” that people are faced with, sows the seeds of mistrust.
5 guiding principles of a good change management communication strategy
So, in summary the 5 guiding principles of a good change management communication strategy are as follows:
Clarity of message – to ensure relevance and recognition
Resonance of message – the emotional tone and delivery of the message
Accurate targeting – to reach the right people with the right message
Timing schedule – to achieve timely targeting of messages
Feedback process – to ensure genuine two way communication
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Source: Strategies for managing change by Stephen Warrilow
If you want to work with Stephen Warrilow, please visit www.strategies-for-managing-change to learn how to manage change successfully.
Today Stephen provides us with an interesting perspective on how aquired needs theory of motivation shows which leaders make good change agents in a change management initiative.
Acquired Needs Theory describes three types of motivational needs: Achievement, Authority and Affiliation.
These were first identified and described and by David McClelland in “The Achieving Society” [1961]. David McClelland was a pioneer in the field of workplace motivational thinking, and was a proponent of competency-based assessments in favour of IQ and personality based tests.
In summary, the acquired needs theory states that needs are formulated over time by our experiences. We will tend to have one of these needs that affects us more powerfully than others and thus affects our behaviours, and they fall into three general categories of needs:
(1) Achievement
Achievers seek to excel and appreciate frequent recognition of how well they are doing. They will avoid low risk activities that have no chance of gain. They also will avoid high risks where there is a significant chance of failure.
(2) Affiliation
Affiliation seekers look for harmonious relationships with other people. They will thus tend to conform and shy away from standing out. The seek approval rather than recognition.
(3) Power
Power seekers want power either to control other people (for their own goals) or to achieve higher goals (for the greater good). They seek neither recognition nor approval from others -only agreement and compliance.
Acquired needs theory focuses on those with an achievement motivation, and David Mclelland stated as a result of his experiments and research that:
(1) Most people do not possess a strong achievement-based motivation
(2) Those people who do, display a consistent behaviour in setting goals.
Acquired needs theory indicates the following characteristics and attitudes of achievement-motivated people:
Achievement of objectives matters more than material or financial reward
Greater personal satisfaction is felt by achieving the goal than from receiving praise or recognition
Money is regarded as a measure of success, but not the end in itself
Neither status nor security are prime motivations
Accurate quantitative feedback is essential, because it enables measurement of success
Achievement-motivated people constantly looking for ways of doing things better
Achievement-motivated people will gravitate towards jobs and responsibilities that challenge them and satisfy their needs – for example sales and business leadership and management
Achievement-motivated people have the capacity to set high personal goals that they believe to be attainable
Applying Acquired Needs Theory to Change Management
Acquired needs theory indicates that people with a strong need for achievement, make the best leaders – provided they develop the people skills necessary to get the best results from their people.
So find the people who are achievement oriented and who have the necessary people skills and encourage them into a small team to help lead and manage your change initiative.
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If you want to work with Stephen Warrilow, take advantage of his 7 FREE “How to Do It” downloads that will take you through all of the key stages of “How to manage change” – and show you how to manage change successfully.
About the author:
Stephen Warrilow, based in Bristol, England, works with companies across the UK providing specialist support to directors delivery significant change initiatives. Stephen has 25 years cross sector experience with 100+ companies in mid range corporate, larger SME and corporate environments.
What does change management mean to project managers and why do they need it?
By Stephen Warrilow
Change management is often at the heart of project delivery in that many business projects bring about change in organisations which usually affects people or processes or both. For this reason it is of utmost importance that project managers should understand the business of change management. You will feel less like a “tree with a tie” if you understand change management and know how to lead a change initiative.
There are 2 quite different streams of thought that have shaped the practice of change management.
(1) The engineer’s approach to business improvement with the focus on business process.
(2) The psychologist’s approach to understanding human responses to change with the focus on people.
As Michael Hammer, co-author of “Re-engineering the Corporation”, has said about the people issues: “the human side is much harder than the technology side and harder than the process side. It’s the overwhelming issue.”
The single biggest reason for the astonishingly high 70% failure rate of ALL business change initiatives has been the over-emphasis on process rather than people – the failure to take full account of the impact of change on those people who are most impacted by it.
Closely allied to that reason is the lack of process to directly address the human aspects of change.
A program management based approach to change
The traditional project approach to change management – sees it as a set of tasks which if executed successfully get a result. In other words the typical process led approach which has failed so consistently and so spectacularly over the last 20 years.
In contrast, I advocate a program based approach to change management because, based on my experience, I have found that:
It is holistic and takes a wider perspective
It focuses you on addressing issues and aspects that otherwise get overlooked
It addresses the people impacts and issues arising as a direct and indirect result of your change initiative
It addresses the fundamental questions that people ask: “What is changing, when and why?” and “How is going to affect me?” and “How are you going to manage this?”
Universal change management principles
The broad principles of how you approach any business initiative or any activity that may require or instigate change are universal:
(1) Clarity in all areas – especially of the business need for the change, of the specifics of the change, the benefits of the change, and the impacts of the change.
(2) Communication – constant communication – two-way communication – communication that explains clearly what is change management and what is happening or not happening and why. Communication that listens actively and demonstrates to people that you have thought through the impacts of the change on them, and that you are prepared to work with them to achieve their buy-in and commitment to the change.
(3) Consistency – in all aspects of the way in which you lead the change – manage the delivery – handle the communication – and ensure the realization of the benefits.
(4) Capability – constant attention to the management of the tasks, activities, projects and initiatives that are delivering the capabilities into your organization that will deliver the benefits that you are seeking. Ensuring that your people have the full resources and capabilities they need to support them through the change.
Key success factors in change management
For change management to work, it requires careful focus on these key factors that will determine the success of your change initiative:
(1) Determining that you are embarking on a change that sits outside of business as usual and needs to be handled as a specific initiative
(2) The quality of leadership that you provide
(3) Using a program management based approach to your change initiative and how you define change management for your organization
(4) The thoroughness of your pre-program review and planning process
(5) The extent to which you identify and address the cultural change in your organization that is required to deliver the change and the desired business benefit.
So this is how I define change management:
“It’s all about people – and processes that work for people.”
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If you want to work with Stephen Warrilow, take advantage of his 7 FREE “How to Do It” downloads that will take you through all of the key stages of “How to manage change” – and show you how to manage change successfully.
About the author:
Stephen Warrilow, based in Bristol, England, works with companies across the UK providing specialist support to directors delivery significant change initiatives. Stephen has 25 years cross sector experience with 100+ companies in mid range corporate, larger SME and corporate environments.
The Maslow Theory of Motivation also known as “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” model was developed in 1954. Starting from the premise that each human being is motivated by needs that are inborn, presumably as a result of evolution, here is the hierarchy in ascending order:
(1) Physiological needs
These are the very basic needs such as air, water, food, sleep, sex, etc. When these are not satisfied we may feel sickness, irritation, pain, discomfort, etc. These feelings motivate us to alleviate them as soon as possible to establish homeostasis. Once they are alleviated, we may think about other things.
(2) Safety needs
These have to do with establishing stability and consistency in a chaotic world. These needs are mostly psychological in nature. We need the security of a home and family.
(3) Love and needs of belonging
Humans have (in varying degrees of intensity) a strong desire to affiliate by joining groups such as societies, clubs, professional associations, churches and religious groups etc. There is a universal need to feel love and acceptance by others.
(4) Self-Esteem needs
There are essentially two types of esteem needs: self-esteem resulting from competence or mastery of a task; and the esteem and good opinion of other people.
(5) The need for self-actualisation
Maslow theory of motivation proposes that people who have all their “lower order” needs met progress towards the fulfilment their potential. Typically this can include the pursuit of knowledge, peace, aesthetic experiences, self-fulfilment, oneness with God, etc. So ultimately this is all to do with the desire for self transcendence.
A paradigm shift that forms the basis for good leadership and successful change management
The Maslow theory of motivation brought a new face to the study of human behaviour. Maslow was inspired by greatness in the minds of others, and his own special contribution to the field of motivational psychology led to the creation of the concept of Humanistic Psychology. This is based on belief that humans are not simply blindly reacting to situations, but trying to accomplish something greater.
It also forms the basis of much current understanding of what constitutes good leadership and forms a major foundation of prevailing models and theories of successful change management. Maslow theory of motivation emphasise and remind those of us involved in leading and managing change of the complexity and multi-faceted nature of human needs and motivational drives. Aligned with that is people’s transcendent needs and aspirations as well as the more prosaic needs of survival and love.
About the author:
Stephen Warrilow, based in Bristol, England, works with companies across the UK providing specialist support to directors delivery significant change initiatives. Stephen has 25 years cross sector experience with 100+ companies in mid range corporate, larger SME and corporate environments. Take advantage of his 7 FREE “How to Do It” downloads that will take you through all of the key stages of “How to manage change” – and show you how to manage change successfully.
NOTE: I was fortunate to discover the work and writings of Stephen Warrilow at end of 2009. It was apparent that his extensive Change Management knowledge and experience would add value to my project management blog. It will equip readers with knowledge and skills to manage change successfully.
Enjoy the Change Management articles that Stephen Warrilow has given permission to share with you. I trust that you will find great value and I encourage you to download Stephen’s free material to implement in your own change projects.
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