Some Ways to Handle Change (6)
Introduction
Managing change is very hard to do; at best it can be handled. As a result, there are very diverse theoretical perspectives and prescriptive frameworks around change management.
In the change literature you are
"...confronted with a plethora from organisational development to processual theory, from sense making to contingency models, from prescriptive multistep ('n-step') models to perspectives derived from complexity theory and chaos theory..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008
There are different assumptions used to explain what it means to handle change and the nature of change outcomes.
There are 6 ways or images to makes sense of the different approaches to organisational change and each is underpinned by different organisational theories; the 6 ways: directing, coaching, navigating, interpreting, caretaking and nurturing.
NB This uses ontological assumptions based
"...around two competing assumptions that constitute managing (management as control versus management as shaping) and three competing assumptions about change outcomes (outcomes as intended, partly intended or unintended)..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008
Handling change
| Assumptions about |
Assumptions about |
handling change |
| change outcomes | Controlling*i |
Shaping*ii |
| Planned or Intended*iii | Directing | Coaching |
| Partially intended*iv | Navigating | Interpreting |
| Unintended*v | Caretaking | Nurturing |
(main source: Ian Palmer et al, 2008)
Notes
i) management by control is associated with a top-down, hierarchical view, ie people are in allocated roles, organisational units, resources, etc to perform tasks efficiently
ii) management by shaping involves influence, rather than directives, as the final behaviour cannot be controlled.
''...The responsibility of management is to produce strong corporate capabilities that provide the organisation with a firm platform to respond to and shape external changes..."
M. Beer et al as quoted by Ian Palmer et al, 2008
iii) it is believed that the proposed change outcomes are achievable and known, ie can be planned for.
iv) refers to situations where some, but not all, change intentions are achievable and known; many outcomes are emergent
v) have great difficulty in achieving proposed change outcomes because a variety of forces (mostly external) lead to unplanned change outcomes; these forces can be more powerful than the influence of management.
More details on 6 ways or images to handle change
1. Directing (management is in control with intended change outcomes achievable; all assume that change is achievable if everyone follows a specific series of steps, eg 'n-steps', contingency theories, etc.)
2. Navigating (management is in partial control as a variety of external factors can result in some outcomes being outside management control:
"...outcomes are partly emergent rather than completely planned, and result from a variety of influences, competing interests and processes..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008
"...The contextualist or processual theories of change......rely upon the navigator image. These theories assume that change should not be and cannot be solidified, or seen as a series of linear events within a given time period; instead, it is viewed as a continuous process.....in which change managers are assumed to have some scope for choice and manoeuvre..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008
NB Need to have a flexible approach so that the approach can be modified to handle new information.)
3. Caretaking (have some control with a variety of forces, both internal and external, impacting the change independent of management, eg life-cycle approach, population ecology theory, institutionalise theory, etc; the institutionalise theory that has identified 3 pressure points:
i) coercion (including government-mandated changes)
ii) mimetic (organisations imitate other organisations that are considered to be successful and legitimate)
iii) normative (where changes happen through shared beliefs/values, etc)
4. Coaching (intentionally shape an organisation's capabilities by building the right set of values, skills, processes, systems, routines, etc rather than dictating the exact direction of the change; encourage staff to understand and solve their own problems by building capability, eg traditional organisational development theory.)
5. Interpreting (helping staff to make sense of the various change activities and their ambiguities, eg sense making theory, etc; provide meaning to staff, ie 'connecting the dots'
"...Individuals in the organisation are 'sense-makers', not just 'sense-takers', and are integrally involved in determining the outcomes of strategic change initiatives..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008)
6. Nurturing (even small changes can have a large impact on an organisation; the quality and the capabilities of the staff in the organisation helps the emergence of change outcomes, rather than being intentionally produced; encourage staff to develop the capacity for self-organisational development, eg chaos theory, Confucius/Taoist with its yin yang philosophy, etc)
NB The first 3, ie directing, navigating and caretaking
"...each assumes that there are inexorable, external forces that shape organisational change, and that individual managers have only limited ability to implement change outcomes which are at odds with these forces. At best, change managers are caretakers having little influence over the direction of change..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008
Using 3 phenomena, ie vision, communication and resistance to change, to explore the 6 images
| Image of handling change | Links to vision | Links to communications | Links to resistance*i | |
| Directing | vision is essential for effective organisational change; must be articulated by senior management and shared by staff | need to send unambiguous messages about what action stakeholders are required to take; focus on the 'why, what, who, how and when'; getting the word out through the organisation; getting buy-in | need to overcome resistance in order to move forward; different stakeholders will have different interests | |
| Navigating | competing perspectives among stakeholders can reduce effectiveness of shared vision | understand different stakeholders' interests and power; persuade them of the appropriateness of the change | understand how to develop management of resistance; listen to resisters as they might be telling you what is wrong with the change and needs modifying | |
| Caretaking | understanding external forces that can have more influence on change than visionary activities | explain the inevitability of change and how best to cope, survive & thrive | work on developing resisters' confidence and capability; let nature take its course | |
| Coaching | make sure the vision is shared; should be produced through consultation, ie consensus building |
|
identifying and addressing the negative vibes; change generally takes place outside people's comfort zones | |
| Interpreting | positively related to the development of the organisation identity, ie it is its voice; part of the core ideology; needs to be articulate | encourage people to develop a shared understanding of 'what is going on', ie sense making; using a narrative approach, ie storytelling and conversations; finding new ways and replacing old ways | identify and address negative narratives about change; past experiences with change are important for viewing current change; build on the past | |
| Nurturing | unpredictable external factors result in the vision being continually rewritten | with unpredictable, strong external change factors; active listening is important; new unexpected possibilities can arise | use external factors to counter resistance, ie change is unpredictable |
(main source: Ian Palmer et al, 2008)
Notes
i) resistors can move through set stages:
- shock (displayed as immobilisation)
- defensive retreat (anger)
- acknowledgement (mourning)
- adaptation and change (acceptance)
(main source: Ian Palmer et al, 2008)
Summary
"...the 6-image framework forms of intervention and how their use may vary according to i) type of change, ii) the context of the change, iii) the face of the change and iv) simultaneous model changes..."
Ian Palmer et al, 2008
However, handling change
"...is about enabling 'humans' to constantly adapt and to look forward to the new without having to pay a higher price in the adaptation process, such as change fatigue, demotivation, disengagement, cynicism or chronic stress......support people to adopt new ways of working and thinking that are capable to adopt to the constant state of the change..."
Tibisay Vera, 2024a