It’s not all good news, but it must still be told, writes Ken Gunn
Managing organisational change when
the news is all bad requires a special
toolkit of managerial skills.
In our booming economy only 12
months ago senior managers were worried
about attracting and retaining talented staff
or managing expansion. Now, however, we
are being buffeted by waves of economic
crisis, forcing business leaders to consider
big changes.
The change in fortunes has been aston
ishing. One of our CEO Institute members,
management consultant Robert Wagner,
observes with chilling clarity the shift in
business confidence that he has witnessed
in recent months. “Five months ago, many
CEOs and managers were still pretty blasé
about the economic downturn; three
months ago, they were more concerned;
less than two months ago, people were
beginning to look ill.”
I want to share some tips for navigating
and surviving these tumultuous times. I will
look at the importance of communicative,
visionary leadership in dealing with issues
such as employee resistance to change and
common reasons for failure of organisational
change.
Create a shared sense of direction
Sandy Hollway of Sydney Olympics fame is
a CEO Institute Syndicate Chairman. He
says the key to surviving economic downturns is to set goals – creating a shared
sense of direction. Staff yearn for leader
ship. “Can somebody please re-establish a
goal, stick out a marker and tell us why it
should be pursued and how it will be
done?” he says. Whether it be downsizing
or merging, the goal needs to be communi
cated honestly. “If somebody is going to be
badly affected, you need to look them in the
eye and tell the truth.”
Hollway says leaders are responsible for
communicating hard messages; and that they
can’t assume such messages will be con
veyed through management levels.
Elements of change management
As managing partner of Harriss Wagner
Management Consultants, Robert Wagner
has many years experience in change man
agement. He says that effective leaders
understand four key elements: the key drivers
of the change; the consequences of not
changing; the approach that is being taken;
and how the desired change will look when it
is completed.
Wagner says: “During times of high stress,
the leaders of organisations must be proac
tive about discussing change and related
stresses. Collectively, and as individuals,
employees must feel supported in their fears
and concerns. Leaders must be frequent
communicators and empathetic listeners.”
Hang onto talent
As businesses look at ways to cut costs,
Wagner cautions against retrenching talented
employees who are costly to recruit and train.
“In our firm, we will avoid cutting knowledge
out of the business where possible. Times like
these create opportunities to build organisa
tion competency through professional devel
opment, while at the same time tapping into
peripheral markets to generate new business
opportunities.”
When employees have to be retrenched,
Hollway says, the reasons why are little consolation to the person losing their job. In
those circumstances, he says, “We get way
past technical issues of organisational change management and into issues of how, as
human beings, we treat each other. To those
people, we need to show sympathy, remorse
and concern.”