How Leaders Accelerate Change

John Kotter, the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at Harvard Business School and author of 17 books including the seminal “leading change” has just published a new article on change management which is likely to become something leaders will refer back to for years to come: “Accelerate!” HBR, November 2012. In it he not only draws on his own “leading change” material but also that of Porter, Christensen and Kahneman to propose a solution to the dilemma that companies today “must constantly seek competitive advantage without disrupting daily operations”.

His theory is that traditional hierarchies and managerial processes are very good at addressing the daily demands of running a company; however “what they do not do well is identify the most important hazards and opportunities early enough, formulate creative strategic initiatives nimbly enough, and implement them fast enough”. He therefore proposes that two systems should operate in concert: one the “rational” hierarchy; the other a “more emotional” network. The latter is based on his eight-step change method but importantly, in the network, the steps become “accelerators”.

The network ensures that the accelerators are current and always at work (rather than being used in a rigid and sequential way); and instead of change being driven by one small powerful group, the accelerators “pull in as many people as possible from throughout the organisation to form a ‘volunteer army’”. This network approach overcomes the two principal change resistors found in a hierarchy: 1/ political: managers being “loath to take chances without permission from their superiors”; and 2/ cultural: people “cling to their habits and fear loss of power and stature.”

Here’s how to accelerate change along with further implications (“et alors”):

How Leaders Accelerate Change

According to Kotter, “mounting complexity and rapid change create strategic challenges that even a souped-up hierarchy can’t handle. That’s why the dual operating system – a management-driven hierarchy working in concert with a strategic network – works so remarkably well”. The dual operating system has five principles:

Many change agents, not just a few

To move “faster and further, you need to pull more people than ever into the strategic change game”, but in a way that is economically feasible. 10% of managers and employees at any one time is proposed by Kotter as both “plenty and possible”.

A “want-to” not just a “have-to” mindset

To mobilise a “voluntary army” people have to want to be change agents and must be given permission to do so. The spirit of volunteerism (the desire to work with others for a “shared purpose”) “energises” the network.

Head and heart, not just head

In order to engage management and staff in the change network, you must “speak to their genuine desire to contribute to positive change and to take an enterprise in strategically smart ways into a better future, giving greater meaning and purpose to their work.”

More leadership, not just more management

The hierarchy needs competent management; the strategy network needs lots of leadership. It’s “all about vision, opportunity, agility, inspired action, and celebration – not project management, budget reviews, reporting relationships, compensation and accountability to a plan.”

Two systems, one organisation

The dual operating system is not two silos: “the network and the hierarchy must be inseparable with a constant flow of information and activity between them – an approach that works in part because the volunteers in the network all work within the hierarchy.”

Et alors?

It is quite possible that this “win-win” solution will become the defining hallmark of corporate strategic change initiatives from now on! Its simplicity is beguiling and it solves the ultimate change-management question: how to effect change without having to change the hierarchy itself! However, the idea of a hierarchy being staffed by managers whilst simultaneously super-motivated and highly-engaged leaders form volunteer armies with a sense of purpose to effect change highlights one key point which should not be overlooked: at least someone in the hierarchy (very near the top) must have sufficient leadership (and management) capabilities to introduce, promote and sponsor such a change-network! Without that initial “birth” of the network from the hierarchy, the hierarchy is at risk at remaining just that!

From a Human Resources point of view, what Kotter is proposing might be the new, modern and collective version of the now old-fashioned concept of individual “garage-time”? Hitherto, in an attempt to foster innovation, many companies permitted employees to spend 10-20% of their work time on individual projects on the understanding that any resulting innovations would become the property of the company. 3M had its famous “post-it” product succeed in such a way, but that is now an old story. Google recently revitalised the idea and coined the term “garage time” but insiders insist that it is no longer a genuine offer and publically the corporation no longer promotes it. When it was fashionable, it was billed as a key offer to attract, motivate and retain staff. Now perhaps organisations should offer collective “change time” for those willing to work together on strategic change initiatives?

Staying with HR, from a learning and development point of view, this is both a fantastic opportunity and a reflection of what already happens in many large organisations. As part of a leadership development course, many corporate universities offer “action-learning” projects which in a way work exactly like Kotter’s proposed “volunteer armies” not necessarily effecting change but at least studying and proposing change under the tutelage of a senior sponsor. Not only do the diverse leaders from all parts of the organisation come together and work in a team getting to learn about the challenges of change management and developing as leaders; but also, if the proposed projects are strategic in nature then the organisation itself can gain fast insight into the changes that are needed to maintain a competitive advantage without disrupting daily operations!