Identify four action steps for responding positively in times of change

Early research with individuals, groups, and organizations in the midst of environmental change found that change is often experienced as a threat that leads to a reliance on well-learned and dominant forms of behavior.²⁰ That is, in the midst of change, people often become rigid and reactive, rather than open and responsive. This may be useful if the change is neither dramatic nor rapid because we are often effective at coping with incremental change. However, if significant change occurs, then rigid and well-learned behavior may be counterproductive. Leaders may interpret these responses as resistance to change. Strong leaders recognize these behaviors as an opportunity to learn from their critics, to understand the rigidity and resistance, and to facilitate positive pathways through the change.²¹ The practice of outsourcing is a significant change in American industry that has been facilitated by dramatic advances in the Internet and networking technology.²² Big changes disrupt people's habitual behavior and require learning if they are to be managed successfully. Eric Brown, ProLine International's VP of Global Business Development, offers some sage words of advice to see the opportunity in change.²³ He recommends adapting to change by seeing it as positive and seeing challenge as good rather than bad. His action steps for doing this are to (1) have a positive attitude, (2) ask questions, (3) listen to the answers, and (4) be committed to success. We see in the accompanying Science feature how important a positive attitude toward change is.

However, success is never guaranteed, and change sometimes results in failure. If this happens, do not despair. Some of the world's greatest leaders, such as Winston Churchill, experienced dramatic failure before achieving lasting success. The key to their eventual success was their capacity to learn from the failure and to respond positively to the opportunities presented to them. One venture capitalist with whom the authors have worked likes to ask those seeking to build a business to tell him about their greatest failure. What the venture capitalist is looking for in the answer is how the executive responded to the failure and what he or she learned from the experience. While change carries with it the risk of failure as well as the opportunity for success, it is often how we behave in the midst of change that determines which outcome results. Success can come through the accumulation of small wins and through the use of microprocesses, as has been found with middle managers engaged in institutional change.²⁴ What are your perceptions

Science: A Strong, Positive Attitude Toward Change.

This research studied the dynamic and changing nature of organizations. There are a number of variables found to be associated with organizational changes that serve as mediators of outcomes of the change process. Not all changes result in good outcomes and not all change results in bad outcomes. What makes the difference? This study examined three variables that might affect the attitudes of 258 police officers toward a change aimed at restructuring its organizational design. The three variables were locus of control, growth need strength, and internal work motivation. Locus of control concerns one's personal beliefs about how much self-control one has versus how much control is due to chance or events in the environment. Growth need strength assesses how much a person needs to experience work as stimulating and challenging. Internal work motivation assesses one's self-initiative and personal drive. These three variables influence one's attitude toward change, which may be positive, as in looking forward to change, or weak, as in not looking forward to change. These all influence organizational commitment following the change. The results found that strong, positive attitudes toward change led to higher levels of organizational commitment as well as more successful implementation of change initiatives. The practical implications of this study suggest that employees with strong, positive attitude toward change work to ensure that a change initiative is successful. On the other hand, employees with weak attitudes toward change are likely to resist and potentially sabotage a change initiative.

SOURCE: S. M. Elias, “Employee Commitment in Times of Change: Assessing the Importance of Attitudes Toward Organizational Change,” Journal of Management 35 (2009): 37–55.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-04