Canadian HR Reporter

Strategic capability Network'S paNel of thought leaders brings decades of experience from the senior ranks of Canada's business community. eir commentary puts HR management issues into context and looks at the practical implications of proposals and policies. Canadian HR RepoRteR September 22, 2014 exeCutIVe seRIes 9 www.scnetwork.ca employers fear letting go of command-and-control Members of organizations at any level will readily agree that attempts to introduce change often have dismal success records. Yet employers continue to follow a traditional change model of attempting to secure commitment by creating a "burning platform" — a compelling fear of not chang- ing. ey demonstrate a command-and- control approach to change. Why? Focus on closing gaps: Organiza- tions often see problem-solving in the simple context of closing gaps as opposed to leveraging capabili- ties. is mindset is about looking at what is wrong versus looking at what is working. When this mind- set is extended to managing behav- ioural change, it often results in an analytical, education-focused and standardized rollout approach. An opportunity is lost to understand the contributing factors in areas that already have positive, desired results and have the potential to spread change throughout the organization from the ground up. Not understanding when to let go: employers don't differentiate the types of changes they are try- ing to make. ey expect education will ultimately result in the desired change. Where the change is a read- ily accepted solution to a simple problem, or where no behavioural change is required, knowledge in the form of education or tools such as a checklist may be sufficient and may be a welcome response. however, where change requires acceptance of a behavioural change, education will likely fall short of the goal. Indi- viduals in the organization need to first appreciate and accept the need to change and then have the motiva- tion and discipline to actually imple- ment it. Not understanding when and how to use best practices: Best practices are developed within spe- cific contexts. What works in one may not be successful in a different context. Best practices are helpful in two regards: Where the problems are simple or rote routines that don't de- pend on culture or specific work con- text and adopting a tool or approach is perceived as useful; or as a thought stimulator where a change in thinking is required to show different ways of approaching a problem. In either in- stance, looking at best practices cuts through "not invented here" manage- ment and expands thinking beyond the confines of normal organizational practices. Not knowing how to let go: ere is a difference between abdi- cation and letting go. Involving the broader membership of the organi- zation in determining the course and type of change still requires the par- ticipation of senior leaders. Leader support — not micromanaging — is needed in defining the overall result objective and setting any parameters that are truly not negotiable. Support also includes providing resources to teams, demonstrating trust in teams in accepting various solutions to reach the desired result, and moni- toring the overall track record of the various parts of the organization to- ward meeting the desired result. Not knowing how to work in a "let go" organization: At all lev- els, members of an organization may look up the organization for answers to problems. engagement of the broader organization, along with the freedom and responsibility to find solutions, may be a no-brain- er for some — but for others, it may represent a major culture shift. In the latter instance, there may be little ex- perience or expertise to know how to work toward solutions. ere will be a learning curve and there may be bumps along the way, requiring on- going support and encouragement. Not understanding how to use and reconcile internal best prac- tices: As various teams look for solutions, there will be variation in the resulting practices. Practices can be improved by ongoing shar- ing among teams on what they are doing: what is working, what is not working. rough sharing, practices can evolve to a better and more com- mon practice overall. A few specific work environments may require specific provisions, but these will still benefit from the experience of shar- ing and an understanding by others of the special requirements. Although letting go of a com- mand-and-control management approach to change seems to be risky, scary and demonstrate a lack of leadership, leaders cannot deny that many changes in their organizations fail to stick even though significant expertise and resources are commit- ted to the initiative. e truth is, organizations cannot effectively force complex behav- ioural change to occur at the indi- vidual and cultural level. Using what appears to be a more risky approach can actually be more effective and sustainable. the only reasonable course of action is often to "let go." Karen Gorsline is SCNetwork's lead com- mentator on strategic capability and leads HR Initiatives, a consulting practice fo- cused on facilitation and tailored HR ini- tiatives. Toronto-based, she has taught HR planning, held senior roles in strategy and policy, managed a large decentralized HR function and directed a small business. She can be reached at gorslin@pathcom.com. Karen gorsline Strategic Capability being positively hierarchical "What do you mean it took three years to get hand-washing to desired levels?" During Michael Gardam's engaging presentation on change man- agement and positive deviance, I kept going back to this challenge of get- ting hospital staff to embrace a new standard. Have we so forgotten that the point of work is to achieve organizational strategy and increase shareholder value (how- ever defined) that we are prepared to tolerate three years of the potential spread of super- bugs in hospitals while we get everyone on board? I am a shareholder in Ontario health care and I find that unacceptable. e means by which Gardam ulti- mately achieved the reduction of superbug transmissions is fascinat- ing , and it joins a chorus of powerful new ideas about bottom-up, emer- gent change and complex adaptive systems. But from the perspective of organizational effectiveness, and of the timely achievement of strategy, sometimes leveraging top-down hierarchical authority is the better call. After all, it is inevitable that we work in hierarchies — it is in our nature. So let's take advantage of that and use the mechanisms within "positive hierarchies" that promote change, not hinder it: strategic in- tent, managerial accountability and effective managerial leadership. Without strategic intent at the executive level, bottom-up change will peter out or, at best, live on in isolation. Gardam took his orders to reduce the spread of superbugs from the executive level of the University health network, not the ward staff. Without that intent, his change ef- forts would not have even begun. Without managerial accountabil- ity, change is unlikely to stick. Unless all managers at all levels are held to account (by their own managers) to implement change, then change is driven by individuals' sense of responsibility, not the strategic will of the organization — and, as such, it will be adopted indiscriminately. With managerial accountability, any initiative (including transfor- mational change) flows from the C-suite to the shop floor (or ward) like it's riding a conveyor belt with quality assurance checkpoints. Re- ciprocally, if all direct reports are held accountable to provide their best advice to their managers who are accountable to listen to that best advice, then tactical, continuous im- provement (team change) goes the other way as well. Finally, by holding managers to account for continuously growing team capability, change is inevitable, encouraged and ongoing. Current practices in effective managerial leadership already in- volve much of what Gardam is proposing. Surely, by now, any manager MeetING > pg. 10 Michael Clark organizational effectiveness Join our professional community of Canadian HR & Organizational Leaders: • Connecting @ monthly events • Collaborating with peers • Challenging conventional thinking The Power of Human Capital CULTIVATING LEADERSHIP FOR 35 YEARS Great Leaders GROW www.scnetwork.ca "organizations cannot effectively force complex behavioural change to occur at the individual and cultural level."

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