Making sense of change management

Praise for the previous editions of Making Sense of Change Management

‘I commend it highly. It has a good coverage of relevant theoretical work while at

the same time giving plenty of practical examples. It is written in an accessible

style that engages the reader and it is full of useful ideas without being overly

prescriptive or formulaic.’

Philip Sadler, author of a number of acclaimed business titles and

former chief executive of Ashridge Business School

‘I really enjoyed this book. I like the straightforward approach, the inclusion of the

author’s opinion and the insight provided by the case studies. This book will be

very useful for those business managers in my organization who need to prepare

themselves for tackling major organizational change.’

Andy Houghton, Managing Director of YSC and former Head of

Organization Development, Retail Direct, Royal Bank of Scotland

Group

‘There has long been a need for a readable, practical but theoretically under-pinned

book on Change which recognized a multiplicity of perspectives. By combining

the behavioural, humanistic, organizational and cognitive perspectives and by

helping the reader make sense of what each perspective brings to understanding

Change, this book should help students and practitioners. By linking in work on

personality tests such as MBTI™ the book breaks new ground from a practitioner

point of view not least because these tests are widely used in practice. I thoroughly

recommend it.’

Professor Colin Carnall, Chief Executive, Executive Education, Cass

Business School

‘If you’re interested in successfully managing and leading change, then read this

book! It not only covers change from both the individual and organizational

perspective, but also increases the number of options available to you.’

Judi Billing, former Director of IDeA Leadership Academy, Improvement

and Development Agency

‘Change is a huge thing wherever you work. The key is to make change happen,

and make it happen well – with everyone on side, and everyone happy. This book

i

provides an extremely stimulating and accessible guide to doing just that. There

are a few people at the Beeb who could do with this. I’ll definitely be placing copies

on a couple of desks at White City.’

Nicky Campbell, Presenter Radio Five Live and BBC1’s The Big

Questions

‘This book is a great resource for managers thrown into the midst of change, who

need to gain understanding of what happens when you try to make significant

changes in a business, and how best to manage people through it. The authors

have tackled a complex topic in a lively and engaging way, leading readers

through the maze of theory available and offering just the right amount of practical

advice.’

Andy Newall, Group HR Director United Biscuits and former

Organizational Effectiveness Director, Allied Domecq plc

‘This impressive book on change is an essential read for any professional manager

who is serious about getting to grips with the important issues of making change

happen.’

Dr Jeff Watkins, former MSc Course Director, Management Research

Centre, University of Bristol

‘This practical handbook, combining contemporary management theory with very

practical suggestions, is an indispensable tool for any manager involved in change

processes. And aren’t we all ...’

Adriaan Vollebergh, Director, Tata Steel Europe

‘This is a book which lives up to its title. By combining a guide to the ideas of

key thinkers on change and useful tips for making change happen, it really does

provide a toolkit to help us to make sense of change. It is useful to see a focus on

the individual, team and organizational levels, and in particular, on the role of the

leader in the change process. It is written in a way that makes the book interesting

to read both at length as well as to dip into.’

Dr Richard McBain, Head of Postgraduate Post Experience Programmes,

Henley Business School

ii

MAKING

SENSE OF

CHANGE

MANAGEMENT

iii

iv

THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

MAKING

SENSE OF

CHANGE

MANAGEMENT

A complete guide to the models, tools

and techniques of organizational change

3rd edition

Esther Cameron and Mike Green

THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

v

Publisher’s note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate

at the time of going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot accept responsibility for any

errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person

acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by

the editor, the publisher or either of the authors.

First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2004 by Kogan Page Limited

Second edition 2009

Third edition 2012

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as

permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be repro￾duced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of

the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences

issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the

publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

120 Pentonville Road

London N1 9JN

United Kingdom

www.koganpage.com

1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100

Philadelphia PA 19102

USA

4737/23 Ansari Road

Daryaganj

New Delhi 110002

India

© Esther Cameron and Mike Green, 2004, 2009, 2012

The right of Esther Cameron and Mike Green to be identified as the authors of this work has been

asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 978 0 7494 6435 6

E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6436 3

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cameron, Esther.

Making sense of change management : a complete guide to the models, tools, and techniques of

organizational change / Esther Cameron, Mike Green. – 3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7494-6435-6 – ISBN 978-0-7494-6436-3 1. Organizational change–Management.

2. Teams in the workplace–Management. 3. Reengineering (Management)

4. Information technology–Management. I. Green, Mike, 1959- II. Title.

HD58.8.C317 2012

658.4’06–dc23

2011048827

Typeset by Graphicraft Ltd, Hong Kong

Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd

vi

Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction 1

Who this book is aimed at 2; The basic content of the book 3;

Why explore different approaches to change? 4; Overview of

structure 6; Message to readers 9

PART ONE: THE UNDERPINNING THEORY 11

1 Individual change 14

Introduction 14; Learning and the process of change 16; The

behavioural approach to change 22; The cognitive approach

to change 28; The psychodynamic approach to change 36;

The humanistic psychology approach to change 45;

Personality and change 56; Managing change in self and

others 58; Summary and conclusions 66

Contents

Contents vii

Acknowledgements xi

WHO THIS BOOK IS AIMED AT 2

THE BASIC CONTENT OF THE BOOK 3

WHY EXPLORE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO CHANGE? 4

OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURE 6

MESSAGE TO READERS 9

The underpinning theory 11

INTRODUCTION 14

LEARNING AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE 16

THE BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH TO CHANGE 22

THE COGNITIVE APPROACH TO CHANGE 28

THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH TO CHANGE 36

T H E H U M A N I S T I C P S Y C H O L O G Y A P P R O A C H

TO CHANGE 45

PERSONALITY AND CHANGE 56

MANAGING CHANGE IN SELF AND OTHERS 58

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 66

Team change 69

INTRODUCTION 69

WHAT IS A GROUP AND WHEN IS IT A TEAM? 70

WHY WE NEED TEAMS 72

THE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL TEAMS 73

HOW TO IMPROVE TEAM EFFECTIVENESS 82

WHAT TEAM CHANGE LOOKS LIKE 85

THE LEADERSHIP ISSUES IN TEAM CHANGE 91

HOW INDIVIDUALS AFFECT TEAM DYNAMICS 95

HOW WELL TEAMS INITIATE AND ADAPT TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 101

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 105

Organizational change 107

HOW ORGANIZATIONS REALLY WORK 108

M O D E L S O F A N D A P P R O A C H E S T O

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 119

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 147

Leading change 151

INTRODUCTION 151

VISIONARY LEADERSHIP 156

ROLES THAT LEADERS PLAY 166

LEADERSHIP STYLES, QUALITIES AND SKILLS 174

D I F F E R E N T L E A D E R S H I P F O R D I F F E R E N T

PHASES OF CHANGE 184

T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F S E L F - K N O W L E D G E A N D

INNER RESOURCES 192

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 197

The change agent 201

INTRODUCTION 201

MODELS OF CHANGE AGENCY 202

THE CONSULTING PROCESS 205

CHANGE AGENT TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS 215

COMPETENCIES OF THE CHANGE AGENT 226

DEEPER ASPECTS OF BEING A CHANGE AGENT 233

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 252

The applications 255

STRATEGIC CHANGE PROCESS 256

OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURE 258

Restructuring 261

REASONS FOR RESTRUCTURING 263

THE RESTRUCTURING PROCESS 264

R E S T R U C T U R I N G F R O M A N I N D I V I D U A L

C H A N G E P E R S P E C T I V E :

THE SPECIAL CASE OF REDUNDANCY 285

E N A B L I N G T E A M S T O A D D R E S S

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 290

CONCLUSION 296

Mergers and acquisitions 297

T H E P U R P O S E O F M E R G E R

AND ACQUISITION ACTIVITY 298

LESSONS FROM RESEARCH INTO SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS 304

A P P L Y I N G T H E C H A N G E T H E O R Y :

GUIDELINES FOR LEADERS 319

SUMMARY 332

G U I D E L I N E S F O R A C H I E V I N G S U C C E S S F U L

CULTURAL CHANGE 338

CASE STUDY ONE: ALIGNING THE ORGANIZATION 341

CASE STUDY TWO: REBRANDING THE ORGANIZATION 348

CASE STUDY THREE: CREATING AN EMPLOYER BRAND 356

STRATEGY AND IT 365

THE ROLE OF IT MANAGEMENT 369

THE NEED FOR IT CHANGE MANAGERS 373

ACHIEVING PROCESS CHANGE 378

CHANGING THE INFORMATION CULTURE 385

NEW RULES FOR A NEW AGE 388

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 389

Emerging inquiries 391

Complex change 393

INTRODUCTION 393

WHEN IS CHANGE COMPLEX? 394

U N D E R S T A N D I N G H O W C O M P L E X I T Y S C I E N C E

APPLIES TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 395

TOOLS THAT SUPPORT COMPLEX CHANGE 405

THE ROLE OF LEADERS IN COMPLEX CHANGE 411

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 414

INTRODUCTION 416

T H E I M P A C T O F U N C E R T A I N T Y O N

OUR WORKING LIVES 418

DECISION MAKING IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD 430

S K I L L S A N D T O O L S T O S U P P O R T L E A D I N G

CHANGE THROUGH UNCERTAINTY 442

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 452

Conclusion 455

H O W T O G E T I N T O U C H W I T H T H E A U T H O R S

OF THIS BOOK 456

References 457

Index 471

vii

Contents ___________________________________________________________________

viii

2 Team change 69

Introduction 69; What is a group and when is it a team? 70;

Why we need teams 72; The types of organizational

teams 73; How to improve team effectiveness 82; What team

change looks like 85; The leadership issues in team

change 91; How individuals affect team dynamics 95; How

well teams initiate and adapt to organizational change 101;

Summary and conclusions 105

3 Organizational change 107

How organizations really work 108; Models of and

approaches to organizational change 119; Summary

and conclusions 147

4 Leading change 151

Introduction 151; Visionary leadership 156; Roles that

leaders play 166; Leadership styles, qualities and skills 174;

Different leadership for different phases of change 184;

The importance of self-knowledge and inner resources 192;

Summary and conclusions 197

5 The change agent 201

Introduction 201; Models of change agency 202;

The consulting process 205; Change agent tools and

frameworks 215; Competencies of the change agent 226;

Deeper aspects of being a change agent 233; Summary and

conclusions 252

PART TWO: THE APPLICATIONS 255

Strategic change process 256; Overview of structure 258

6 Restructuring 261

Reasons for restructuring 263; The restructuring process 264;

Restructuring from an individual change perspective: the

special case of redundancy 285; Enabling teams to address

organizational change 290; Conclusion 296

___________________________________________________________________ Contents

ix

7 Mergers and acquisitions 297

The purpose of merger and acquisition activity 298; Lessons

from research into successful and unsuccessful mergers and

acquisitions 304; Applying the change theory: guidelines for

leaders 319; Summary 332

8 Cultural change 334

Guidelines for achieving successful cultural change 338;

Case study one: aligning the organization 341; Case study

two: rebranding the organization 348; Case study three:

creating an employer brand 356

9 IT-based process change 362

Strategy and IT 365; The role of IT management 369;

The need for IT change managers 373; Achieving process

change 378; Changing the information culture 385;

New rules for a new age 388; Summary and conclusions 389

PART THREE: EMERGING INQUIRIES 391

10 Complex change 393

Introduction 393; When is change complex? 394;

Understanding how complexity science applies to

organizational change 395; Tools that support complex

change 405; The role of leaders in complex change 411;

Summary and conclusions 414

11 Leading change in uncertain times 416

Introduction 416; The impact of uncertainty on our working

lives 418; New organizational forms and ways of doing

business 424; New careers and the need for ‘managing

oneself’ 428; Decision making in an uncertain world 430;

Skills and tools to support leading change through

uncertainty 442; Summary and conclusions 452

Contents ___________________________________________________________________

x

Conclusion 455

How to get in touch with the authors of this book 456

References 457

Index 471

Acknowledgements

We want to start by acknowledging the many people in organizations

with whom we have worked over the years. You are all in here in some

shape or form! We have worked with many generous, courageous and

inspiring managers of change who we thank for the privilege of working

alongside them to make real change happen. Without these experiences

the book would be a dry catalogue of theory, devoid of life and character.

Then of course there are our colleagues who challenge and support us

every day as we reflect on our work and make decisions about what to do

next. Particular thanks go from Mike to Andy Holder, Mhairi Cameron,

Philip Darley and Tim Hockridge, who probably do not know how much

they are appreciated, and to Mike’s MBA and Executive Education Pro￾gramme Members at Henley Business School for a never-ending supply

of ideas and challenges. Esther wants to specially acknowledge Nick

Mayhew for his encouragement, wisdom and sensitive feedback, particu￾larly in relation to Chapter 11, Anne-Marie Saunders and Alex Clark for

their humour, friendship and generosity in sharing their expertise; so many

of their insights are embedded in this book. Also, thanks go to Esther’s

learning set who really boosted the leadership chapter in particular.

xi

xii

Acknowledgements __________________________________________________________

Thanks too to Bill Critchley for his ideas on linking metaphor and change,

which form the bedrock of the organizational change chapter.

Really special thanks go to Ailsa Cameron for her wonderful pictures,

which soften the pages so beautifully.

We also want to thank from the bottom of our hearts the hard-working

reviewers who squeezed the time out of their busy agendas to read

draft versions of these chapters. Special thanks go to Louise Overy,

Steve Summers, Duncan Cameron, Mervyn Smallwood, Peter Hyson,

Richard Lacey and Richard Smith for their timely and thoughtful

suggestions throughout the iterative process of writing the book.

Our families have helped too by being very patient and supportive. So

love and thanks from Mike to his children Lewin, Oliver and Brigit, who

make it all worthwhile. Love and thanks too from Esther to Duncan,

Ailsa, Ewan and Katka amongst many others who have walked dogs and

cleaned-up when I’ve had my head in my PC.

We also want to thank each other. We have learnt a lot from this rich

and sometimes rocky process of writing a book together. We do not

always see things the same way, and we do not work from an identical

set of assumptions about change, so the book is the culmination of much

healthy airing of views. Let’s hope we are still writing, talking and enjoy￾ing each other’s company many years from now.

Note: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator™ and MBTI™ are registered trade￾marks of Consulting Psychologists Press. Anyone interested in knowing

more about Myers-Briggs should contact Consulting Psychologists Press

in the United States (800-624-1765) and OPP in the UK (08708 728 727).

Introduction

I balance on a wishing well that all men call the world.

We are so small between the stars, so large against the sky,

and lost amongst the subway crowd I try and catch your eye.

L Cohen

This book is about making sense of

change management. The world we live

in continues to change at an intense

rate. Not a day goes by, it seems, with￾out another important discovery or

boundary-pushing invention in the

scientific fields. The economics of global￾ization seems to dominate much of our

political and corporate thinking, while

the shadow side of globalization – re￾fugees, exploitation, terrorism and the like

– develops at an equally alarming pace.

1

Making sense of change management ___________________________________________

2

The rate of change and discovery outpaces our individual ability to

keep up with it. The organizations we work in or rely on to meet our

needs and wants are also changing dramatically, in terms of their strate￾gies, their structures, their systems, their boundaries and of course their

expectations of their staff and their managers.

WHO THIS BOOK IS AIMED AT

Making Sense of Change Management is aimed at anyone who wants to

begin to understand why change happens, how change happens and

what needs to be done to make change a more welcoming concept. In

particular we hope that leaders and managers in organizations might

appreciate a book that does not give them the one and only panacea, but

offers insights into different frameworks and ways of approaching

change at an individual, team and organizational level.

We are mindful of the tremendous pressures and priorities of prac￾tising managers – in both the private and the public sector – and Making

Sense of Change Management is our attempt at making their lives that little

bit easier. It is also our attempt at convincing them that addressing the

issues that cause change to be so poorly managed in organizations will

lead not only to more satisfying experiences for them, but to more fulfill￾ing lives for their staff.

Framework: an essential supporting structure;

Model: a simplified description of a system;

Tool: a thing used in an occupation or pursuit;

Technique: a means of achieving one’s purpose.

Concise Oxford Dictionary

Students of learning – be they MBA or MSc programme members, or

individuals who just want to do things better – will hopefully find some

models, tools and techniques that bridge the gap between the purely

academic and the more pragmatic aspects of management theory and

________________________________________________________________ Introduction

3

practice. The intention is to help them to make sense of the changes that

they will undergo, initiate and implement.

THE BASIC CONTENT OF THE BOOK

We focus our attention on individual, team and organizational change

with good reason. Many readers will be grappling with large-scale change

at some point, which might be departmental, divisional or whole organ￾izational change. Whatever the level or degree of organizational change,

the people on the receiving end are individual human beings. It is they

who will ultimately cause the change to be a success or a failure. Without

looking at the implications of change on individuals we can never really

hope to manage large-scale change effectively.

In addition, one of the themes of organizational life over recent years

has been the ascendancy of the team. Much of today’s work is organized

through teams and requires team collaboration and teamworking for it to

succeed. Very little has been written about the role of teams in organiza￾tional change, and we have attempted to offer some fresh ideas mixed

with some familiar ones.

A thread running through the book is the crucial role of leadership. If

management is all about delivering on current needs, then leadership is

all about inventing the future. There is a specific chapter on leadership,

but you will find the importance of effective leadership arising throughout.

In some respects the chapters on individual, team and organizational

change, together with the chapter on leadership of change, are freestand￾ing and self-contained. However, we have also included application

chapters where we have chosen a number of types of change, some of

which, no doubt, will be familiar to you. These chapters aim to provide

guidelines, case studies and learning points for those facing specific

organizational challenges. Here the individual, team and organizational

aspects of the changes are integrated into a coherent whole.

In addition to the application chapter on managing complex change

that we added for the second edition, we have added two new chapters

for the third edition – one on the role and nature of the change agent and

another on leading change in uncertain times.