Consulting

The Heart of Change:

Three Keys for Successful Change Management
Fail to address the emotional needs of your employees during a major Cohen believes the reason emotions play such a critical role in change
change and your transformation could encounter a long and bumpy management is because people are motivated not only by numbers or
road. This message was the foundation for Deloitte Consulting LLP business cases—they must also first see the truth behind the change.
Principal Dan Cohen’s Feb. 8 presentation to 333 Webcast participants If they can visualize a better future and believe in the changes
about the eight-step approach to managing major change. required to get them there, then change can become exciting and
Cohen, co-author of The Heart of Change: Real Life Stories of How rewarding.
People Change their Organizations, and author of the recently released But, how can business leaders paint a picture of the future that helps
The Heart of Change Field Guide: Tools and Tactics for Leading Change to motivate people at all levels of the company? Cohen outlined an
in Your Organization, has conducted research with companies eight-step approach to help guide companies through the transforma-
worldwide about how they manage change. His findings reveal that tion process.
people respond to change in the same way, no matter where they live
or work. Getting Ready for Change
“The hallmark of effective change is not just about dollars or re- The first step is to build a climate for change. To do this, leaders must
sources,” he said. “It’s about getting everyone in the company to increase the urgency in which they talk about the change. Then, they
change their behavior.” However, companies often focus on the can build their guiding teams and perfect their vision of the future.
numbers and the business case for change instead of emotions. To Collectively, these first three steps can help create the energy needed
demonstrate how emotions affect people’s response to change, Cohen to propel the company into the next stage of the change manage-
asked Webcast participants to assess their feelings during their own ment process: implementation. When asked about their own process
change initiatives. Participants overwhelmingly agreed that emotions for embarking on a transformation, Webcast participants offered a
played a significant role, with 63.3 percent saying that they felt pride, mixture of responses, with many stating that they simply give a high-
joy or excitement when things were going well. level presentation about the effort and assume everyone is on board.
At the moment I realized that the important initiative I was When embarking on a transformation, we typically:
working on was effective, I was:
Take the time to build
the energy needed to
engage the company
12.5%
Thinking about the
work plan, what had Feeling pride, joy,
to be done Jump into the
excitement transformation
tomorrow 63.3% Identify the key
36.6% people in the without really
company who can taking the time to
carry the message understand the real
about the effort to implication of our
others actions
39.3% 20.9%

Give a high-level presentation

about the effort and assume
everyone is on board
27.1%

Audit . Tax . Consulting . Financial Advisory.

“I found the content to be extremely exciting, During a transformation, my company primarily focuses on:

informative, and actionable.” Change behavior

3.6%
– A national mutual life insurance company
Developing the
All of the above technology to support
Cohen believes that during this first phase of change management, equally the transformation
30.3% 15.8%
leadership plays a critical role. Executives must have a deep under-
standing of the change. They must know why they’re doing it and
how they’re going to get there. They must look people in the eye
when they talk about the change and model the behavior they want.
“If leaders demonstrate they are enthusiastic and dedicated to the
change, others will follow,” Cohen said. “If there’s any doubt
whatsoever, people will question the effort.” Webcast participants
revealed that their own management teams are sometimes reluctant Tasks and processes to support
or invisible during a major change. the transformation
50.2%

During a major change effort, leadership:

Making Change Permanent
Gets actively involved
Relies on the project on a sustained basis The final steps of the change management process are about
team to make the and demonstrates sustainability. It’s perhaps the most difficult phase of the change
change happen they are accountable
25.5% for the change management process because everyone would like to declare
31.7% “success” and move on. But, moving on is exactly the wrong thing to
do, Cohen emphasized. Management must keep modeling, reward-
ing, and reinforcing the desired behavior. “You must get people to
keep doing the new thing until it’s no longer a new thing,” Cohen
said.

States they are committed, but Key Take-Aways

only becomes involved as
requested by the project team • The most effective change efforts are those that respond to the
42.7% emotional needs of the people involved.

Engaging the Troops
The next three steps are about engaging the resources within the
company. Cohen recommended regularly communicating heartfelt
messages about the change. “To get people on board, they have to
understand the need,” he said. Once the need has been established,
companies must help enable their people to make the necessary
behavioral modifications by clearing process, technology, and cultural
barriers. Then, sustain the excitement with quick wins—milestones
that demonstrate the change is worth everyone’s effort. Webcast
participants acknowledge they have some work to do in this area,
with only 3.6 percent stating that their companies give behavioral
modification the attention it requires.
“One of the best programs I’ve attended.
Dan gave many, many examples of real life
applications of the points he was making.”
– A global software and IT services company
• Leadership must first create a climate for change by increasing
urgency, creating guiding teams, and perfecting their message.
• Modeling the desired behavior is the most effective way to help
enable people to make the change in themselves.
• Creating opportunities for short-term wins can help keep people
motivated throughout the process.
• Continuing to model the behavior long after the project is over
will help increase the likelihood that the change becomes
permanent.
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