alliance with the key people in the company and to create an organizational
architecture in order to implement this vision: “The participation and involvement
of employees is the key to success. If the organization seeks to change it has to
include all employees – and not just those at the top – in the process from the outset.
Employees should learn exactly what role they will play as early as the initial
diagnostic phase – and not only their role during the efforts to change, but also in
the changed organization that follows. They should also be given the necessary
opportunities to acquire new skills” (de Vries 2002, p. 169). During the letting go
stage, self-reflection begins. The individual employee re-evaluates the situation and
no longer denies the problem. Reluctantly, the old ways are left behind and the new
ones are tried. Finally, at the stage of acceptance the view of the staff is redirected
forward. They can see the initial progress, they can find their place in the newly
organized corporate world, and they follow the new course. A human resources
director once told me: “Many managers have the misconception that if they leave
their employees in the dark as long as possible, they will just continue to do their
jobs. But they can always sense when the situation is changing. And of course this
also produces the absolute worst level of credibility, because on top of everything
else, the employees get the impression that their boss thinks they’re stupid.”
In crisis situations, what is often ignored is the fact that the staff is in a different
emotional phase than the executives. The latter are often informed earlier and
therefore at another stage than their employees. The “logic of feelings,” as
a colleague once put it, is time-delayed. When insecure employees meet leaders
who already on sound ground, the situation can become critical.
In German-speaking countries organizational psychologist Klaus Doppler has
done intensive work on the topic of “change management”: “Changes always
happen – not always planned, not always wanted, and not always accepted. They
are not simple, rarely go as planned, often take longer than expected, and the
difficulties involved are often greater than expected” (Doppler 1999, pp. 25–27).
This finding corresponds exactly to the systemic management approach.
For Doppler, there are seven golden rules executives have to obey in change
processes:
Firstly, producing restlessness and energy is important, because without these
conditions nothing will happen.
Secondly, the people affected have to be involved in a timely manner. Although this
sentence has become a dictum in management circles, it is still not always
heeded.
Thirdly, in change processes employees and managers should “unlearn” seeming
certainties, and this process is often painful.
Fourthly, according to Doppler simple links between problems and their causes
can rarely be found in organizations. The location of the symptom is rarely the
location of the true problem.
Fifthly, managers should bear in mind that changes are circular, networked, and
take place sequentially and iteratively rather than in a straightforward manner.
3.2 Leading with Your Head and Heart 169