Video Script 3 – Steps of Change
Hello. I’m Dennis Bowman, President of Public Safety Specialist Group.
In previous sessions we have discussed organizational change.
In this session, we will talk about the actual change process and look at the various steps you can go through to ensure an orderly, informative, and transformative way to accomplish your desired state of operations and organizational performance.
The most important part of successful change requires that senior leadership and management work together as a cohesive group.
Without that kind of cooperation, the change process and its intended outcomes will not be as successful.
Additionally, affected employees must be aligned with a common vision and strategy.
Social psychologist, Kurt Lewin, said that there are driving forces and restraining forces in the work environment that will influence an intended outcome.
One force that drives change might be the need to hire more officers to improve response times, cover more geographic areas, or deal with protestors and rioters.
On the other hand, a restraining force could be the resistance coming from the city council, for budgetary reasons.
So, how do you convince the opposition to support your position? There’s the need for a lot of change here in this example.
This is referred to as “unfreezing” the current condition so you can hopefully move toward greater levels of cooperation and most importantly, understanding.
Jon Kotter outlines a step-by-step model for how to bring about desired change:
Step 1. Create a sense of urgency around the need for change;
Step 2. Form powerful coalitions
Step 3. Create a vision for change
Step 4. Communicate the vision
Step 5. Remove obstacles and barriers
Step 6. Create some short-term wins
Step 7. Build on the change
And Step 8. Anchor the changes in the department’s culture
There are other step guidelines from other management professionals, but the goal is to be systematic and organized as you approach creating change.
I am Dennis Bowman, President of Public Safety Specialists Group. We’re here to help you in any way we can.
Thank you for joining me.
Stay Safe!