Empowerment

As things get more and more complex, it is doubtful that anyone can ever know enough to be in complete control. Rather it may often be better to accept a fluid set of roles involving a wider group of people in which responsibilities migrate between them over time as circumstances evolve. Crucially however, this extended group needs to maintain close communication based on common goals and standards, and grounded in high levels of trust.

People at all levels of the company can, when conditions are right, seize opportunities to make a difference in areas which concern or enthuse them. ‘Change entrepreneurs’ from across the organisation can forge creative and unpredictable solutions, often in the spaces between formal organisational structures and protocols. They are likely to be natural networkers, bringing unusual combinations of people together to look at problems in novel ways. These ‘natural leaders’  often emerge from the visioning and framing processes described above. However visible senior management support, time, and a clear mandate are critical for stimulating and supporting entrepreneurial behaviour.

A combination of people which collectively possesses sufficient enthusiasm, knowledge and influence, working together as a team, can guide and drive change much more effectively than a reliance on line management structures alone. Effective change coalitions are often based on a ‘diagonal slice’ representing all the main functional divisions and levels involved (including trade unions and/or employee representatives).

Meetings of new change coalitions need care at first, especially in organisations which have traditionally had a hierarchical or relatively authoritarian culture. People need encouragement to speak, to challenge constructively, and to share their knowledge and ideas without being made to feel foolish. Think about using an external facilitator – or someone other than a line manager.

Leading change can be superbly rewarding, and it can sometimes be a lonely and stressful business. Members of the change coalition will be challenging established practices, asking difficult questions and taking people out of their comfort zones. Be prepared for resistance, denial, criticism and even moments of self-doubt.

Involving a wide cross-section of people at the earliest stages of Action Planning can help to avoid negative reactions – people often react badly to change when they feel that it is being done to them, but can become its champions when it is designed and implemented with them. The tools and approaches described above are designed give your workforce a voice, enabling them to articulate their own frustrations at work and to explore creative solutions. These insights and ideas are often the core building blocks of successful transformation. For example, results from the Workplace Innovation Diagnostic® and Group Recall both offer direct opportunities to engage all employees in dialogue about ‘what good would look like’ and how to get there.

At the same time, we know from experience that a minority of very vocal people can be dreadfully time-consuming during change processes – if you allow them to be. They need to be handled carefully – avoid alienating them, but equally avoid privileging them with excessive attention just because they’re vocal and persistent.

We often advise change teams that any workforce (including the senior team!) is likely to comprise three different groups, each of which requires a different response:

You can find plenty of guidance on the internet about how to manage difficult situations during change, but here are our top suggestions based on evidence and experience:

Remember that you are not alone. Other programme participants will be facing comparable challenges on their own journeys, offering you a ready-made mutual support network. Use it! And our team is always available for an informal discussion at any time (see contact details in the Programme Leaders section).

This Programme provides you with evidence, ideas and some great examples, but it doesn’t give you a blueprint. Everything you’ve discovered here is a resource to generate fresh thinking by you and your work colleagues, so that you in turn can innovate within your own workplace. The outcome of innovation is never certain, and failure is both inevitable and a welcome opportunity for learning. According to one change leader:

The culture of the company . . . is permission to fail and expectation of failure; if we are not trying hard enough that’s when we don’t fail, so let’s make sure that we’re on the edge and we’re trying to push ourselves . . .

Unless we can make mistakes visible, both individually and collectively, we will be doomed to mediocrity (https://workplaceinnovation.eu/red-gate-software/)

Avoiding mediocrity means going beyond what we know to explore new territory. Workplace innovation focuses on trusting and empowering people throughout the organisation to test different ways of working and to share the learning that results – whether from failure or success. At the very least, killing off an idea too soon risks reinforcing dependency on the status quo and closing down an opportunity to gain fresh insights, as well as discouraging further innovation. People need to know that it’s ok to try something different without fear of blame, put-downs or retribution.

Research evidence on line managers and change draws us in two opposing directions. On the one hand there is an extensive body of evidence which reveals managers as a “barrier reef” to organisational change. In this analysis, enlightened policies and approaches adopted at Board or senior management levels are dissipated by the inertia and resistance of middle and line managers who may have a strong psychological investment in the status quo.

Lack of positive engagement with change can take several forms including explicit dissent, excessive focus on compliance with change targets at the expense of embedding new ways of working in organisational practice, and occasionally even active sabotage. This is particularly evident where change embodies a commitment to active employee involvement, either in the process or as a sought outcome. In brief, sources of resistance to change may well be found amongst managers who feel that their status and authority are threatened by initiatives designed to empower employees.

Evidence and experience suggest that line manager resistance tends to stem from:

• being overwhelmed by emails and paperwork with little differentiation between ‘priority’ and ‘routine’ communications;
• given little indication of how to resolve conflicting objectives and to prioritise between competing demands on limited resources;
• given too little information on the rationale for new policy initiatives making it difficult to appreciate their importance;
• little opportunity to bring their knowledge and experience to the policy design process;
• poorly briefed by senior management on effective approaches to policy implementation;
• risk-averse through fear of blame and poor performance ratings;
• deprived of opportunities for peer support in discussing common problems, sharing successful practices and raising issues of concern with senior management;
• deprived of the training and competence required to manage change successfully.

On the other hand, when the design of change initiatives both anticipates and addresses these issues, unpredictable but beneficial responses such as the emergence of entrepreneurial behaviour can be found. Such entrepreneurial behaviour is associated with the alignment of three principal factors: Board-level and senior management support for empowered or unconventional behaviour; sufficient slack or ambiguity in organisational procedures to allow for individual problem solving and initiative; individual experience of work as empowering and developmental, promoting creative and entrepreneurial self-identities.

Structural solutions to the role of managers may be appropriate. This can involve flattening traditional hierarchies and moving former line managers horizontally into (for example) business development or specialist roles, thereby retaining knowledge and experience but not standing in the way of empowering frontline workers.

Where line managers’ roles need to change substantially, individuals should be provided with appropriate training and support, and reassured of their continued value in the new structure.

Members of the change coalition need to bring the rest of the management team and the workforce with them. This is why it’s important that they are broadly representative of those involved in the change, but representatives also have a responsibility for maintaining dialogue with their particular ‘constituencies’. They may need help, mentoring and a reasonable time allocation away from mainstream duties to do this effectively.

Communicating the vision and its associated changes also needs to be driven at senior level. Keeping the company’s partnership forum or committee up to date is crucial as are regular briefings through the usual mechanisms such as newsletters, intranet, team meetings and so on. Communication and dialogue structures may need to be reinvented on a fairly regular basis if they are to keep their edge.