How a 'Change Masterclass' helped me to put things in perspective
On Tuesday 25th March I attended a Change Masterclass in Manchester concerned with implementing change. It was run by
the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and was very effectively facilitated by Helen May and Andrew Fleming. The fact that there was a fairly small group of delegates meant that
there was plenty of useful discussion.
Whilst I am excited about taking on a new role I also feel a
certain sense of trepidation at leading a project which will involve quite
significant changes. The Change Masterclass helped me to put things in
perspective and enabled me to view the role in a different light.
Having reflected on the experience over the past week, here
are the main points which I think were relevant for me:
Public performance and backstage activity
I had been thinking about my new role very much in project
management terms, as that is how the job was originally envisaged. I was
therefore expecting the role to be all about deliverables and Gantt charts and
budgets and risks and so on. What I've realised is that programmes which seek
to bring about genuine cultural change within an organisation cannot rely
solely on project management approaches if they are to be successful. What
really matters is change leadership. Buchanan and Boddy (1992) refer to the
idea of 'public performance and backstage activity'. The 'public
performance' of those responsible for bringing about change (change agents) may
have to be one which follows the traditional project management approach, in
which everything is presented rationally and logically. However, behind this
public performance there is a lot of 'backstage activity' through which support
is gained and resistance is dealt with. This backstage activity will typically
involve a lot of listening, negotiating, selling ideas, and building relationships.
Being a change agent therefore involves following the script and presenting the traditional role of project manager to
those who require evidence of formal progress within the system, but actually doing a
lot of the 'political' work behind the scenes, backstage.
Being positive
It is vitally important to focus on the positive. Change is
too often presented as a solution to a problem rather than an opportunity. Of
course there will be resistance to change, but rather than fearing this resistance
we should embrace it as evidence of engagement.
Pipes and platforms
Good communication is critical but we need to think about
how we communicate. The analogy of 'pipes and platforms' was used. In 'pipes'
there is a linear flow: information is produced at one end and pushed out to be
consumed at the other. With 'platforms' the information isn't just pushed out,
but rather it is placed on a platform where users can engage with it and
contribute to it. The best example to distinguish between pipes and platforms
is to consider traditional TV channels as being 'pipes' whilst YouTube is a
'platform'. The internet has facilitated a shift towards the 'platform' model
in many areas of our lives and enabled us to engage in more meaningful
communication.
Goals and unintended consequences
We obviously have to be clear about our goal, even though we
may not know exactly what the goal will look like, nor how we will actually get
there. Nevertheless, we should at least be clear about why we are heading
there. Having said that, the final outcomes of any change programme can be
completely different to those envisaged, and may even be counter-intuitive, so
it is unwise to plan everything in minute detail. We need to be flexible and
agile, and capable of responding to emerging ideas and other factors
as they arise. We can never be absolutely certain about the impact which
changes will have on an organisation, and it is not uncommon for unanticipated
side-effects to emerge. These side-effects can be both positive and negative.
Reference:
Buchanan, D., and Boddy D. (1992) The Expertise of the Change Agent: Public Performance and Backstage Activity. New York: Prentice Hall
