LDR 615 What types of obstacles/objections do leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization?

One aspect of change that we must take very seriously is the effect and perception said change will have on our stakeholders and their values. One huge potential issue is the communication of how change will affect the organization the risk it will represent to the stakeholders. If they feel the risk is a high endeavor that they don’t agree with, it could cause a loss of backing that could literally pull the floor out from under the organization. Looking at perception, this ties greatly with communication. If a change is implemented and not properly communicated, regardless of the truth of the matter, their perception, or mis-perception rather, will be the only way they view this change.

The following from PMI, Project Management Institute, explains the stakeholder importance on change in an organization.

“Once a project or program manager has garnered a few years’ experience of project or program management, it can become clear how one of the key determining success factors for the project is, in fact, everyone and anyone who can be impacted by the project. Specifically, the stakeholders of the project—team members, customers, and peripheral parties—determine whether the changes introduced will last or not. If the adoption of the project deliverables is poor and perceived unfavorably, the project can be considered a failure. Additionally, if a stakeholder of considerable influence to the effort doesn’t “buy in” and support it, and the impact of the stakeholder’s negative influence isn’t properly calculated and mitigated, this lack of buy in can bring a project to an early close with unrealized benefits. Stakeholder perspectives cast a particular light on the project in which the project outcomes are assessed, and projects live on in infamy as failures or successes depending on a stakeholder experience.

Properly identifying and diagnosing where the project and program issues may potentially come from in the project periphery is arguably critical to the success of any effort. And since many of these issues can come from natural human aversions to change, our level of effectiveness in responding appropriately to the aversion becomes critical.

Typically stakeholders are assessed early in the project when developing a stakeholder management plan, communications plan, schedule, and so forth. A good project or program manager continues to visit these plans to ensure they are accurate and up-to-date throughout the life of the effort.

When building these project and program management tools, the quality and accuracy of the stakeholder “capture” can be increased when using tools from a slightly different practice—change management.

Change management is “a comprehensive, cyclic and structured approach for transitioning individuals, groups and organizations from a current state to a future state with intended business benefits” (Project Management Institute, 2013). The study and practice of change management work to productively structure the anticipation of, organization of, and response to individual and group reactions to the introduction of a change to an environment. Given that projects and programs regularly are structured to produce intended changes to an environment, there is clearly overlap and opportunity in leveraging the practice of change management to aid in successful implementation of those intended changes.

LDR 615 What types of obstacles objections do leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization

The practice (and arguably, the art) of change management focuses on the “human” element to what typically plays out in a project or program. Change management is built on a study of human reactions to change. The study has subsequently identified tools with which to capture the possible reactions, which can then be utilized to better help the project or program manager respond to these reactions. The response can be translated to the project or program management styles, tools, and approaches used to govern the initiative. For example, identifying possible negative resistance to a particular project deliverable may result in an increase in budget to fund mitigative efforts, additional tasks to aid in change adoption, new resources for communication efforts, and so forth”. (Rittenhouse, 2015)

Thanks,

Resource:

Rittenhouse, J. (2015, October 10). Improving stakeholder management using change management tools. PMI. Retrieved November 14, 2021, from https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/improve-stakeholder-management-9901

Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our Verified MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS LDR 615 What types of obstacles/objections do leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization?:

As a manager instituting change or partnering with my staff to institute change, I could not agree with you more that confusion is one of the largest complaints I hear. When I am formulating a plan, I try to run through it many times to ensure it is clear, yet once the process is implemented, there is always questions. This is an area as a manager I previously have become defensive as I thought I had planned it well and clearly, to find out it was not to those that are implementing the change. Partnering with staff to help incorporate change is a powerful tool a leader can use, to ensure clarity and that all the seeps are covered. In the times of COVID change was being implemented at an unprecedented rate and partnering with my unit-based council was the key to receive feedback from staff, answer questions, help dispel fears and myths. A leader must check in often, be open to adapting, have a listening heart and willingness to understand the feelings of fear and uncertainty to be successful in any change (Kotter & Cohen, 2002).

Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. S. (2002). The heart of change real-life stories of how people change their organizations [e-book]. Harvard Business Review Press . https://doi.org/https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/9781422187340/epub/OEBPS/Text/02_Title_Pa.html#

Clarity is such a critical component to the overall success of the change process. The benefits of clarity throughout the change process are a clearly outlined vision, decision making process, and expected outcomes. Clarity and effective communication go hand in hand, therefore without clarity communication is ineffective. When leadership provide clarity in their communication, this also builds trust and strengthens relationships amongst employees. Focusing on the change initiative offers a variety of benefits to the employees, leaders, and organization. The employees benefit by having support and available resources for adaptation during the change initiative. The leaders benefit by keeping the focus on change initiative by keeping the momentum going as the changes are occurring. The organization benefit by keeping the focus on the change initiatives by ensuring the proper dedication to make the changes necessary and an ongoing innovative culture.

Too many leaders can make everything confusing and fragmented (Schlachter & Hildebrandt, 2012). Those not in a formal position to influence the change need to take this opportunity instead to change their attitude, behavior, and beliefs. Organizational change and personal change have substantial similarities. Individuals need to identify what they want to change, what the change looks like, and milestones to meet the change along the way. The most apparent reason vision communication fails is a lack of clarity (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). Because good communication is not just data transfer, great leaders need to show people something that addresses their anxieties, accepts their anger, is credible, and evokes faith in the vision. Understanding what people are feeling before communicating is needed to speak to anxieties, confusion, anger, and distrust, ridding communication channels of junk so that important messages can go through.

References

Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. S. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Harvard Business Review Press.

Schlachter, C., & Hildebrandt, T. (2012). Backseat Leaders. Leadership Excellence, 29(10), 7–8.

Thanks for the post! Having clear and focused change initiates when implementing change is essential for the change to be successful. According to Rozen (n.d.). “It’s when economic conditions are most unstable that companies most often need to change and change quickly if they are to survive. Managers, then, face a daunting task. To help their organizations weather a downturn, they need to ensure that employees fully buy into change initiatives and make the necessary alterations in their day-to-day behavior–at precisely the same time their employees are likely to be most anxious about, and resistant to, change”. When change is presented, it usually brings anxiety and fear to staff with the uncertainty of what it will mean for them in their roles. As a manager being able to have a clearly defined outline to present to staff will help relieve some of the stress and anxiety that staff are fearful of. There are five types of unclarity that occurs through organizational change consisting of unclarity of change narrative, expectations, roles and rules, procedures, and status and sense of competency (Rozen, n.d.). It is important to inform staff exactly what you want, model the change that you are asking for, and measure success on an ongoing basis to help increase clarity and reduce anxiety within the organization. Having effective communication within all staff of the organization will help guide, provide a clarified view of the change purpose, focus, and goals to have a successful implemented change (Llopis, 2014). Communication is essential!

References

Llopis, G. (2014). Change management requires leadership clarity and alignment. https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/06/30/change-management-requires-leadership-clarity-and-alignment/?sh=795b12993e3c Rozen, M. (n.d.). Clarity is the key to organizational change. Here are three actionable things you can do about it. https://www.drmichellerozen.com/clarity-is-the-key-to-organizational-change/

communicate in a clear and concise manner. The goal of the change agent is to create a vision and transform practices and beliefs to align to the new organizational process. Change agents require to be effective communicators to assist the stakeholders in the organization see how they fit into the new process. The change agent must have a communication strategy to be able to facilitate organizational transformation. According to Westford University there are 5 steps to clear and effective communication which include, positive work culture. Communication is the heart of a great work culture. When stakeholders are clear about what is expected of them it is known to boost organizational productivity, job satisfaction which results in a positive work culture. Clear communication facilitates growth of the organization. When stakeholders have a clear idea of the organizations vision and goals it promotes a culture of innovation and growth. Clear communication builds an effective team which helps with empathy that helps in building rapport and builds enthusiasm and productivity. Clear communication establishes transparency among stakeholders which generates trust that the organization has the best interest at heart while developing an organization that fosters growth. Lastly, clear communication build on trust allows for stakeholders to be open and clear which builds the organizations reputation.

References

Westford University College. (2018). 5 Reasons Why Clear And Effective Communication Is Important. https://www.mywestford.com/blog/5-reasons-why-clear-and-effective-communication-is-important/

LDR 615 What types of obstacles/objections do leaders face from stakeholders when implementing change within an organization?