MOIC – Study Unit 2 Managing Change

with Individuals

Required reading: Cameron & Green (2012)

Chapter One Individual Change [digitalised]
Core Text Ch 11 pp427-451 (Ch 8 pp230-
250)

Dr. Roz Gasper

 Lecture objectives

1. Understand the conundrum of change and

individual change
2. Consider ways of looking at change, inner
world, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic
and humanistic psychology (including
personality) transition and time
3. Five factors that influence individual change
4. Focus on our ‘own’ propensity to change as
well as ‘others’ propensity to change
 Introduction - Conundrum of Change
• Approaches to change activities (e.g.
communications and briefings, training events
etc.) are focused on the group, department and
organisation
• BUT change requires individuals to change and
we all react to change differently
How to account for the individual in change?
• Willingness (give up the old way and move to new)
• Capacity to ‘understand’ and ‘actually’ change (do we
agree with change, can we change)
• Readiness and commitment to take on the challenge,
opportunities, losses, upheaval, transition
The change ‘dilemma’
But you can’t
change people,
they have to
If you can’t change
change
themselves
people, you
can’t make
changes
 Two ways of looking at change
– Internal (inner) world
– External (outside) world
“often it is the internal reaction to
external change that proves the
Heraclitus – the most fruitful area of discovery, and
‘you’ who steps into it is often in this area that we find
the river today is the reasons external changes
not the same ‘you’ succeed or fail”
who steps into the (Cameron & Green, 2012:15)
river tomorrow
Change involves Learning and Time
• Need to learn - acquire
knowledge & experience
• Time lag to gaining
competency
• Need to reduce anxiety &
create ‘psychological safety’
for individuals faced with
change, loss and renewal to
enable them to learn &
change
• Tools to help smoother
transition (e.g. Myers-Brigg
type personality indicators)
(ibid:16-22)
1. Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle of
‘doing and thinking’
• Activist (doing e.g. trial &
error)
• Reflect (on our
experience)
• Build concepts (mindsets,
new ways of thinking)
• Experiment in a practical
way (e.g. examples of
application, tools etc.)
Four approaches to individual change (fig1.1, ibid:16)

Behavioural - Cognitive -
Changes to Achieving Results
Behaviour

Humanistic
Psychodynamic - Psychology -
Change inner Maximising
world potential
 The behavioural approach
focuses on the idea of rewards
(positive) and punishments
(negative) to get us to ‘behave’
in ‘desired’ ways so you would
want to make sure you know….
Financial reinforcement
Classic example is problems with
performance related pay / bonuses
with the introduction of team work
1. Leaving individual performance
related pay and bonuses based on
‘individual performance’
2. Poor design of a system so it
reinforces or encourages different
actions/ behaviour to that ‘desired’
Q1. What the rewards and
punishments are that operate in
your organisation
Q2. How effective are they at
bringing about change
Non-financial reinforcement
“FEEDBACK given to an individual
about performance on specific tasks.
The more specific this is the more
impactful reinforcement can be”
(ibid: 26)
Social reinforcement - interpersonal
actions
- praised with ‘best employee’
- punished with ‘name and shame’
- group approval or disapproval can
determine which behaviours are
acceptable or not
 “People control their own destinies by believing in and
acting on the values and beliefs that they hold”
(R Quackenbush, Central Michigan University cited ibid:29)

Cognitive approach Humans have unique capacity to:

founded on premise that
our emotions and our
problems are a result of the
way we think – how we
frame and interpret
situations based on our
own thought processes
To change we need to
change the way we think,
our values and beliefs
• Create disturbing beliefs and to
get upset (e.g. about change)
• Change the way we think and
feel (e.g. react differently from
the way we usually do)
• Refuse or train ourselves not to
be upset about something so it
becomes less distressing (e.g.
minimally disturbed by giving a
presentation)
(Ellis 1977 cited ibid:29)
 Achieving results, setting goals & making sense
3% of graduates at Yale
University with clear goals were
worth more than the other 97%
put together (oft quoted in self
help books – perhaps an
exaggeration of the basic truth
to this apocryphal story) (ibid:31)
Achieving results does
improve if we set clear and
challenging BUT achievable
goals (e.g. career planning,
work targets, study
planning)
Techniques for change: positive
listings, affirmations, visualisations,
pattern breaking, detachment,
anchoring & resource states, rational
analysis (ibid:32-35)
“Need to pay attention to how
we talk to ourselves about
results”
Usual responses to our achievements
Positive/ good performance:
• I knew I could do it, I’ll be
able to do it again
• That was lucky, I doubt I’ll be
able to repeat that
Ineffective/ poor performance:
• I could do a lot better next
time
• I thought as much, I knew it
would turn out like this
Negative Capability & Tolerance of Ambiguity

• Keats:
“a state in which a person is capable of being in
uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable
reaching after fact & reason” (quoted Bion1961)
“the state of mind that underpins the creative genius of
high achieving individuals” (ibid)

• Tolerance of ambiguity - can cope with disorder, complexity and

chaos of ‘unknowns’ (Mackinnon, 1962)

• Simpson, et al (2002) “…can create an intermediate space that

enables one to continue to think in difficult situations”, a “mental and
emotional space, in which a new thought may emerge…”
Negative Capability
Those with ‘high negative capability’ will thrive with change
and face less challenges to their personal performance,
before, during and after change….
• mental and emotional space… (Simpson et al., 2002)
• hesitation, resisting urge into action… (Wigod, 1952)
• capacity to tolerate ambiguity… (Ward, 1963)
• remain content with half knowledge… (Starr, 1966)
• capacity to experience emotion… (French, 2001)
• focused watchfulness…refrain from drawing premature conclusions
(Cornish, 2011)
• patience… (Bion, 1970)

Key 21st C employability factor and work survival skill

 Transition Curve – dealing with the Psychodynamic
Mood /
7. INTEGRATION
Competence Incorporation of meaning
3. SENSE OF into new behaviours. “Now I
INCOMPETENCE can see the way ahead”. ‘It
2. DENIAL Uncertainty about how to wasn’t so bad.’
Denial or minimisation of deal with change. Anger
Carelessness

change. “It will never Grief. Blaming, Self-doubt.

work”, “It won’t affect me”. Guilt. “I’m not sure I’m up
Restless

Temporary retreat “Oh to this”. Hopelessness.

New status quo
Unease

well, I wanted a new job Depression. Frustration.

anyway”, “No I won’t feel Dependency. Fussing over
too upset by this trivial things. Can’t sleep.
situation”.. Get colds.
Integration 6. UNDERSTANDING
Search for meaning. “Is this
& Practice right for me?” Seeking
SIGNALS

understanding to make
Tied to old sense of why things are
different.
status quo
Transforming
Foreign Idea & Chaos 5. EXPERIMENTATION
Testing new behaviours &
Element
PREPARATION PHASE
- before the impulse

approaches. Stepping
outside comfort zone.
1. SHOCK Tendency to be influenced
Immobilisation. 4. ACCEPTANCE by ideas of how things
Surprise. Acceptance of reality by doing something different. ‘should’ be done. Lots of
Overwhelmed. Letting go of the past. Comfortable attitudes and energy, anger and
Numbness. “I can’t behaviours. Something has to change “I can’t go on frustration. Beginning to
believe it”. like this anymore, I’ve got to do something”. Putting deal with new reality.
Confused. “How things into perspective. “Perhaps if I try…”
dare they do this”

Time
ENDING – Letting Go TRANSITION - Passage NEW BEGINNING

Adapted from Cameron & Green 2012 (36-37;40-1,53,134-40)

Bridges Kubler-Ross Virginia Satir model
 Humanistic Psychology – Maximising Potential
Whole Person & Self-awareness
Of what we
• Sense (e.g. sights, sounds etc.)
• Verbalise & visualise (thinking,
planning, remember, imagine)
• Feel (happiness, fear, anxiety,
wonder, indifference etc.)
• Value (inclinations, judgements,
conclusions, prejudices etc.)
• how we interact (participation
patterns, communication styles,
energy levels, norms etc.)
• Mobilisation of energy (occurs as
awareness focuses on a thought
(inner) or issue (external)
• Released energy = doing
something /action
(ibid:54)
Gestalt Cycle & mapped on to
managerial decision-making meeting
• Awareness (share info, data
generation, environment
scanning, review)
• Energy/action (mobilise interest
in idea, support, conflicts)
• Contact (common objective,
understandings, choose way
forward)
• Resolution/ closure (testing,
checking, reviewing, action
planning)
• Withdrawal (pause, sink-in,
reduce energy, end meeting)
(Nevis 1998 cited ibid:55)
Personality & Change (Myers-Briggs Type One of Four)
IS = Thoughtful Realist - Operational Oliver
“If it aint broke don’t fix it!”
• Needs to read and observe before learning
something new
• Concern with what needs to be kept
Help him by ensuring that something
stays the same.
Give him time to adjust.
Give him thing to read.
Hates brainstorming, being rushed, empty promises
 Personality & Change (Myers-Briggs Type Two)
• ES = Action-oriented Realist – Action Angela
“Let’s do it”
• Needs to actively experiment before learning
something new
• Concerned with improving results
Help her by letting her get on
with some practical first steps
Give her clear targets
Hates reviews, theoretical discourse, long emails
and long debates
 Personality & Change (Myers-Briggs Type Three)
• IN = Thoughtful Innovator – Synthesising Susan
“Let’s think about it differently!”
• Needs to read, listen and make connections
before learning something new
• Concerned with new ideas and
theories
Help her by ensuring that the
big picture makes sense
Has room for new ideas
and strategies
Hates instruction lists, didactic (do it this way!)
training courses, things that don’t make sense
 Personality & Change (Myers-Briggs Type Four)
EN = Action-oriented Innovator–Variety-maker Vikram
“Let’s change it!”
• Needs to talk with others and to be creative before
learning something new
• Concerned with putting new ideas into practice
Help him by allowing him
to take charge of a
significant area of work
Talk things through
enthusiastically with him
Hates small chunks of disconnected work, long
periods of reflection, repetition, lack of vision
Five factors influencing an Individual’s response to change

3. Organizational
history

2. Consequences of
4. Type of individual
the change

Response
to change

1. Nature of the change 5. Individual History

(figure 1.12 ibid:61)

Consider your own propensity to change
When looking at organisational, team and
individual levels of change need to consider
• Our own propensity to change, and
• Others propensity to change

Responses to Change (Anon)

Those who let it happen
Those who make it happen
Those who wonder what happened
 References
Bion W R (1961) Experiences in Groups and Other Papers, London, Tavistock
Bridges W (1991) Managing Transitions, Perseus, Reading MA
Cameron E & Green M (2012) Making Sense of Change Management, a
complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change, 3rd
edition, London, Kogan Page
Cornish (2011) reference access from the UWE Library online journals to
download pdf copy or read online (copy title and Harvard reference from link)
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02650533.2011.554974
Ellis A & Greiger R (eds) (1977) Handbook of Rational-Emotive Therapy, Springer,
New York
Kolb, D (1984) Experiential Learning, Prentice-Hall, New York
Kubler-Ross E (1969) On Death and Dying, Macmillan, New York
Nevis E (1988) Organizational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach, Gestalt Institute
of Cleveland Press, Ohio
Satir V., Banmen J., Gerber J & Gomori M (1991) The Satir Model: Family therapy
and beyond, Science and Behavior Books, Paolo Alto, CA
Further Reading - core text chapter 8 pages 230-48