Presentation Change Management

When the Team is Not a Team: The Blues versus the Greens

Two companies merged and had trouble adapting to one culture and organizational identity

Individuals from both sides undermined each other and had trouble getting along

Management was unwilling or unable to make changes or meditate to benefit the teams

Business politics and issues began to slow company growth and sink stock prices

Senior leadership finally intervened and hired a respected facilitator to get teams on the same page

Both leadership teams began to find common ground and started to build trust with one another

The Blues versus the Greens: Recognizing Team Related Issues

Seeing

Credible source confirms issues between members of both merger teams. Absence of change leadership or integration between team members

Individuals begin to speak on the issues honestly with team and senior leadership

Feeling

Shock sets in and individuals start to feel the issues, but take an optimistic approach. Frustration and anger begin to subside because of increased communication and honesty

Changing and Seeing It

Guiding team slowly begin to make necessary changes and speak honestly with individuals on the issues

Feeling

Distrust between teams decreases and optimism begins to ramp up

Changing

Guiding group in charge of leading change begins to to create a cohesive team between the two involved in the merger

The Blues versus the Greens - Recognizing the Issues at Hand

The individuals tasked with driving change were not doing their job, both sides of the merger were undermining each other, and senior management did not want to confront the issue

Leadership at the top was fragmented and left the company with no cohesive force to drive change

The dynamic shifted after facilitation, which allowed individuals within the company to show emotionally honest behavior, speak on the difficult subjects, connected the feelings of others, and did so without being criticized or shot down.

Large scale changes cannot happen without a strong, cohesive guiding force leading the change

Putting Together an Effective Guiding Team

Effective Guiding Teams Have Two Characteristics

Made up of the right people for the task or project

Individuals on the team demonstrate the ability to work effectively in a team setting

Individuals that possess appropriate skills, leadership capacity, organizational credibility, and the connections to handle specific types of organizational change

Individuals who show the capacity to highly perform in a team-oriented situation

Contributing Factors to Putting the Wrong People in Charge

Historical factors

Mergers/acquisitions

Too much success

Company politics

Senior leadership indifference

The New and Diverse Team - Real Life Example

Company kept purchasing competition and relied on a culture of growth through acquisition and assimilation rather than organizational change

This method required the company to change and focus on organic growth because they had acquired most of the competition in the industry

Senior leadership and the chief operating officer created the framework for organic growth by assembling a diverse leadership team

The team represents various departments, experiences, skills, and background which had been lacking from their leadership teams before the shift in company culture

The Creation of the Guiding Group

A single individual who feels sense of urgency pulls in the first few members

Individuals are selected by possessing the right combination of abilities

Relevant knowledge

Credibility

Valid information

Formal authority

Leadership skills

Team is formed by pulling good candidates in and occasionally pushing people out

Pulling means showing potential candidates the importance of being chosen for the team and helps them understand the privilege it entails.

Usually works to inspire and motivate the individual

Pushing is the steps necessary to rectify the issues or problems presented to the group. This can be firing a person or undertaking other emotion-packed actions.

Formation of guiding group at the top will often create additional groups at lower levels

Teams lower in the hierarchy help foster change within their units/department and help drive the overall change process

General Mollo and I Floating in the Water - Real Life Example

South African armies joined forces to create the National Defense Force

Each commander of their respective force had reservations about joining forces with other armies for fear of change

Each commander began to voice their opinions and concerns with one another which started to establish some trust between each individual

De Vries and Mollo were on a boat together that capsized and threw both overboard

Mollo could not swim and De Vries held on to him until help arrived

The two shared stories with one another while they waited for help

They began to establish trust during this “moment of truth” situation

Methods for Establishing Trust

Show individuals what is needed through modeling or taking the lead

Act with emotion and conviction

As trust begins to be established, add new activities and new settings to test the foundation

When the group hits a “moment of truth” event, hold on to the story and share it as vividly and dramatically as possible. This act will reinforce to others what the individuals and group have endured together

The Issue of Trust in a Team Setting

Although having the “right” people on the team is important, the group must also work well together and foster trusting relationships with one another

Trust is often a missing piece to guiding groups and senior management teams

Low levels of trust can be acceptable if work is routine and changes are small in scale

With big changes in a fast moving world, the need for high levels of trust are a necessity if the proposed changes are going to be effective