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Productive Failure

Week 6, Discussion 1

Scott Richardson

5/7/2013 5:02:18 PM

In 2005 the Deputy Chief of Administration (DCA) decided to purchase mobile data terminals for the fire department suppression apparatus of the organization. This meant that every vehicle that responded to emergencies would be equipped with this new technology. The cost of the hardware for this organizational change was about $500 per vehicle, multiplied by 30 vehicles. The hardware change to apparatus would prove the easiest component to the intended organizational change.
This change process was destined to fail from the beginning as this course has so handily pointed out. The individual had the right intentions but all of the wrong skill sets from a leading organizational change perspective. There was no collaboration with colleagues or end users. The DCA made up his mind that this would be a benefit to the line firefighters without asking any of them. The Deputy Chief of Operations (who is the top of the chain of command for the operations side of our department) was unaware that the DCA was even working on something that his firefighter would be mandated to use. The Finance Director had not been consulted regarding the expenditure (for which there was no money budgeted). In short there truly was zero-collaboration.
In the end, prior to anyone’s knowledge, he signed an agreement with a vendor and too delivery of the equipment. Since this was an unfunded liability, there was no money to see the project through beyond installation. As a result, by the time we had money for training and software, these devices became outdated and very expensive post-it® note pad holders. It bears mentioning that the DCA signed the agreement with a friend and, although never proven in a court of law, may have received a kickback for the deal. After an investigation into this and other deals the DCA was fired. He has since been fired from another organization that hired him to do the same job our organization fired him from.
The lessons learned are several. When our organization hired this person, he was the chief of a one-station fire department that ran less that 1200 calls a year. At the time we were only ten stations and ran over 12,000 calls a year. In short, he did not possess the skills needed to be a successful change agent in our organization. He did not communicate or collaborate with others very well as he never needed that skill set in his previous organization. He did not have a vision for the future and the whole organization. He was not a mentor or a coach.

Respond

RE: Week 6, Discussion 1

Instructor Frankenhauser

5/8/2013 6:13:43 AM

Hi Scott,
Thank you for your comments. Implementing change by adding functionality that is not clearly understood or developed will almost certainly result in failure, or at best, great confusion and inefficiency.

Respond

Sometimes things go wrong and it’s not always a bad thing. Discuss a time in your organization’s history when a change process failed. Explain what happened and what was learned in the process.
As much as you try to plan and prepare for every possible contingency there are always going to be unexpected occurrences that can throw a change initiative off track. Sustaining change is a process where change managers, in order to ensure long-term success, need to properly research, plan and create a way to measure their initiative in order to track their progress. According to Robert Reisner’s lessons learned of the U.S. Post Office change initiative, change managers need to ensure their change initiative is timely. The change initiative is connected to the core business; the planned changes is deliberate, in other words, decide if incremental change is needed compared to strategic transformation; and lastly, create realistic expectations (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009).  
Within my department, we are immersed in change initiatives daily. Most initiatives are low-level; however, some are organizational wide. Rarely do change initiatives go exactly as planned; however, most are successful. The change process within my organization is extensive; there are many checks and balances. If the proposed change is a large-scale initiative, we will generally run a pilot to measure expected outcomes to actual outcomes.
A few years ago, in an effort to create more engagement with our military community, we decided to pilot military cohorts for our military affiliated students. The instructors used for the cohorts were either current military or veterans. The cohorts were offered to military affiliated students for our entry-level classrooms and were strictly voluntary. Approximately 50% of our military affiliated students opted into one of the cohorts. After the 90-day pilot, we measured persistence and retention seeing very little increase in student engagement. The cohorts were never fully implemented.
Upon further review of the cohorts, and the results, we determined that there were several reasons that the cohorts failed. First, the classrooms did not facilitate engagement beyond what a normal online classroom has. At the time, we had not really reached out to our military community to see what they would like to see. We did not allow the experience to be one of a student led community. In a sense, we had done nothing other than put a group of military affiliated students into one classroom.
Over the past several years, we have learned a lot from this experience, as well as the feedback we have received from our military community. It helped facilitate the creation of our Military Veteran Student Task Force which sole focus is the student experience for military. We are now at a point where we are talking about revisiting this initiative, now with more knowledge and better tools designed to engage.  
References
Palmer. I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

DISCUSSION 2–Change Leader

Week 6, Discussion 2

Scott Richardson

5/7/2013 4:39:01 PM

The skills appropriate for a leader of change in a modern organization are Interpersonal communication, collaboration, coaching and mentoring, character, vision, and passion. A leader of change most be a strong communicator to relay their message with as much clarity and as little superfluous information as possible. They must also be a collaborator; solo acts rarely effect change in organizations. For organizational change to be successful it must be a team effort. A successful leader of change is a coach and mentor, therefore creating training and a succession plan to establish change. They possess character for successful change, often having to debate those not willing to embrace needed change. Vision is another critical skill an organizational change agent possesses. They must be able to visualize the greater picture of change and how the change will affect the entire organization as a whole. Finally, they must possess the passion to forge change regardless of the obstacles they may face. Organizational change is not an easy process regardless of size of the organization.
These skills are cultivated through a strong organizational communication process combines with solid mentors and coaches. Executive management of an organization must model this behavior and mentor the senior management who in-turn will mentor and coach supervisors. This takes time to implement but will create a good succession planning foundation.
All of these skills are still a work in progress. I have worked throughout my years in the military and fire service to develop a solid foundation as a coach and mentor. I am blessed with the privilege of being the mentor for new Tower Ladder (the long fire truck with the 100’ ladder on top) officer candidates for our shift. As for the other skills, my 360 degree evaluations at work have revealed that my interpersonal communications skills, passion, collaboration, and character are strong skills. Still, after 30 years in the fire service, I learn something on every call, every day on the job. My greatest challenge, at times is worrying about the largest picture which is that of the entire organization. The ladder truck and paramedic unit I supervise, my station and the technical rescue team I manage when I am on shift are my largest responsibility. At times I lose organizational perspective. I am working on that every day!
To improve on these skills I keep a list on a white board as a reminder to keep the big picture in mind and always look at things from another perspective before acting on them. I also have a mentoring discussion group with colleagues in this very subject.

Respond

What skills are appropriate for a leader of change in a modern organization?
Although there are going to be differing opinions on what skills are needed to effectively lead change, I have to agree with Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Management Model, and the change management steps and skills needed. According to Kotter, the change leader needs to be able to establish a sense of urgency; the leader needs to ensure that they have powerful backing. The change leader must have the skill to develop and communicate a vision that others will follow. Have the confidence to know how and when to empower staff. Ensure that there are built in short-term benchmarks in order to create wins and excitement. Consolidate gains and embed the change into the culture to ensure sustainment of change (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009).
In order to drive the eight-step model, leaders must possess internal skills that give them the ability to motivate and drive performance and buy-in from staff. It takes the ability to sell the change, not as a want, as a need and necessary action. This can only come from a vision that everyone can taste, see, and feel. The change leader needs to have patience, mental fortitude, persistence, charisma, and drive.
How do you cultivate them?
Skills can be developed through studying past practices and change leaders lessons learned, as well as thoroughly examining your own strengths and opportunities for improvement. Cultivation is a constant process where leaders need to be cognizant of where they need improvement, and where they may need to bring in others to help make up for their deficiencies.
According to Kotter, the actions needed to be successful in the Eight-Step Change Management Model are to properly prepare and analyze the problem and opportunities. Develop a vision that will focus and motivate followers. Ensure that vision is disseminated via multiple avenues. Remove anything that could inhibit the change; and link the change to the success of the organization (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, 2009).
On reflection, what skills do you possess and how do you compare with your list of skills?
Reflecting on the skills listed above, as well as the needs that Kotter lists, for the most part I believe that I bring passion, drive, and motivation to those around me. I believe that I am charismatic and can sell the need for change. I have a lot of experience in this area, so I also know how to measure expectations versus real results.
What can you do to improve your skills?
Patience is probably my biggest opportunity for improvement. Because I live in a very fast-paced environment, I tend to have an expectation of others that may not be realistic. I need to heed my advice and accept things that I cannot change. Additionally, I need to find ways to create more excitement and drive from those that are dragging their feet. Many times, it is showing why the change is good for them.
References
Palmer. I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Respond

RE: Change Leader

Instructor Frankenhauser

5/8/2013 6:14:18 AM

Hi Charles,
Good response! I would also add that research has demonstrated that there are nearly a limitless number of traits that have been identified as necessary for effective leadership. As you have alluded, leaders who effectively handle/manage change tend to be viewed as more successful. If we consider Lewin’s Change theory, note the times of chaos/change in an organization, and look to what the leaders do it may be possible to truly assess the traits possessed by the leader.