Managing Change the CEO way

I was having dinner with a group of top executives in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday evening. One of them is Mr. KK Chew, Deputy Chairman of multinational corporations based in Dubai and with offices throughout Asia. We discussed about how Chief Executive Officers can participating in bringing about changes in organizations. Change is needed because of globalization and our borderless world.

They shared with me their change management experiences. Grace, Head of her corporation legal department shared that:- “Undergoing change is invariably a difficult experience, which is why companies as well as individuals spend a great deal of time and energy attempting to manage the timing and speed of the process.”

KK mentioned:- “ But change often has a force and motion of its own and cannot be controlled. In such instances, good leadership is crucial. But in the volumes of literature on how to implement effective change, there is surprisingly little attention paid to the role of the one person. What should the CEO be doing, and how different is this role to that of the executive team or the initiative's sponsors? “

At the end of the 3 hours discussion, to effect changes, we agreed on the followings :-

Making the transformation meaningful. People will go much further for a cause they can believe in. Therefore a powerful transformation story can help employees believe in the effort by answering their big questions, which can range from how the change will affect the company to how it will affect them. The CEO's willingness to and ability to make things personal, to engage others openly and to spotlight successes as they emerge can make a huge difference.

Role-modeling desired mindsets and behavior. The CEO is the organization's chief role model. Successful CEOs typically embark on their own personal transformation journey, and if they do this successfully their actions encourage employees to support and practice new kinds of behavior. Naranyana Murthy's 2002 decision to take on the role of ‘chief mentor' at Infosys meant that he had to lay aside his formal CEO responsibilities. "You have to sacrifice yourself for a big cause before you can ask others to do the same," he says. "A good leader knows how to retreat into the background gracefully while encouraging his successor to be more and more successful in the job."

Building a strong and committed top team. To harness the transformative power of the top team, CEOs must make tough decisions about who has the motivation and ability to make the journey. This means spending time assessing the abilities of individual team members and acting swiftly on the result. Many CEOs find it useful to map team members on a matrix, with "business performance" on one axis and "role-modeling desired behavior" on another. Those in the top right box (desired behavior, high performance) are the organization’s stars, and those in the bottom left box (undesired behavior, low performance) should be motivated, developed or dismissed.

Relentlessly pursuing impact. Organizational energy -- collective motivation, enthusiasm and intense commitment -- is a crucial ingredient of a successful transformation. There is no substitute for a CEO directing his or her personal energy toward ensuring that the company's efforts have an impact. Leaders must be willing to leave the executive suite to help difficult operational issues.

CEO can definitely generate the change energy dynamics in the organization. CEO needs to market the benefits of the change to key management and leaders in the organization. When the top management and leaders accept the change, then the change process will be more effective.


We also discussed about the characteristics of a transition leader in the changing world market

Transition

In today’s deregulating and increasingly competitive business environment, organizational change is becoming inevitable. Today’s successful organizations are experiencing transitions in the areas of technology, process reengineering, mergers, and organizational restructuring in order to remain competitive. However, although these areas impact employees at all levels of the company, senior management often overlooks this fact. Therefore, it is imperative that company management understands the impact of organizational change on employees and manages these effects accordingly. By doing so, organizational leaders minimize the negative impact change has on productivity and performance.


Given the impact that change has on employees, it is clear that managers must learn to proactively manage employees through the many changes that are inherent in most organizations. In geospatial environments, managers and other key stakeholders often focus on technological and process changes that will make their businesses competitive in the 21st century. These issues are important, but the changes ultimately will not be implemented successfully without the cooperation of employees. Only through effective transition leadership are employees able to effectively cope with and accept the changes they are presented with.

The characteristics of a transition leader:-

Gains support from and confidence of others. Change is not accepted and work cannot be done without the buy-in of key management and leadership in the organization. For this reason, it is imperative that a transition leader gains the support and confidence of other key employees in the organization.


Listens and collaborates effectively. No matter how good a manager is, people will not follow without a sense of ownership in the organization. One of the key ways to secure this ownership and trust in employees is through listening and collaboration.


Takes accountability. As with any effective manager, successful transition leaders take accountability for their own work as well as that of the entire organization that he or she manages.


Provides constructive feedback to others. Transition leaders also provide constructive feedback to employees and colleagues. This type of feedback enables employees to be more effective in adapting to and accepting change.


Builds relationships with customers, peers, and project team members. Effective transition leaders are also successful in building relationships with customers, peers, and project members. This alliance building enables leaders to effectively delegate and gain the buy-in from key resources, which further enables change within the organization.


Inspires and motivates. In order to manage change effectively in the organization, transition leaders need to have inspired employees and stakeholders.


Communicates openly, early, and often. Since change is such a complex and fearsome idea for most people, it is important for transition leaders to open the flow of communication. This holds true on a day-to-day basis as well (and especially) during times of change.


Provides clear direction. In order for the organization to get to where it needs to be, employees and stakeholders have to understand where they are and where the organization is going. With this in mind, transition leaders need to clearly communicate the organization’s vision and goals to stakeholders and clarify individual roles and responsibilities within that context.


Models the way for the team. Successful transition leaders do more than just delegate work and build relationships. They also lead by example in order to build credibility and trust.


Creates opportunities for small wins. The change involved in large scale and complex IT implementations often appears insurmountable to employees. Therefore, it is important to frequently reward and recognize team members to help boost morale and to keep change initiatives from failing due to a burned-out staff.

These 10 characteristics of a good transition leader ensure that change is implemented successfully and that major obstacles and resistances to change are minimized.