Nothing
But the Truth About Change
by
Lana Walker-Helmuth
Book
The Truth About Managing People and Nothing But the Truth
by Stephen
P. Robbins
Prentice Hall, 2002
ISBN
0-13-146095-1
While perusing a book table at Barnes & Noble, my attention was drawn
to a pretty green book whose title promised the truth and nothing but
the truth about managing people. As a newly appointed supervisor, I was
intrigued. And, because of a sea of change at work, including the layoff
of my boss, I eagerly read the short chapter, "The Truth About Coping
With Change."
Here, I share author Stephen P. Robbins' insights, which are based on
thousands of research studies. I also throw in a few of my own comments.
Four Truths About Change
Robbins describes the four truths about change.
1. Most people resist any change that doesn't jingle in their pockets
We know that people resist change and do so overtly and covertly. We resist
for a number of reasons—we're creatures of habit, we like security,
we fear the unknown.
As a technical communicator, I've been involved in several software implementations.
I've witnessed tremendous resistance to new processes and different ways
of doing things. In my experience, usually managers deal with their employees'
resistance by trying to broker compromises, lending a sympathetic ear,
or simply ordering people to deal with it. I've seen all these methods
fail.
According to Robbins, the best way for a manager to deal with resistance
is to undermine the resistance by:
- providing rewards for accepting change
- communicating reasons for the change
- including the people who will be affected in the process
2. You can teach an old dog new tricks
Some believe that people over 50 just don't cut the mustard when it comes to adapting to new methods and techniques. Older people are perceived as being relatively inflexible, resistant to change, and not as trainable as younger people. This perception is especially prevalent regarding information technology skills.
The evidence shows, however, that older workers want to learn and are just as capable of learning as any other employee group. As technical communicators, we need to keep that in mind when we do audience analysis.
For technical communicators who themselves are targets of this misperception, it's good to know there is plenty of research to prove otherwise.
3. Use participation to reduce resistance to change
I've been around long enough to know that often managers merely announce a change and implement it. Although it's a common practice, it's not a good one.
Let's say you are enlightened and want to involve people in a change decision. Before doing a team huddle, though, Robbins says, consider whether the conditions are right for using participation.
- Is there adequate time for people to participate?
- Are the issues relevant to the employees' interests?
- Do the employees possess the ability (e.g., the appropriate technical
knowledge or communication skills) to participate?
- Will the organization's culture support employee involvement?
When these conditions are met, you can reap the rewards of participation—reduced resistance, commitment to the change, and increased quality of the change decision.
4. Layoffs are as tough on survivors as those who get laid off
Like many others in our field, I've been there a few times. Layoffs can severely affect those who remain. If the survivors' feelings of frustration, anxiety, and loss are ignored, the organization's performance will suffer.
Robbins offers a four-step approach for dealing with "survivor sickness."
Step 1: Get the process right. This includes:
- making the cuts clear and quick
- providing abundant information
- giving layoff victims adequate prior notification
- being emotionally honest
- explaining decisions openly
Step 2: Let people grieve to deal with repressed feelings and emotions. People need to release feelings before they can go on. Use of groups is one of the most effective ways of bringing emotions out.
Step 3: Break the chain of organizational dependence. This step offers a way to prevent survivor sickness in the first place. People need to move to having self-directed careers. Breaking dependency relationships is essentially up to the individual.
Step 4: Reshape the organization's systems to lessen processes that create dependency. Organizations historically have created codependence through:
- seniority systems
- loyalty expectations
- socialization processes to shape people
- long-term career planning
- nontransferable corporate pension plans
Robbins says organizations have to detach themselves from these paternalistic practices.
