Changing the Way We Manage Change pptx

Are the change management or organizational development OD the-ories, models, interventions, and change agent skills proving to be of value toorganizations in their efforts to change?. C

Changing the Way

We Manage Change

Changing the Way

We Manage Change

EDITED BY RONALD R SIMS

QUORUM BOOKS

Westport, Connecticut • London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Changing the way we manage change / edited by Ronald R Sims.

p cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1–56720–461–9 (alk paper)

1 Organizational change I Sims, Ronald R.

HD58.8C463 2002

658.4'06—dc21 2001057868

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

Copyright  2002 by Ronald R Sims

All rights reserved No portion of this book may be

reproduced, by any process or technique, without the

express written consent of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001057868

ISBN: 1–56720–461–9

First published in 2002

Quorum Books, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881

An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

www.quorumbooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

TM

The paper used in this book complies with the

Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National

Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).

1 General Introduction and Overview of the Book 1

Ronald R Sims

2 Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 13

Richard E Boyatzis

3 Employee Involvement Is Still the Key to Successfully

Serbrenia J Sims and Ronald R Sims

4 Holistic Model for Change Agent Excellence: Core Roles

and Competencies for Successful Change Agency 55

Scott A Quatro, Erik Hoekstra, and Jerry W Gilley

5 The Changing Roles and Responsibilities of Change Agents 85

Ronald R Sims

6 Why the Bridge Hasn’t Been Built and Other Profound

Questions in Multicultural Organizational Development 113

Terry R Armstrong

vi Contents

7 Reconciling the Dynamic of Symbols and Symptoms in

Bringing about International Change 127

Edgar J Ridley

8 Change Management Methods in an Exciting New World

of Business-to-Business Commerce 147

Ronald R Sims and William J Mea

9 Privatization of Public Utilities Drives Change in Consulting

Kathi Mestayer

10 Data Processing to Knowledge Management: Are Information

Technology Professionals Still Addressing the Same Change

12 Changing How Organizations Manage Change from the

Andrea B Bear and Kathleen A Brehony

13 Change: Build It In, Just Like Quality! 239

William I Sauser, Jr and Lane D Sauser

14 Creating a New Kind of Conversation: A Consultant’s Role

in Building Sustainable Change in the New Economy 255

Ann C Baker

15 Restorying and Postmodern Organization Theater: Consultation

to the Storytelling Organization 271

Grace Ann Rosile and David M Boje

No matter which way they turn, organizations are increasingly expected to findbetter and faster ways of responding to the change challenges presented by therevolution in information technology, increased globalization, smarter custom-ers, and a constantly changing employee base Are organizations successfullyresponding to these challenges, or are they crippled by their inability to bringabout the necessary changes? How effective are organizations in managingchange? Are the change management or organizational development (OD) the-ories, models, interventions, and change agent skills proving to be of value toorganizations in their efforts to change? If so, how can we improve on them?

If not, then what should we be doing differently? These were some of the

questions that inspired me to create Changing the Way We Manage Change.

The book you are reading reveals the collective thoughts of individuals

com-mitted to change management and OD Changing the Way We Manage Change

brings together change agents with extensive experience from various vantagepoints in managing change, allowing you to understand the way we are man-aging change now and what changes in the way we manage change may need

to be made to improve change management success

Although no book can address every potential manifestation of change agement, this book is an attempt to look clearly without flinching at the ways

man-we manage change, what man-we can learn from the way man-we manage change, andnew ways of managing change The good and not so good change managementhabits we can learn from this book will prove useful—even critical—for changesuccess, not only in increasingly complex environments but also in an increas-ingly demanding and unforgiving world

I wish to thank my blue-ribbon group of authors who have crafted their array

of skills both on the firing line and from various other change management

viii Preface

vantage points They represent a group of individuals who have contributed intheir own unique way to the still emerging discipline of change managementand organizational development They have contributed generously of their time

and energy to Changing the Way We Manage Change to share their collective

ideas for how we can better manage change

Once again, a very special thanks goes to Herrington Bryce, who continues

to serve as a colleague, mentor, and valued friend The administrative support

of Larry Pulley, Dean of the School of Business Administration at the College

of William & Mary, is also acknowledged I am also indebted to Eric Valentine,publisher at Quorum Books, who still continues to provide an outlet for myideas

My thanks and appreciation as usual also goes out to my wife, Serbrenia, andthe rest of the gang, Nandi, Dangaia, Sieya and Kani, who have supported meduring one of those times when it seemed as if all I ever did was read and sit

in front of the computer A special thanks goes out to Ronald, Jr., Marchet,Vellice, Shelley, and Sharisse

The book is dedicated posthumously to Phyllis Viands, former receptionistand secretary at the School of Business Administration at the College of William

& Mary, who is sadly missed but fondly remembered as a warm and kind friend

Changing the Way

We Manage Change

It is widely acknowledged that change—from such forces as globalization,relentless technological advances, unprecedented competition, political up-heaval, and the opening of new markets—exerts constant pressure on organi-zations of all sizes and types As a result, these organizations are beginning toshift their own gears in response to evolving developments in the world Butall is not rosy, given the disturbing reality of the poor batting average posted

by organizations that have sincerely dedicated themselves to change

Effective change management appears to be in short supply these days, giventhat the landscape is filled with failed attempts to manage Although a handful

of organizations have scored admirable successes, the majority of them havefailed to find the magic new mode or style that is needed to survive and thrive

in the new economy and the volatile macroenvionment The degree of failuresshould not be surprising when one considers that according to a recent reportonly 51% of the companies surveyed rated their leaders as excellent or good intheir capabilities to meet business challenges Included among these challengeswere executing aggressive new growth strategies, attracting and retaining em-ployees in increasingly competitive markets, coping with high rates of uncer-tainty and change, competing in a global economy, and implementing mergersand acquisitions All of these challenges require organizational changes

In response to the large number of failed change efforts and the challenges

of the new economy, books, articles, seminars, and workshops on leadershipand change management have flooded the market offering the latest and greatestanswers intended to increase organizational and change agent effectiveness andimprove change success rates No matter where one looks there are more andmore advertised remedies purporting to address the change failure rate and thechallenge of today’s new economy They have ranged from the easily recog-nizable: learning organizations, flat organizations, reengineering, team-based or-ganizations, and on and on With all of our collective responses to addresschange failures still not showing the return needed, it is clear that there is aneed to rethink the way we manage change and where appropriate change theway we manage change And rethinking the way we manage change is whatthe contributors in this book will focus on.

THE FOCUS OF THIS BOOK

Why is it that it seems as if we are experiencing de´ja` vu in feeling that wehave been through this rethinking the way we manage change process beforeand that we still have a long way to go if we are going to improve our changesuccess rate, especially given the demands for change in this new economy?How can we improve not only the prescriptions but also the changes to change

in our efforts to help organizations meet the demands of a much different ketplace and environment in the new economy?

mar-There is no simple answer, just like there is no one-size-fits-all solution forleading or successfully managing change The competencies, beliefs, and valuesthat change agents need depend on the organization’s strategy and organizationalcontext

There are an endless number of change-related questions that need answers.For example:

• How can we better manage change?

• Do we need to change the way we manage change?

• What kind of change agent(s) or change management program(s) are needed to increasesuccessful organization change?

• What are the most effective approaches to change for today’s new organizational text?

con-• What traditional change management methodologies and interventions work in the neweconomy?

• What are the roles of internal and external change agents in today’s organizationalchange efforts?

• What skills or competencies are important to change agent success?

• What can organizations do to ensure that their change efforts are successfully mented?

imple-General Introduction and Overview of the Book 3

• How can an organization create an environment in which every employee is a changeagent?

A basic premise of this book is that searching to find answers to questions likethese will allow us to better navigate the challenges of the new economy andbetter manage change overall Readers will find that there are a variety of re-sponses to these questions and a variety of solutions for better managing change.For example, for many who are in the managing change business or grapplingwith change every day, the answers to meeting today’s challenges involve con-tinuing to strive to better redefine and align strategies, mission, operations, andpeople For others, the answer lies in simply improving organizational relation-ships between management and employees so that both parties accept the value

of working together The fundamental organizing principle for this new tionship is maximizing employee involvement before, during, and after any or-ganizational change initiative, creating new conversations, and better preparingthe “new breed” of today’s change agents And for still others the answer

rela-is seen as drela-iscarding the term “organizational development” in favor of a newone called “change management See for example, the recent point-

counterpoint-rejoinder taking place in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science

among Worren, Ruddle, and Moore (1999, 2000), Farias and Johnson (2000),and Hornstein (2001) Regardless of whether someone feels the answers arealready there, right around the corner, or will never be within our reach, wemust continue to search for answers to these and other questions And, that isthe reason for this book!

This book is titled Changing the Way We Manage Change because it begins

from the premise that “managing change” is not a problem or process that willever go away but rather an opportunity to develop greater individual and or-ganizational effectiveness by continuously rethinking the way we managechange This book is written for those individuals and organizations who are inthe midst of grappling with the challenges of managing change In this book,the contributors, as change agents, discuss their views on how we may or maynot need to change the way we manage change to increase the change successrate In offering their views on changing the way we manage change the con-tributors critique traditional change management theories, models, interventions,and change processes while arguing in some cases that well-meaning changeprescriptions are no longer suitable for handling the degree of change that isnecessary in the new organizational context In presenting their views aboutchanges in the way we manage change, the contributors discuss what they view

as the major challenges in managing change and offer suggestions for improvingthe way we manage change

In some instances the contributors will offer very new and unique road mapsfor changing the way we manage change, while in other instances they willsimply refocus our attention on the roads that have always been there or offersuggestions on how to redirect the roads The contributors sketch the route that

must be taken toward changing the way we manage change and denote somemilestones, turns, stop signs, red lights, yellow caution lights, and the sensing

devices that keep all stakeholders on the main road But Changing the Way We Manage Change does not set down rigid approaches In line with the underlying

premise of this book that organizations must always be adaptable, flexible, andnimble, the ideas presented in the following pages stress the possible alterationsfor changing the way we manage change

Changing the Way We Manage Change is intended to be a practical,

action-oriented document that contributes to the never ending dialogue on how we canchange the way we manage change Its contents can be used to view the wholechange management process any organization might go through to determinehow to improve individual change

There is still much that we can learn and do in the area of change ment, and it is our hope that the collective ideas presented in this book will get

manage-us a little closer than we are now to better managing change Like others whohave and are currently contributing to the dialogue on managing change, I thankand applaud the contributors to this book, who are willing to share their expe-riences and ideas on change management

Part I: The Process and People of Change

The four chapters in Part I of this book introduce us to the process and people

of change In Chapter 2, “Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning,”Richard E Boyatzis suggests the self-directed learning process as a possibleroad map for how to increase the effectiveness of change and learning efforts.The chapter provides a look at individuals and their capacity to grow, develop,

or simply change as a result of self-directed learning Self-directed learning isdefined as an intentional change in an aspect of who one is (i.e., the Real) orwho one wants to be (i.e., the Ideal), or both Self-directed learning is self-directed change in which individuals are aware of the change and understandthe process of change This understanding provides them with firsthand andpersonal experience as a change agent, allowing them to be in a better position

to understand and contribute to organizational change The model presented byBoyatzis is built on the premise that experiencing discontinuity, a part of theprocess that may not and often does not occur as a smooth, linear event, is akey component of self-directed learning The chapter describes five disconti-nuities that begin the process of self-directed learning: “Catching Your Dreams,Engaging Your Passion,” “Am I a Boiling Frog?,” “Mindfulness through aLearning Agenda,” “Metamorphosis,” and “Relationships That Enable Us toLearn.”

In Chapter 3, “Employee Involvement Is Still the Key to Successfully aging Change,” Serbrenia J Sims and Ronald R Sims take a look at changefailures and argue that the key to improving our change management record is

Man-to find ways Man-to maximize employee involvement at every opportunity before,

General Introduction and Overview of the Book 5

during, and after any change initiative Maximizing employee involvement isoffered as the only guaranteed way an organization can develop a cadre ofinternal change agents—change agents who understand their roles and respon-sibilities because they are involved in every way with the organization Theauthors also offer insights into a number of misconceptions about employeeinvolvement that have contributed to the failure to maximize employee involve-ment in change initiatives Characteristics of high-involvement organizations(HIOs) are reviewed and offered as a vehicle for establishing an organizationalfoundation for maximizing employee involvement Sims and Sims also providesuggestions for smoothing the change process and easing employees’ pain dur-ing change initiation

In Chapter 4, “Holistic Model for Change Agent Excellence: Core Roles andCompetencies for Successful Change Agency,” Scott A Quatro, Erik Hoekstra,and Jerry W Gilley provide a framework to address two of the most frequentcriticisms of change agents: (1) being too fragmented in their approach to changeagency and (2) insufficient emphasis on the key competencies required of changeagents that drive change engagements Quatro, Hoekstra, and Gilley suggest thatchange agents must approach their change efforts holistically with brain, heart,courage, and vision The model presents contemporary change agents with anoverview of the core roles (i.e., business partner, servant leader, change cham-pion, future shaper) that they must be willing to fulfill in order to holisticallyengage their clients and the personal competencies that they must develop inorder to be capable of doing so

In Chapter 5, “The Changing Roles and Responsibilities of Change Agents,”Ronald R Sims builds on the people and change agent theme offered in thefirst three chapters Sims discusses change agent roles and responsibilities that

he believes must be filled by all internal (i.e, boards of directors, senior leaders,middle managers, nonmanagers) and external change agents (customers and ex-ternal change management consultants) in order to bring about successfulchange The basic premise underlying the ideas presented in this chapter is inline with the view that everyone in today’s organizations must become inten-tional change agents and be more aware of options to help their organizationsadapt to today’s new environment Similarly, the author suggests that externalchange agents must rethink their roles and responsibilities in working with clientorganizations if they are going to be able to play an active role in collaborativelyworking with the organization’s internal change agents

Part II: Global Views and Experiences of Change

The two chapters in Part II of this book take a look at changing the way wemanage change from the perspective of the international change agent Theauthors offer insights on change challenges presented by working in our increas-ingly global world and on ways to increase change success in these environ-ments

In Chapter 6, “Why the Bridge Hasn’t Been Built and Other Profound tions in Multicultural Organizational Development,” Terry R Armstrong dis-cusses his experiences in undertaking multicultural organizational development(OD) projects Using examples based on his own international work with severalclients, the author offers a firsthand look at his own development as an ODconsultant engaged in cross-cultural OD Based on his years of experience inworking with very different organizations and individuals throughout the world,Armstrong offers the reader a better opportunity to understand the challengesfaced in promoting cross-cultural change Armstrong’s revelations about howhis experiences have helped shaped his view of what is important in successfulmulticultural change work provides a fresh way of understanding the develop-ment of a change agent The chapter provides a number of concepts and toolsfor cross-cultural analysis of human behavior as well as lessons learned that can

Ques-be helpful to others who are interested in multicultural OD

In Chapter 7, “Reconciling the Dynamic of Symbols and Symptoms in ing about International Change,” Edgar J Ridley suggests that productivity andother improvements have not taken place on a global scale consistent with ourtechnological advancements because business leaders continue to make decisionsfrom a mythological framework that renders technological advances impotent

Bring-A cornerstone of Ridley’s arguments is that today’s change consultants mustbring new tools to the table in order to challenge the status quo and a worldbuilt on myths and symbol systems The concept of symptomatic thought proc-ess (STP) is introduced as a replacement for the symbolic thought process, which

in Ridley’s view has been a standard behind many traditional models and toolsused by change consultants

Part III: Change Cases

Part III of this book provides four chapters that illustrate current and futureissues for change agents in more technologically oriented environments Whilethese chapters do not focus on specific change cases they illustrate the changechallenges that change agents must be aware of in specific situations

In Chapter 8, “Change Management Methods in an Exciting New World ofBusiness-to-Business Commerce,” Ronald R Sims and William J Mea beginthe discussion of specific change issues as they focus on the background, con-text, and suggestions for change management specialists who wish to consulteffectively in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-portal (B2P) com-merce The authors suggest the need for new focus areas for change managementspecialists interested in working with these new organizations In addition todescribing current and future challenges these new organizations pose for changemanagement specialists, the chapter also offers a look at future trends and con-siderations of which change management specialists must be aware Best prac-tices for change management specialists, which are based on the experiences ofthe authors and their colleagues in working with these new organizations, arealso presented for the reader’s consideration

General Introduction and Overview of the Book 7

In Chapter 9, “Privatization of Public Utilities Drives Change in ConsultingFirms,” Kathi Mestayer suggests that the trend toward privatization of publicservices has engendered a series of changes in public utility (water and waste-water) organizations Based on this suggestion, Mestayer describes how thoseorganizations have been impacted, how their consultants have attempted to meettheir changing needs, and how those attempts are, in turn, requiring the con-sulting firms to manage their own change processes The chapter discusses howtwo industries (utilities and engineering firms) are trying to change, with thelatter trying to change into change consultants

In Chapter 10, “Data Processing to Knowledge Management: Are InformationTechnology Professionals Still Addressing the Same Change Management Is-sues?” Gigi G Kelly discusses the challenges the unpredictable business envi-ronment presents to people responsible for delivering information technology(IT) solutions The chapter offers answers to questions like “Has anything reallychanged in the IT profession during the past 20 years?” and “Are IT profes-sionals still trying to gather requirements, develop programs, and implementsystems that meet the end user’s expectations despite the chaotic and oftenunpredicatable business environment?” In offering answers to these and otherquestions the chapter takes a look at the past and the present and ponders thefuture of IT within the business environment Issues including knowledge man-agement, collaborative technologies, and creating and implementing new IT so-lutions such as enterprise-wide resource planning (ERP) systems are discussedand analyzed to provide the reader with an understanding of correspondingchange agent challenges Examples from a variety of IT projects are used as thebackdrop to further investigate the changing, or not-so-changing, world of in-formation technology

In Chapter 11, “The Balanced Scorecard: New Strategy Applications inBusiness-to-Business Commerce,” William J Mea, Theodore L Robinson III,and James W Handlon update concepts from the balanced scorecard and applythem to the corporate context in the digital economy The chapter offers anexamination of a number of basic strategy issues to be considered when applyingthe balanced scorecard technique to companies, especially those engaged in B2Band B2P commerce The chapter proposes new scorecard perspective optionsintended to help consultants assist companies to build more stable e-businessorganization models and provide a more innovative approach to building andimplementing strategy

Part IV: New Approaches and Models for Change

Part IV includes four chapters that describe new approaches or models forchange and change agent development Each of these chapters makes a contri-bution to the need to look for alternative or nontraditional ways of managingchange and changing the way we manage change As in previous chapters,readers are asked to think about roles, values, assumptions, and change inter-

ventions in new ways After all, thinking about what we do in managing changecan only maximize our learning and our ability to change the way we managechange.

In Chapter 12, “Changing How Organizations Manage Change from the InsideOut,” Andrea B Bear and Kathleen A Brehony explore the relationship betweenchange, consciousness, and the ways in which vibrant organizations passionatelyrespond to change and use their power as an opportunity for growth, fulfillment,and the actualization of full potential The authors describe the importance ofindividual and organizational consciousness to increased self-awareness and or-ganizational knowledge and change The concept of corporate consciousness isintroduced, and the authors discuss the power of consciousness and change,suggesting a model (“C-Model”) as a mechanism for building conscious organ-izations

In Chapter 13, “Change: Build It In, Just Like Quality!” William I Sauser,

Jr and Lane D Sauser discuss the reasons why we can no longer considerorganizational change as a project or event—with a beginning and an end—to

be managed and why we must consider change management as an ongoingaspect of the leader’s job The implications of this viewpoint for the way weteach change management in our colleges of business and in our continuingprofessional education programs are described In an effort to provide furthersupport for why we need to view organizational change in a different light, theauthors examine questions like “How can we refocus ourselves to considerchange as the natural state of things and thus an element of our environment towhich we must continually adapt?” and “How might we inculcate this viewpointinto those we are preparing to lead our organizations in the future?”

In Chapter 14, “Creating a New Kind of Conversation: A Consultant’s Role

in Building Sustainable Change in the New Economy,” Ann C Baker focuses

on the importance of quality conversations among different stakeholders toachieve sustainable change in the new economy Baker calls for a new kind ofconversation—conversational learning—used by consultants in their work withorganizations and in communities Conversational learning and reframing of twoprimary ideas—change and differences—are defined and their applicability to

an actual consulting situation is described in the chapter

In Chapter 15, “Restorying and Postmodern Organization Theater: tation to the Storytelling Organization,” Grace Ann Rosile and David M Bojedescribe the use of narrative and theatrics for organizational development Rosileand Boje view organizational life as a story and organizational development as

Consul-a meConsul-ans of chConsul-anging thConsul-at story or “restorying.” The chConsul-apter describes Consul-a step process to guide individuals, groups, and organizations in their own re-storying process The authors explain their change management methods through

seven-a series of orgseven-anizseven-ationseven-al consultseven-ation cseven-ase studies Rosile seven-and Boje providedetailed descriptions of specific structured intervention activities to demonstratethe use of narrative and theatrics in bringing about change or organizationaldevelopment

General Introduction and Overview of the Book 9

REFERENCES

Farias, G., & Johnson, H 2000 Organizational development and change management:

Setting the record straight The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 36(3):

327–379

Hornstein, H 2001 Organizational development and change management: Don’t throw

the baby out with the bath water The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science,

37(2): 223–226

Worren, N.A., Ruddle, K., & Moore, K 1999 From organizational development to

change management: The emergence of a new profession The Journal of

Behav-ioral Science, 35(3): 273–286.

Worren, N.A., Ruddle, K., & Moore, K 2000 Response to Farias and Johnson’s

com-mentary The Journal of Behavioral Science, 36(3): 380–381.

The Process and People of Change

1999, 19% of the work force was 70 or older By 2050, the average age of theU.S population will increase to 40 (from 36 in 1995) By that same year, thenumber of retirees in Europe will be greater than the number of people in thework force (“Europe’s demographic time bomb,” 2001) The work force andpopulation are becoming increasingly ethnically and racially diverse By 2050,24% of the work force (about 97 million people) in the United States will beHispanic Women are filling more positions of power in organizations each year.Slowing population growth and resettlement patterns are changing the humanresource picture in entire countries For example, by 2050, without extraordinaryimmigrations, the populations of Spain and Italy will shrink by 25%.

Technology has changed the design of work and the rhythm of our lives Weare engaged by it everywhere—shopping, conversations, information acquisi-tion, medical advice, learning, and so on—yet we still fail to comprehend themagnitude of this change For example, current U.S high school graduates arethe first generation to never have touched a typewriter Their basic assumptionsabout how to work, live, and learn are different from previous generations’ as

a result of technology

At the same time, right-sizing, acquisitions, dot com exuberance, and ing values have led to dramatically different relationships between people andthe organizations within which they work People are more individualistic in the

chang-way they view their careers and commitment to organizations Organizationshave done little to encourage any other perspective, viewing people as a tradableand expendable human resources People today want increasing work/life bal-ance and an holistic approach to life Among those with skills and better edu-cations, many believe that there are plentiful opportunities available for work,especially for the most talented.

It is no wonder that organizations face a war for talent (see studies by

McKinsey in 1998 and 2000, reported in Fast Company [Anders, 2001])

Find-ing the right people and keepFind-ing them has become a major problem for izations This occurs even when they are simultaneously laying others off andrestructuring their work force There is almost full employment in the industrialand knowledge industry sections of many countries The CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Carly Fiorina, has developed a mantra that describes her approach tothis dilemma, “Capture their hearts, their minds will follow.”

organ-The current relationship or psychological contract between a person and anorganization seems best characterized by the concept of free agency Like freeagents in sports, people feel that they can and should look for the best offer,one that suits their individual needs and career aspirations each year, or sooner

if opportunities come along

The emerging forms of organizations will depend on free agency more andmore For the longest period of human history, the primary form of social or-ganization was a hunting and gathering society They were mobile groups of 50

to 100 people who adapted continuously to climate, food sources, and externalthreats They lasted at least 50,000 years, and were organic When agriculturalforms came into being about 4,000–5,000 years ago and then spread, huntingand gathering societies began to fade Agricultural societies became the predom-inant form of social organization beyond the family for about 3,000 years.Then we developed bureaucratic forms of organization—military, feudal sys-tem, and churches (which lasted for about 1,000 or so years) These forms ofsocial organization featured a command and control system Then science pavedthe way for the industrial revolution that lasted about 200 years Money wasthe key resource, but we were separated from our completed products and cus-tomers Functional and even matrix forms were popular

But this form of organization began to fade with the emergence of fluidorganizations Fed by the information revolution and knowledge economy, es-pecially evident in professional services and technology but spreading to manytypes of organization, we have seen the growth of fluid organizations in the last

10 years or so They are adaptive systems using self-organizing principles scribed by complexity theory Fluid organizations have fuzzy boundaries, alli-ances, and communities of practice Information and people are the key resource.Velocity is vital as we pursue e-business, e-learning, and e-relationships Theseemerging forms are organic and tribal

de-This reminds us of and may in fact lead us back to hunting and gatheringsocieties In fluid or hunting and gathering societies, any person can leave with

Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 15

an hour Kevin Kelly says in New Rules for the New Economy (1998), that

adaptability will replace productivity as the key measure of organizational formance in the coming years He was talking about adapting to clients, markets,technology, the work force, and so forth In fluid organizations, free agency isthe primary form of psychological contract

per-“How do the ‘best companies to work for’ maintain an edge in this ment? One word: culture!” (Levering & Moskowitz, 2001, p 149) The desiredculture is one that is exciting and viewed as a great place to grow and develop.This has been shown in surveys of the managerial and professional work force

environ-in the United States senviron-ince the mid-1980s

CAN PEOPLE GROW AND DEVELOP THEIR TALENTS?

Decades of research on the effects of psychotherapy (Hubble, Duncan, &Miller, 1999), self-help programs (Kanfer & Goldstein, 1991), cognitive behav-ior therapy (Barlow, 1988), training programs (Morrow, Jarrett, & Rupinski,1997), and education (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Winter, McClelland, &Stewart, 1981) have shown that people can change their behavior, moods, andself-image But most of the studies focused on a single characteristic, like main-tenance of sobriety, reduction in a specific anxiety, or a set of characteristicsoften determined by the assessment instrument, such as the scales of the Min-nesota Multiphasic Personality Index (MMPI) For example, the impact ofAchievement Motivation Training was a dramatic increase in small businesssuccess, with people who had the training creating more new jobs, starting morenew businesses, and paying more taxes than comparison groups (McClelland &Winter, 1969; Miron & McClelland, 1979) The impact of Power MotivationTraining was improved maintenance of sobriety (Cutter, Boyatzis, & Clancy,1977)

A series of longitudinal studies under way at the Weatherhead School ofManagement of Case Western Reserve University have shown that people canchange on the complex set of competencies that distinguish outstanding per-formers in management and professions In contrast to the honeymoon effect ofmost training, education, and development programs, the behavioral improve-ments did not fade away after three weeks or three months They lasted foryears A visual comparison of different samples is shown in Figure 2.1

Up to two years after going through the change process—compared to whenthey first entered the course—they showed 47% improvement on self-awarenesscompetencies such as self-confidence and on self-management competenciessuch as the drive to achieve and adaptability When it came to social awarenessand relationship management skills, improvements were even greater: 75% oncompetencies such as empathy and team leadership

These gains stand in stark contrast to those from standard MBA programs,where there is no attempt to enhance emotional intelligence abilities The bestdata here comes from a project by a research committee of the American

stu-a gstu-ain of 4% in self-stu-awstu-areness stu-and self-mstu-anstu-agement stu-abilities, but stu-a decrestu-ase of

3% in social awareness and relationship management

The dramatic gains from the new program did not end at two years Whenlooking at part-time MBA students going through the course based on self-directed learning theory, the dramatic gains were found again in these studentswho typically take three to five years to graduate These groups showed 67%improvement in self-awareness and self-management competencies and 40% im-provement in social awareness and social skills competencies by the end of theirMBA program

That’s not all Jane Wheeler tracked down groups of these part-timers two

years after they had graduated Even all that time later, they still showed

im-provements in the same range: 36% on the self-awareness and self-managementcompetencies, and 45% on the social awareness and relationship management

Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 17

competencies (Wheeler, 1999) These are remarkable results, the first to onstrate gains sustained over so many years in the emotional intelligence build-ing blocks of resonant leadership

dem-The “honeymoon effect” of typical training might start at 30% to 40% provement immediately following the training, but within one to three months

im-it would drop to about 10% and stay there

To be more specific, MBA students, whose average age at entry into theprogram was 27 years old, showed dramatic changes on videotaped and audio-taped behavioral samples and questionnaire measures of these competencies as

a result of the competency-based, outcome-oriented MBA program implemented

in 1990 (Boyatzis, Baker, Leonard, Rhee, & Thompson, 1995; Boyatzis, ard, Rhee, & Wheeler, 1996; Boyatzis, Wheeler, & Wright, in press) Theseresults are summarized in Figures 2.2 and 2.3

Leon-Four cadres of full-time MBA students graduating in 1992, 1993, 1994, and

1995 showed improvement on 100% (7) of the competencies in the Management cluster (e.g., Efficiency Orientation, Initiative, Flexibility) and100% (8) of the competencies in the Social Awareness and Management cluster(e.g., Empathy, Networking, Group Management) Meanwhile the part-timeMBA students graduating in 1994, 1995, and 1996 showed improvement on86% (6 of 7) of the competencies in the Self-Management cluster and 100% (8)

Self-of the competencies in the Social Awareness and Management cluster In afollow-up study of two of these graduating classes of part-time students, Wheeler(1999) showed that during the two years following graduation their continuedimprovement was statistically significant on an audiotaped, behavioral measure

of two competencies in the Social Awareness and Management cluster (i.e.,Empathy and Persuasiveness)

This is in contrast to MBA graduates of the 1988 and 1989 traditional time program of the Weatherhead School of Management, who showed strongimprovement in only 80% of the competencies in the Self-Management cluster,and part-time graduates of those two years, who showed improvement in only40% of these competencies With regard to the competencies in the SocialAwareness and Management cluster, the full-time MBAs showed improvement

full-in only 38% of the competencies full-in the Social Awareness and Managementcluster, while part-time graduates of those two years showed improvement inonly 25% of these competencies

In a longitudinal study of four classes completing the Professional FellowsProgram (i.e., an executive education program at the Weatherhead School ofManagement), Ballou, Bowers, Boyatzis, and Kolb (1999) showed that therewas statistically significant improvement in 45- to 55-year-old professionals andexecutives on Self-confidence, Leadership, Helping, Goal Setting, and Actionskills These were 67% of the emotional intelligence competencies assessed inthis study

Value-Added to Full-Time Students from the Old vs the New MBA Programs

Figure 2.3

Value-Added to Part-Time Students from the Old vs the New MBA Programs

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

What these studies have shown is that adults learn what they want to learn.Other things, even if acquired temporarily (e.g., for a test), are soon forgotten(Specht & Sandlin, 1991) Students, children, patients, clients, and subordinatesmay act as if they care about learning something and go through the motions,but they proceed to disregard it or forget it unless it is something they want tolearn Even in situations where a person is under threat or coercion, a behavioralchange will typically extinguish or revert to its original form once the threat isremoved This does not include changes induced, willingly or not, by chemical

or hormonal changes in one’s body But even in such situations, the tation of the changes and behavioral comportment following it will be affected

interpre-by the person’s will, values, and motivations

In this way, it appears that most, if not all, sustainable behavioral change is

intentional Self-directed change is an intentional change in an aspect of who you are (i.e., the Real) or who you want to be (i.e., the Ideal), or both Self- directed learning is self-directed change in which you are aware of the change and understand the process of change.

The process of self-directed learning is graphically shown in Figure 2.4(Boyatzis, 1999, 2001; Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002) This is an en-hancement of the earlier models developed by Kolb, Winter, and Berlew(1968), Boyatzis and Kolb (1969), Kolb and Boyatzis (1970a, 1970b), andKolb (1971) The description and explanation of the process in this chapter isorganized in five sections Each section starts with a point of discontinuity—that is, a part of the process that may not and often does not occur as a smooth,linear event but rather as a surprise The person’s behavior may seem to bestuck for long periods of time, and then a change appears quite suddenly This

is a discontinuity A person might begin the process of self-directed learning atany point in the process, but it will often begin when the person experiences adiscontinuity, the associated epiphany, or a moment of awareness and a sense

of urgency

This model describes the process as it was designed into a required courseand the elements of the MBA and executive programs implemented in 1990 atthe Weatherhead School of Management Experimentation and research into thevarious components have resulted in refinement of these components and themodel as discussed in this chapter For a detailed description of the course, readBoyatzis (1994, 1995)

THE FIRST DISCONTINUITY: CATCHING YOUR DREAMS,

ENGAGING YOUR PASSION

The first discontinuity and potential starting point for the process of directed learning is the discovery of who you want to be Our Ideal Self is animage of the person we want to be It emerges from our ego ideal, dreams, and

self-Figure 2.4

Boyatzis’ Theory of Self-Directed Learning

aspirations The last 20 years have revealed literature supporting the power ofpositive imaging or visioning in sports psychology, appreciative inquiry (Coop-errider, 1990), meditation and biofeedback research, and other psycho-physiological research It is believed that the potency of focusing one’s thoughts

on the desired end state of condition is driven by the emotional components ofthe brain (Goleman, 1995) The Ideal Self is a reflection of the person’s intrinsicdrives Numerous studies have shown that intrinsic motives have more enduringimpact on a person’s behavior than extrinsic motives (Deci & Ryan, 1985).Our aspirations, dreams, and desired states are shaped by our values, philos-ophies (Boyatzis, Murphy, & Wheeler, 2000), life and career stages (Boyatzis

& Kolb, 1999), motives (McClelland, 1985), role models, and other factors.This research indicates that we can access and engage deep emotional commit-ment and psychic energy if we engage our passions and conceptually catch ourdreams in the image of our Ideal Self

It is an anomaly that we know the importance of considering the Ideal Self,and yet often when engaged in a change or learning process, we skip over theclear formulation or articulation of our Ideal Self If a parent, spouse, boss, or

teacher tells us something should be different, they are giving us their version

of our Ideal Self They are telling us about the person they want us to be The

extent to which we believe or accept this image determines that extent to which

it becomes part of our Ideal Self Our reluctance to accept others’ expectations

or wishes for us to change is one of many reasons why we may not live up toothers’ expectations or wishes and not change or learn according to their agenda!

In current psychology, others’ versions of what our Ideal Self should be isreferred to as the “Ought Self.”

We may be victims of the expectations of others and the seductive power ofpopularized images from the media, celebrities, and our reference groups In his

book, The Hungry Spirit: Beyond Capitalism, A Quest for Purpose in the ern World, Charles Handy (1997) describes the difficulty of determining his

Mod-ideal

I spent the early part of my life trying hard to be someone else At school I wanted to

be a great athlete, at university an admired socialite, afterwards a businessman and, later,the head of a great institution It did not take me long to discover that I was not destined

to be successful in any of these guises, but that did not prevent me from trying, andbeing perpetually disappointed with myself The problem was that in trying to be some-one else I neglected to concentrate on the person I could be That idea was too frightening

to contemplate at the time I was happier going along with the conventions of the time,measuring success in terms of money and position, climbing ladders which others placed

in my way, collecting things and contacts rather than giving expression to my own beliefsand personality (p 86)

In this way, we allow ourselves to be anesthetized to our dreams and lose sight

of our deeply felt Ideal Self

Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 23

THE SECOND DISCONTINUITY: AM I A BOILING FROG?

The awareness of the current self, the person that others see and with whomthey interact, is elusive For normal reasons, the human psyche protects itselffrom the automatic “intake” and conscious realization of all information aboutourselves These ego-defense mechanisms serve to protect us They also conspire

to delude us into an image of who we are that feeds on itself, becomes perpetuating, and eventually may become dysfunctional (Goleman, 1985).The “boiling frog syndrome” applies here It is said that if one drops a froginto a pot of boiling water, it will jump out with an instinctive defense mech-anism But if you place a frog in a pot of cool water and gradually increase thetemperature, the frog will sit in the water until it is boiled to death These slowadjustments to changes are acceptable, but the same change made dramatically

self-is not tolerated

The greatest challenge to an accurate current self-image (i.e., seeing yourself

as others see you and consistent with other internal states, beliefs, emotions, and

so forth) is the boiling frog syndrome Several factors contribute to it First,people around you may not let you see a change They may not give youfeedback or information about how they see it Also, they may be victims ofthe boiling frog syndrome themselves as they adjust their perception on a dailybasis For example, when seeing a friend’s child after two years, you may gasp

at the child’s growth Meanwhile, the parent is aware of the child’s growth onlywhen having to buy new shoes or clothes, or when there is a sudden change inthe child’s hormonal balance leading to previously unlikely behavior

Second, enablers—those who forgive the change, are frightened of it, or donot care—may allow it to pass unnoticed Our relationships and interpersonalcontexts mediate and interpret cues from the environment They help us interpretwhat things mean You ask a friend, “Am I getting fat?” To which she responds,

“No, you look great!” Whether this is reassuring to the listener or not, it isconfusing and may not be providing feedback to the question asked Of course,

if she had said, “No, it is just the spread of age or normal effects of gravity,”you may not have more useful information either

In counseling sessions with effective CEOs and managing directors of for-profits, I have often been surprised by their inability to see themselves asleaders even though others may see them as leaders Sometimes humility blocksthis perception Sometimes, it is the interpersonal or cultural context On theplanet Krypton, Superman was just another citizen without “supernatural”power This lack of admitting that which is obvious to others to yourself canalso occur when you have prolonged spiritual blackouts, losing sight of yourcore values and your philosophy

not-Some organizational cultures will, as mentioned earlier, encourage a cupation with the “gaps.” Some individuals have philosophies, or value orien-tations, that push them to focus on areas of improvement (i.e., a pragmatic valueorientation or philosophy [Boyatzis et al., 2000] or a dominant underlying mo-

preoc-tive of the need for achievement [McClelland, 1985]) Some individuals havesuch a low level of self-confidence or self-esteem that they assume they areunworthy, distrust positive feedback, and focus on negative issues and the gaps.

To truly consider changing a part of yourself, you must have a sense of whatyou value and want to keep Likewise, to consider what you want to preserveabout yourself involves admitting aspects of yourself that you wish to change

or adapt in some manner Being aware of these two and exploring them exist

in the context of each other

All too often, people explore growth or development by focusing on the

“gaps” or deficiencies Organizational training programs and managers ducting annual “reviews” often commit the same mistake There is an assump-tion that we can “leave well enough alone” and get to the areas that need work

con-It is no wonder that many of these programs or procedures intended to help aperson develop result in the individual feeling battered, beleaguered, and bruisedrather than not helped, encouraged, motivated, or guided The gaps may getyour attention because they disrupt progress or flow (Fry, 1993)

Exploration of yourself in the context of your environment (How am I fittinginto this setting? How am I doing in the view of others? Am I part of this group

or organization or family?) and examination of your Real Self in the context ofyour Ideal Self both involve comparative and evaluative judgements A com-prehensive view includes both strengths and weaknesses That is, to contemplatechange, one must contemplate stability To identify and commit to changingparts of yourself you must identify those parts you want to keep and possiblyenhance In this way, adaptation does not imply or require “death” but ratherevolution of the self

There are four major “learning points” from the first two discontinuities inthe self-directed learning process:

1 Engage your passion and create your dreams;

2 Know yourself;

3 Identify or articulate both your strengths (those aspects of yourself you want to serve) and the gaps or discrepancies in your Real Self and Ideal Self (those aspects

pre-of yourself you want to adapt or change); and

4 Keep your attention on both characteristics, forces, or factors—do not let one becomethe preoccupation

All of these learning points can be achieved by finding and using multiplesources for feedback about your Ideal Self, Real Self, strengths, and gaps.The sources of insight into your Real Self can include systematically col-lecting information from others, such as 360-degree feedback, currently consid-ered fashionable in organizations Other sources of insight into your Real Self,strengths, and gaps may come from behavioral feedback through videotaped oraudiotaped interactions, such as collected in assessment centers Various psy-

Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 25

chological tests can help you determine or make explicit inner aspects of yourReal Self, such as values, philosophy, traits, motives, and so forth

Sources for insight into your Ideal Self are more personal and more elusivethan those for the Real Self Various exercises and tests can help by makingexplicit various dreams or aspirations you have for the future Talking with closefriends or mentors can help Allowing yourself to think about your desiredfuture, not merely your prediction of your most likely future, is the biggestobstacle These conversations and explorations must take place in psychologi-cally safe surroundings Often, the implicit norms of one’s immediate socialgroups and work groups do not allow or encourage such discussion In this case,you may want to search for groups of individuals who are considering changingtheir lives in an academic program, career development workshop, or personalgrowth experience

THE THIRD DISCONTINUITY: MINDFULNESS THROUGH A

LEARNING AGENDA

The third discontinuity in self-directed learning is development of an agendaand focusing on the desired future A learning orientation will replace a per-formance orientation for those organizations that thrive in the coming decades.While performance at work or happiness in life may be the eventual consequence

of our efforts, a learning agenda focuses on development Individuals with alearning agenda are more adaptive and oriented toward development In onestudy, a learning agenda resulted in dramatically better presentations, whereas

a performance agenda resulted in people becoming defensive, not wanting tofail or not wanting to look bad, and did not result in increased performance(Brett & VandeWalle, 1999) A learning orientation arouses a positive belief inone’s capability and the hope of improvement A learning agenda helps a personfocus on what they want to become This results in people setting personalstandards of performance, rather than “normative” standards that merely mimicwhat others have done (Beaubien & Payne, 1999) Meanwhile, a performanceorientation evokes anxiety and doubts about whether or not we can change(Chen, Gully, Whiteman, & Kilcullen, 2000) A performance agenda focuses onsuccess, producing proof of our capability, and getting praise Performance goalsarouse the wrong parts of our brain for development In studying sales achieved

in a three-month promotion in the medical supply distribution business, a ing goal orientation predicted sales volume, a performance goal orientation didnot

learn-As part of one of the longitudinal studies at the Weatherhead School of agement, Leonard (1996) showed that MBAs who set goals desiring to change

Man-on certain competencies, changed significantly Man-on those competencies as pared to other MBAs Previous goal-setting literature had shown how goalsaffected certain changes on specific competencies (Locke & Latham, 1990) but

com-had not established evidence of behavioral change on a comprehensive set ofcompetencies that constitute emotional intelligence.

The major learning point from this section crucial in self-directed learning is:

Create your own, personal learning agenda!

Others cannot tell you how you should change They may tell you, but it willnot help you engage in the change process Parents, teachers, spouses, bosses,and sometimes even your children will try to impose goals for change or learn-ing People only learn what they want to learn!

The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed a widespread program in zations called management by objectives It was so popular that it spread toother arenas—you could find books and workshops on learning by objectives,teaching by objectives, and so on and so forth In all of these programs, therewas one and only one approach to goal setting and planning taught It specifieddevelopment of behavior specific, observable, time-phased, and challenginggoals (i.e., involved moderate risk) Unfortunately, the one-size-fits-all approachlacked a credible alternative until McCaskey (1974) suggested that some peopleplan by “domain and direction setting.” Later, as part of the Weatherhead lon-gitudinal studies, McKee (1991) studied how MBA graduates planned personalimprovement She discovered four different styles of planning: objectives-oriented planning; domain and direction planning; task- (or activity-) orientedplanning; and “present-oriented” planning The latter appeared as an existentialorientation to one’s involvement in developmental activities, and could be con-sidered a non-planning style

organi-A major threat to effective goal setting and planning is that people are alreadybusy and cannot add anything else to their lives In such cases, the only successwith self-directed change and learning occurs if people can determine what tosay “no” to and stop some current activities in their lives to make room for newactivities

Another potential challenge or threat is the development of a plan that callsfor a person to engage in activities different from their preferred learning style

or learning flexibility (Boyatzis, 1994; Kolb, 1984) In such cases, a personcommits to activities, or action steps in a plan, that require a learning stylewhich is not their preference or not within their flexibility When this occurs, aperson becomes demotivated and often stops the activities or becomes impatientand decides that the goals are not worth the effort

THE FOURTH DISCONTINUITY: METAMORPHOSIS

The fourth discontinuity and potential start of self-directed learning is to periment and practice desired changes Acting on the plan and toward the goalsinvolves numerous activities These are often made in the context of experi-menting with new behavior Typically following a period of experimentation,the person practices the new behaviors in actual settings within which they wish

ex-to use them, such as at work or at home During this part of the process,

self-Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 27

directed change and learning begins to look like a “continuous improvement”process

To develop or learn new behavior, the person must find ways to learn morefrom current, or ongoing experiences That is, the experimentation and practicedoes not always require attending “courses” or a new activity It may involvetrying something different in a current setting, reflecting on what occurs, andexperimenting further in this setting Sometimes, this part of the process requiresfinding and using opportunities to learn and change People may not even thinkthey have changed until they have tried new behavior in a work or “real-world”setting Rhee (1997) studied full-time MBA students in one of the Weatherheadcadres over a two-year period He interviewed, tested, and videotaped and au-diotaped them about every six to eight weeks Even though he found evidence

of significant improvements on numerous interpersonal abilities by the end ofthe second semester of their program, the MBA students did not perceive thatthey had changed or improved on these abilities until after they returned fromtheir summer internships

Dreyfus (1990) studied managers of scientists and engineers who were sidered superior performers Once she documented that they used considerablymore of certain abilities than their less effective counterparts, she pursued howthey developed some of those abilities One of the distinguishing abilities wasgroup management, also called team building She found that many of thesemiddle-aged managers had first experimented with team building skills in highschool and college, in sports, clubs, and living groups Later, when they became

con-“bench scientists and engineers” working on problems in relative isolation, theystill used this ability in activities outside of work They practiced team buildingand group management in social and community organizations, such as 4-Hclubs, and in professional associations for planning conferences and so forth.The experimentation and practice are most effective when they occur in con-ditions in which the person feels safe (Kolb & Boyatzis, 1970b) This sense ofpsychological safety creates an atmosphere in which the person can try newbehavior, perceptions, and thoughts with relatively less risk of shame, embar-rassment, or serious consequences of failure

THE FIFTH DISCONTINUITY: RELATIONSHIPS THAT

ENABLE US TO LEARN

Our relationships are an essential part of our environment The most crucialrelationships are often with groups that have particular importance to us Theserelationships and groups give us a sense of identity, guide us toward appropriateand “good” behavior, and provide feedback on our behavior In sociology, theyare called reference groups These relationships create a “context” within which

we interpret our progress on desired changes and the utility of new learning,and even contribute significant input to formulation of the Ideal (Kram,

1996) In this sense, our relationships are mediators, moderators, interpreters,sources of feedback, sources of support, and sources of permission for changeand learning! They may also be the most important source of protection fromrelapses or returning to our earlier forms of behavior Wheeler (1999) analyzedthe extent to which MBA graduates worked on their goals in multiple “lifespheres” (i.e., work, family, recreational groups, etc.) In a two-year follow-upstudy of two of the graduating classes of part-time MBA students, she foundthose who worked on their goals and plans in multiple sets of relationshipsimproved the most and more than those working on goals in only one setting,such as work or within one relationship.

In a study on the impact of the year-long executive development program fordoctors, lawyers, professors, engineers, and other professionals mentioned ear-lier, Ballou et al (1999) found that participants gained self-confidence duringthe program Even at the beginning of the program, others would say theseparticipants were very high in self-confidence It was a curious finding! The bestexplanation came from follow-up questions to the graduates of the program.They explained the evident increase in self-confidence as an increase in theconfidence to change Their existing reference groups (i.e., family, groups atwork, professional groups, community groups) all had an investment in themstaying the same, meanwhile the person wanted to change The ProfessionalFellows Program allowed them to develop a new reference group that encour-aged change!

Based on social identity, reference group, and now relational theories, ourrelationships both meditate and moderate our sense of who we are and who wewant to be We develop or elaborate our Ideal Self from these contexts Welabel and interpret our Real Self from these contexts We interpret and valuestrengths (i.e., aspects considered our core that we wish to preserve) from thesecontexts We interpret and value gaps (i.e., aspects considered weaknesses orthings we wish to change) from these contexts

The major learning points from the fourth and fifth discontinuities critical inthe self-directed learning process are:

1 Experiment and practice, and try to learn more from your experiences;

2 Find settings in which you feel psychologically safe within which to experiment andpractice; and

3 Develop and use your relationships as part of your change and learning process

SIGNPOSTS ON THE PATH TO CHANGE AND LEARNING

In guiding yourself or others through the self-directed learning process, thelearning points below can be used as signposts, or benchmarks If you do notfeel that you have addressed each learning point in turn, do not bother attempting

to move forward The process needs to slow down and either wait for the person

Unleashing the Power of Self-Directed Learning 29

to reach the learning point or try another way to help the person Please ber, people do not gain these discoveries or experience the epiphany of thediscontinuity in a smooth manner One person may take minutes to achieve abreakthrough of one discovery, and yet another discovery may take several days,weeks, months, or even years

remem-The signposts on the path to self-directed learning are:

1 Has the person engaged their passion and dreams? Can they describe the person theywant to be, the life and work they want to have in the future? Can they describe theirIdeal Self?

2 Does the person know himself or herself? Do they have a sense of their Real Self?

3 Can the person articulate both their strengths (those aspects he/she wants to preserve)and gaps or discrepancies (those aspects he/she wants to adapt or change) betweentheir Real Self and Ideal Self?

4 Has the person held their attention on both strengths and gaps—not letting one becomethe preoccupation?

5 Does the person have his/her own personal learning agenda? Is it really his/her own?Can the elements of the plan fit into the structure of his/her life and work? Do theactions fit with his/her learning style and flexibility?

6 Is the person experimenting and practicing new habits and actions? Is the person using

a learning plan to learn more from the experiences?

7 Has the person found settings in which to experiment and practice in which he/shefeels psychologically safe?

8 Is the person developing and utilizing his/her relationships as part of the learningprocess? Does the person have coaches, mentors, friends, and others with whom he/she can discuss progress on the learning agenda? Does he/she have relationships withpeople with whom it is possible to explore new behaviors and habits, new Ideal Self,new Real Self, and new strengths and gaps as the process unfolds?

9 Is the person helping others engage in a self-directed learning process?

CONCLUSION

Our future may not be entirely within our control, but most of what webecome is within our power to create The self-directed learning process de-scribed in this chapter can provide a road map and guidance for how to increasethe effectiveness of change and learning efforts As a concluding thought, I offer

a few lines from the 1835 John Anster translation of Goethe’s Faustus: A matic Mystery In the Prologue to the Theater, he says:

Dra-What you can do, or dream you can, begin it,

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!

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Chapter 3

Employee Involvement Is Still the

Key to Successfully Managing Change

Serbrenia J Sims and Ronald R Sims

We live in a moment in history where change is so speeded up that webegin to see the present only when it is already disappearing

—R.D Laing, The Politics of Experience

INTRODUCTION

Talk to anyone in an organization today and they will tell you that it seems likeeverything in our world is changing faster and faster, and leading or managingchange is an increasingly important issue in this rapidly shifting environment,

or new economy This environment demands that we all learn new skills forfulfilling our roles and working with others in managing change, and it requiresnew frameworks to meet the demands placed on us

Change for today’s organizations is now different in nature and greater inextent than ever before In most instances, the changes facing organizations andchange agents (both internal and external) are unknown and unquantifiable Thissimple acknowledgment frees us in some ways to better manage the necessaryorganizational changes We can’t predict what will happen or how it will affectorganizations or their products and services In a sense a case can be made that

we shouldn’t even try to anticipate specific changes It is the premise of thischapter that an opportunity exists for us to expand employee involvement inchange efforts even more than we have in recent years For many organizationsthis means becoming high-involvement organizations (HIOs)

An organization’s employees have always been and always will be the mostimportant single resource in change management If we are to change the way

we manage change in any way, then we must find ways to maximize employee

involvement at every opportunity before, during, and after any change initiative.

In the first part of this chapter, we briefly look at change failures and somefactors contributing to these failures Next, we take a more specific look atobstacles that must be overcome to decrease change failures Then, we focus onthe importance of maximizing employee involvement in today’s change efforts.The misconceptions of employee involvement are addressed next Our discus-sion then turns to a closer look at the characteristics of HIOs We then discussstrategies for smoothing the change process A description of strategies for eas-ing your own pain during the change process concludes the chapter

CHANGE IN THE NEW ECONOMY

By all accounts, the new economy will continue to see an accelerated rate ofchange that will be driven principally by the exponential growth and globalavailability of information, technologies, and technology-based infrastructure aswell as the improving global transportation infrastructure How well organiza-tions are prepared to change, survive, and thrive is a fundamental issue Part ofthe answer to successfully surviving and thriving and thereby achieving com-petitiveness and success will be earned through continually managing change inorder to provide the products and services that the customer will buy Successwill also be earned through rapidly responding to abrupt changes driven by: