Whether you’ve been brought in to a team to clean it up or tofacilitate the implementation of a new program, product or service, changemanagement requires some tough decisions.
In addition to figuring out a plan for implementation of whatever program, process, product, or service you’ve been brought in to manage, there is a key component that all leaders need to understand about their human resources:
The 20-60-20 rule.
What is the 20-60-20 rule?
Basically, it’s a non-scientific ratio that ismeant to reflect that whenever major organizational change is in the offing,the staff will fall into one of three groups:
- 20% will beon board and ready to do what’s necessary to implement the changes.
- 60% willunderstand the need for change, still be skeptical of it, but grudginglywilling to go along.
- 20% will notbe on board at all.
While it’s up to a leader to champion thecause of change, there is never likely to be a situation when 100% of the staffare fully on board. The first step in managing this issue is accepting thatreality. It’s hard to do!
Accepting that there is a percentage of theteam you’re working with that includes people who are actively against thechange being instituted can be rough. Ignoring those people, however, can causea lot of damage to morale for the other 80%.
You’re not leading a change to be the mostpopular person in the room: you’re doing it for the health and well being ofthe organization. Part of managing that change is working to convince thosethat are skeptical of the value of the change and—here’s where the ruthlesspart comes in—being willing to part ways with those who will never be on board.
How do you reach the 60% who areskeptical about change?
The top tier will (hopefully) include theC-suite, as organizational change is rarely successful if the main promotersdon’t include the entirety of the top of the organization. Assuming the C-suiteand others are on board and acting as champions for change, the key to reachingthe 60% who aren’t fully committed is communication.
But how do you do that? How can you take thepulse of the employees you are trying to communicate with and get feedback fromthem effectively?
It’s important to make sure that the top tieralso includes others throughout the organization at every level who areconsidered, for lack of a better word, influencers. These are people who havetheir ears to the ground and know what’s going on in their departments orareas. They have the pulse of the front line staff and can feedback what theconcerns and issues are floating around that they staff might not be willing tofeedback directly. These same people can be empowered to be champions of changeamong the rest of the staff. After all, in a large organization, you can’t beeverywhere!
Ultimately, as a leader, it’s your job to findout what is impeding their acceptance of the change and address it, if you can.The 60% might not end up being champions of change, but they will at least feelas if they’ve been heard and with the knowledge that the best possible model ofchange is being moved forward, they are more likely to get on board with it.
Does this mean you just fire the20% who aren’t on board?
Of course not. Communication with this groupis even more important as they might have some very valid concerns that you canhelp dispel, turning the tide on their views of the change.
There has to be a line in the sand, however.At some point, you have to decide that your plan is moving forward, with inputand changes from all the groups, and that’s that. Anyone who isn’t on board atthis point needs to be reviewed to see if they are a good fit to remain withthe organization. They may be very competent in their roles, but if they can’talign themselves with the new direction the organization is taking, they canalso do a lot of damage to the effectiveness of the changes and the morale ofthe rest of the teams.
You might even find that, with their removal, the other teams work more cohesively as they’re not always up against someone who is griping about the changes and causing disruption. It’s one thing to disagree; it’s another entirely to disrupt the effective work of a team.
The kind of tough decisions that are part ofany change management plan are what leadership is all about. Keepingcommunication lines open, and working towards a plan that has the best possibleoutcome for the organization and the people within it, are always your goals.
