1.5 - About University

1. The first meeting: Endings. They announced the change and the upcoming layoffs. Themeeting was focused on letting go of the past, listening to employees, and inviting peopleto express their feelings.2. The next meeting, a week later, created the inevitable Turmoil as the new organizationalstructure was reviewed with employees. The focus was on the transition from lettinggo to beginning a new future.3. The final meeting, a month later, focused on New Beginnings. Plans were made andgoals clarified.One person in the organization expressed her feelings about the three-step process thisway: “I’ve been through downsizing before and never want to go through one of these exercisesagain, but this was by far the least traumatic. Normally, at the first meeting, managers,uneasy with the emotions of layoffs, would quickly shift the meeting discussion to the ‘brightfuture ahead,’ while employees listening could only think of the traumatic present.”L EADING THE PEOPLE SIDE OF CHANGE1. Endings 2. Turmoil1.3. New beginnings➟• INSERT➟ART• People experience a loss ofthe old ways.• People need to vent.• The leader needs to listen.current productivitylevelA period of uneasiness andstress follows letting go of thepast.• Often, lower productivityresults.• People want the best of bothworlds, old and new.transition productivityfinalcurrentproductivityleveltransitionproductivity• People come to accept andeven value the new way.• Leaders attain the benefit ofchange.increasedproductivityProductivity goes down during the turmoil phase, as people struggle to learn and masterthe new way of doing things. If they don’t understand the human need for transitional spaceor time, leaders might panic as productivity temporarily drops. They then begin anotherchange, on top of the old change, in an attempt to fix things and regain lost productivity. Thiscan create additional turmoil and stress, and possibly an additional decrease in productivity.H OW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL“Some changes are so slow you don’t notice them, others are so fast they don’t notice you.”© Ashleigh BrilliantLeaders cannot force transitions, but they can facilitate and expedite them. Use this checklistto plan effective people transition in your organization.SECTION 5 TOOLS FOR LEADING CHANGE 161