Leading Change in the 21st Century
Leading Change in the 21st Century is a customizable Action Learning program to help our customers build and implement an effective model for successful change initiatives and develop corporate change leaders.
The key to effective change initiatives is not “buy-in” but ownership. Ownership results from a genuine invitation by the change leaders to everyone in the system, involved with the change, to make the best design and, when it is being implemented, to step in and tune it up so that it is successful. Each of these people has a unique view of and expertise for their piece of the process.
"Action Learning is both a process and a powerful program that involves a small group of people solving real problems while at the same time focusing on what they are learning, and how their learning can benefit each group member and the organization as a whole." Michael Marquardt
The Program
The program is based on two key foundation areas of change theory and methodology. First are the principles contained in self organizing systems theory and their application in complex adaptive systems methodology. Second is the work of John Kotter and Dan Cohen codified in the books, The Heart of Change and The Heart of Change Field Guide. The first describes the eight steps to effective large scale change processes, documented by a substantial survey of 200 companies around the world, reporting successful change initiatives. The second describes the subtleties of implementing the model based on Cohen’s experience as leader of the Deloitte Consulting Large Scale Change Practice. The actual four month program consists of two days a month over four months. Because it is customizable, variations to the above are possible.
Program Features
• Participants will number from 15 to 25 people adequately representing the whole system or sub-system.
• Data collection which consists of in-person, telephone and e-mail interviews with the participants as well as other key players in the organization unit that allows for customization of the program based on conversations with the customer/sponsor.
• Pre-work assignments and reading that allow the participants to be fully prepared to jump in.
• Current change issues identified by leaders and participants are the applied work of the 4-5 person teams formed from the program participants.
• Capstone practicum designing and testing the components of a real change initiative to be presented on last day of the program with feedback from team, peers and company leadership.
• Plan for follow-up coaching of the new change leaders as they begin to implement their change initiatives.
• Optional organization development support for organization leaders to insure successful embedding of the model and the delivery of results.
• Participants are upper and middle level managers and directors and preferably sponsors from the same operating units.
Program Description and Flow
Pre-program Activities and Assignments
• Program materials and books are distributed to participants so that they can complete reading assignments.
• Participants are given pre-work assignments: i.e. Case Mapping Exercise of change issues, Future State descriptions, Emotional Intelligence Profile.
• GRA conducts onsite and virtual interviews and meeting with sponsor, key leaders and participants.
• GRA has conversation with sponsor to tune the program to the organization.
• GRA discusses tune-ups with faculty
Session I- Leading Change Overview and Company Data- Two Days
• Introductions of faculty and participants
• Review of Agenda and Program Components and Flow
• Introduction and discussion of Learning Application Work Plan Model
• Discussion of Action Learning
• Self-organizing Systems Exercise
• Complex Adaptive Systems Change Theory Discussion
• Processing of the organization data collected prior to the start of the program that includes participant expectations, current change issues, past change experience and other issues with the participants. The data has been configured in a manner to maintain individual confidentiality.
• Overview and discussion of the Heart of Change Process (Participants have read the book by now). This discussion is guided by poignant questions raised by the faculty and participants and processed in small groups as well as the plenary.
• Process of selecting the Change Initiatives that will be worked during the program. This will involve a conversation with the sponsor including naming possible initiatives and finalizing the list.
• Self-selection process for Practicum Groups/Change Teams formation by affinity to issues, including dialogue with sponsor who may make adjustments to teams.
Session II- Leading Change: Part One- Two Days
Using the Model to Develop Change Initiatives
• Systems Thinking Discussion and Exercise
• Change Dynamics Discussion and Exercise
• Planning Change- Present State: Increasing Urgency Discussion and Exercise
• Planning Change- Future State- Getting the Vision Right Discussion and Exercise
• Leading Change- Communicate for Buy-in; Build Guiding Team Discussion and Exercise
• Implementing Change Discussion and Exercise and Case Clinics
Session III- Leading Change: Part Two- Two Days
Using the Model to Develop Change Initiatives
• Change Leadership and:
• Empowering Action
• Organization Culture
• Communications
• “Use of Self” as leader
• Project Updates
• Enabling Action Discussion and Exercise: Removing Barriers to Action
• Organization Culture and Its Role in Embedding the Change Initiative
Session IV- Leading Change: Capstone Practicum - Two Days
The Leading Change Capstone Practicum Session is an intense culminating “Action Learning” session in which the Change Teams present their change initiative plans. Following are some of the processes going on:
• Each team was informed at the end of Session Three that they need to not only present the content of their plan but demonstrate through a dramatic exercise what they might run into in the most difficult part of their plan. These may take the form of meeting enactments, role plays and other methods that GRA coaches them to use.
• Session on giving and receiving feedback since the teams will receive feedback from themselves, their peers and management leaders after their presentation. This includes a feedback model.
• Practicing their dramatizations in front of the whole group with feedback.
• Team coaching from the faculty.
• Celebration dinner on the evening of the first of the two days. Often accompanied by a photo or video show of the program.
• Graduation ceremony at the very end with the sponsor and management leader presenting the certificates.
Leading Change Program Follow-up
Program follow-up takes a number of forms:
• Final report summarizing trend and issue observations of the faculty with recommendations for action will be prepared by GRA.
• GRA will make an in person presentation of this report.
• Optional Leading Change Coaching can be provided to ongoing Change Teams and their leaders as well as sponsors.
• GRA is available to consult with management leaders about reviewing the proposed change initiative and having an objective system for making priority and go/no go decisions on potential projects.
Note: Sometimes it becomes clear that other organization interventions may be needed to prepare the proper infrastructure and/or climate for successful change initiatives.
Leading Change in the 21st Century was a featured program in the Leadership track of the national Organization Development Network’s Annual Conference in Nov, 2005 and drew standing room only attendance.
LEADERSHIP- T1
Leading Change in the 21st Century: An Action Learning Approach with Intervention
Gene Ruckle, Principal, Gene Ruckle Associates; Reagan Stephens, V.P Global Operations, AOC, LLC
Many companies are struggling with how to implement change well. Such was the case with AOC, when the client in this case study approached the consultant three years ago—after running into the wall on major change initiatives. Both the client and the consultant will candidly present their perspectives of the story of this intervention/action learning approach to growing change leaders and embedding leading change behaviors in the culture of the organization in an ongoing engagement. This experiential session will apply John Kotter’s The Heart of Change model and self-organizing systems theory as it applies to change and the “action learning” methodology for effectively introducing the model to a system.This is what GRA practices and very successfully as we are willing to demonstrate by putting you in touch with our past and present customers.
Faculty:
Gene Ruckle
Principal, Gene Ruckle Associates
Gene has over 27 years experience working at all levels of organizations including being an organizational development and management consultant, CEO, and Training Director. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business, a Masters in Education and a Masters in Organizational Development from American University’s AU/NTL Program, one of the top three OD programs in the country. He has also published one book. He is experienced in organization development, management consulting, facilitation especially process and design, program development, accounting and management information systems, organization start-ups, strategic planning, coaching, team building and conflict resolution. He was program director of the Organization Development and Change Management Masters Program at the University of Texas at Dallas and taught in the UTD MBA program. Gene is presently putting together a state of the art Leadership Development Program for “top talent” managers in major corporations in conjunction with the University of Dallas in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Robert J. Marshak, Ph.D.
Senior Scholar in Residence
Ph.D. American University
With over thirty years experience as a consultant to global corporations and government agencies, Dr. Marshak has taught OD and change leadership at AU/NTL since its 1980 inception and at universities and institutes in North America, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Marshak has served on the Boards of NTL Institute and the OD Network, was Acting Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, received the OD Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and is the author of over 40 publications on consulting and change. He has a just published a book entitled, Covert Processes at Work: Managing the Five Hidden Dimensions of Organizational Change (Berrett-Koehler Publishers). He is currently Scholar in Residence for the AU/NTL Masters Program in Organization Development at American University.
Edwin A. Mayhew
Consultant
Ed Mayhew is a consultant in organizational change to regional, national and multinational organizations. His interest is in helping executives and managers understand the organizational and personal implications of system change so they will be maximally effective in leading or managing change in their organizations. He is the recent author of Organization Change Processes, Chapter 6 in The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change: Principles, Practices and Perspectives.
Ed was educated at Dartmouth College and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, worked in the telecommunications industry for many years and pursued the parallel careers of executive and consultant.
As an executive in a major telecommunications company, Ed led Marketing, Operations, Organization Development, Human Resources, Strategic Planning and Business Development Departments. In his last assignment he led a Business Unit whose ongoing services contributed a significant portion of the company’s overall profit, and which rapidly developed several new multi-million dollar lines of business.
As a consultant to public and private sector organizations for more than twenty five years, Ed has worked with American, Asian and European clients on matters of improving organizational performance, developing an organizational development capability, executive education, executive team development and planning, leadership, developing consultative skills, and facilitating, and managing complex system change efforts. He is currently an adjunct faculty member of Georgetown University and consultant to the NTL Institute Board of Directors.
Nancy M. Dixon, Principal
Common Knowledge
Dr. Dixon is a writer, researcher and consultant working with a select group of clients to create a learning culture and to model learning. She is the author of seven books as well as over 50 articles that focus on how organizations learn.
Dr. Dixon has studied knowledge transfer systems in organizations around the world and based on that study has constructed a framework that helps organizations determine the type of system that best leverages each different type of knowledge. That framework is the subject of her book Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know from the Harvard Business School Press. Many of the systems she describes rely primarily on person-to-person interaction and others combine personal interaction and technology.
Before forming her own company, Common Knowledge, Dr. Dixon was Professor of Administrative Sciences at The George Washington University in Washington DC and earlier was a member of the Human Resource Development graduate faculty at The University of Texas, Austin.
Dr. Dixon has consulted to numerous companies in the US and abroad including Conoco, Nokia, Texaco, Lockheed-Martin, Internal Revenue Service, Veterans Administration, and Canadian Centre for Management Development. She is a frequent speaker at conferences both in the US and Europe.
Please feel free to call us at 214-632-3541 (We do answer the phone), or e-mail us at gener214@airmail.net for more information and/or references.
