Sustaining Change

Hodges, J. (2021). Managing and Leading People through Organizational Change (2nd ed.). Kogan Page. [PDF] Managing and Leading People through Organizational Change by Julie Hodges, 2nd edition | 9781789667974, 9781789667981

1. Ethical Sustaining of Change:

   • Change needs to be sustained ethically for long-term organizational benefits.

   • Ethical leadership is crucial for ensuring change is conducted responsibly and transparently.

2. Leading Change Ethically:

   • Leaders should adopt approaches that reflect ethical values, such as strategic alliance building and treating opponents as sources of support.

   • Ethical leadership involves empathy, care, and respect for others, focusing on pro-social and altruistic behaviors.

3. Ethical Decision-Making:

   • Ethical decision-making involves considering legal, moral, and organizational values and consequences.

   • Leaders should ensure that decisions align with organizational values and ethical standards.

4. Managing Ethical Behavior:

   • Steps for managing ethical behavior include identifying issues, determining responsibility, gathering relevant facts, reviewing right versus wrong, applying ethical standards, making decisions, and reflecting on decisions.

Notes on Sustaining Change:

1. Evaluation:

   • Proper evaluation is crucial for understanding what's working and what's not in the change process.

   • It helps in identifying barriers, learning from experiences, and planning future transformations.

2. Realizing Benefits:

   • Clear frameworks, resources, performance management, and stakeholder engagement are essential for realizing the benefits of change.

   • Proactive risk management and avoiding optimism bias are necessary for successful implementation.

3. Managing Failing Change:

   • Change may fail, but managers can mitigate the situation by ensuring clarity, reviewing implementation plans, and fostering support and participation.

4. Making Changes Sustainable:

   • Change needs to be embedded into the organization's culture and practices for long-term benefits.

   • Sustained change requires simplicity, accountability, resources, tracking, amelioration, and emotional engagement.

5. Influences on Sustaining Change:

   • Leadership and management play crucial roles in sustaining change by recognizing the need for change, ensuring clarity of purpose, mobilizing people, and managing benefits and risks.

6. Process vs. People Approaches:

   • Traditional process-driven approaches to change need to be balanced with people-centric approaches that focus on engagement, innovation, and relationships.

   • Adapting approaches to the organizational context and nature of change is essential for success.

Implications for Leaders and Managers:

• Provide clear ethical guidelines and ensure ethical principles are understood and applied throughout the change process.

• Address ethical behaviors, identify benefits of change, and acknowledge when change becomes part of business as usual.