cameron and green making-sense-of-change-management

The applicationsManaging the transition from old to newThis phase of a merger or acquisition, often known as integration, can bechaotic if it is not well managed. The ‘barnyard behaviour’ mentionedabove combined with high anxiety about the future can lead to goodpeople leaving and stress levels reaching all-time highs. Conflicts that arenot nipped in the bud at this stage can lead to huge and permanent riftsbetween the two companies involved.Tuckman’s model of team development is useful to explain what goes onin a new merged management team, or a newly merged sales team. We havealso added some suggestions for how to manage these phases. See Table 6.4.Timing for this stage is also important. The integration stage shouldneither be squeezed into an impossible two-week period, nor be treatedas an open-ended process that continues unaided for years. The need tosqueeze this phase into a two-week period comes from managementdenial of the very existence of integration issues. Conversely, the need tolet things take their course over time comes from a belief that time willsolve all the issues and they cannot be hurried. Therefore they areallowed to drag on and possibly get worse, and more entrenched.Bridges offers advice about managing the integration phase which wehave adapted to be directly useful for mergers and acquisitions:• Explain that the integration phase will be hard work and will need(and get) attention.• Set short-range goals and checkpoints.• Encourage experimentation and risk taking.• Encourage people to brainstorm with members of the new companyto find answers to both old and new problems.Managing beginningsIt is important to recognize when the timing is right to celebrate a newbeginning. Managers need to be careful not to declare victory too soon.Here are some ideas for this phase:• Be really clear about the purpose of the merger or acquisition, andkeep coming back to this as your bedrock.246