Phase 1: Align Leadership

Create a Cohesive Leadership Team

Organizations are not static entities by nature; they function as an interconnected web of people, tools, resources, processes and procedures working to produce their company’s widget or service. Successful organizations evolve, grow and change shape in anticipation of (or in response to) internal and external factors while unsuccessful organizations attempt to remain stationary, un-changed and at risk. Implementing change, at any level, requires planning and alignment, and the people, resources, processes and systems must all be assessed to understand the impact the change will have.  

As this organization works to transition to a new team structure, with new leadership, team members, and new systems, tools, processes and procedures, I determined that using an Open Theory approach blending Lencioni’s Organizational Health Model to focus on behavior and culture and the Experience Change Model to address alignment and restructuring needs with an action-oriented focus would help bridge the operational changes needed with an eye on organizational health and employee well-being. The Organizational Health Model will guide Leadership using the four disciplines; Cohesive Team Leadership, Clarity, (Over-)Communication, and Reinforce to establish new norms for a healthy department to develop in. At the same time, The Experience Change Model will layer over the Organizational Health Model. This will provide the framework to ensure key stakeholders are aligned to the opportunity and understand the change needed, while supporting in their roles as stakeholders. That work carries over as implementation begins and the organization engages in the process. This work relies heavily on communication and follow through led by the core leadership team as they work to motivate people, communicate the vision, carry out the alignment actions and consolidate gains to maintain momentum and alleviate stress.

Understand the Opportunity
The first task in any change initiative is to clearly define and understand the need for change. “Change occurs when there is an understanding of the need for change, the vision of where the organization should go, and a commitment to action. Change leaders need to address the question of “Why change?” and develop both a sound rationale for the change and a compelling vision of a possible future.” (Cawsey, 133) By evaluating the state of the organization, internal and external factors and assessing the health of the organization the focus of the change needed becomes clear. With new leadership, team members and responsibilities in place, the organization needs internal alignment and restructuring to develop a common operating model that will provide them with a foundation to develop as a team.

Enlist Leadership
Stakeholders represent the members of an organization who are a part of the change or will be impacted by the change and will lead this change initiative. Just because someone is a stakeholder does not mean they are a proponent of the change and it is important to understand the outlook of your stakeholders. Are they resisters, bystanders, helpers or champions? Developing a stakeholder map charts the team by their outlook. Each stakeholder brings value in their perspective; the resisters can point out issues that the helpers may not see due to their generally positive outlook. Bystanders show the most potential to be influenced to positively accept change and should receive a high level of attention to ensure they are engaged early.

“In forming a change team, the personalities and skills of the members will play a significant role in the team’s success. The change process demands a paradoxical set of skills; the ability to create a vision and the intuition to see the connection between that vision and all of the things that will need to be done.” (Cawsey, 281) As part of this work a Change Champion and Steering Committee were identified to lead the effort.

Change Champion

When selecting the change champion, it is important to consider their ability to both influence in all directions and bring people together.  “Change champions represent the visionary, the immovable force for change who will continue to push for the change regardless of the opposition and the resistance to change. Senior managers need to ensure that those to whom the change is delegated possess the energy, drive, skills, resilience, credibility, and commitment needed to make it happen.” (Cawsey, 279) The Senior Manager of Training was identified as the Change Champion. She has the ability to make decisions while possessing “the fundamental qualities of a good leader; motivating, visioning, empowering and managing.” (ExperiencePoint, 2019)

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee supports the Change Champion and provides insight and guidance as well as reviews progress and ensures alignment to the overarching goals and objectives. Because they have insight into larger organizational objectives, they also look out for the core change team and change agent and ensure their work remains in alignment with the company priorities, can help with communication and resource needs.  

Building a Cohesive Team

With the core change identified, work was done to ensure that all of the core change team members committed to “prioritizing the leadership team and the organization above their own departments and commitments.” (Lencioni, 68) and engage in aligning to the five behaviors of cohesive teams; Building Trust, Mastering Conflict, Achieving Commitment, Embracing Accountability and Focusing on Results. (Lencioni, 26) This is step was critical because enabled the to team to establish themselves as a core unit focused on developing a new alignment and restructuring plan focused on the needs new team and cast aside personal biases that may have driven skewed outcomes.