Do you need original answers for this exercise?
TOOLKIT EXERCISE 8.1, 8.2, 8.2, 8.4 and 8.5 of Cawsey, Deszca, and Ingols: Organizational Change, 3e.
End-of-Chapter Exercises
Toolkit Exercise 8.1
Critical Thinking Questions
See Zane Case (A) at the end of the book. Answer the following questions:
- Describe the health care environment in Massachusetts in the 1990s. What were the driving forces for change that were pushing the industry? What impact did these forces have on New England Medical Center?
- What happens within Tufts-NEMC as the external environment gyrates with change? What data in the case supports your claim?
- What’s wrong with Tufts-NEMC as Zane takes over as CEO in January 2004?
- How did Zane gain skills as a leader of change?
- Which type of change would you prefer to lead? Why?
Ellen Zane on Rebranding – Video of 3:18
- What are all the pieces that went into the rebranding plan?
- How did Zane evaluate the risk involved with the rebranding effort?
Ellen Zane on Negotiating – Video of 11:13
- What kind of power did Zane have when she was negotiating with insurers?
- What did Zane do to prepare for this emergency?
- How did Zane facilitate a solution?
Gene Deszca’s Talk: Leading Change: Video of 15 minutes
- Evaluate yourself on the core competencies mentioned in the video.
- What do you think that you need to do to improve on your skills or create a situation where you can be a successful change agent?
Toolkit Exercise 8.2
Myself as Change Agent
- The following list of change agent attributes and skills represents an amalgam drawn from the previous section. Rate yourself on the following dimensions:
Attributes of Change Leaders From Caldwell
Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High
- Inspiring vision 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Entrepreneurship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Integrity and honesty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Learning from others 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Openness to new ideas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Risk taking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Adaptability and flexibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Creativity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Experimentation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Using power 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Attributes of Change Managers From Caldwell
- Empowering others 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Team building 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Learning from others 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Adaptability and flexibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Openness to new ideas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Managing resistance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Conflict resolution 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Networking skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Knowledge of the business 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Problem solving 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Change Agent Attributes Suggested by Others
- Interpersonal skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Communication skills 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Emotional resilience 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Tolerance for ambiguity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Tolerance for ethical conflict 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Political skill 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Persistence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Determination 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Pragmatism 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Dissatisfaction with the status quo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Openness to information 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Flexibility 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Capacity to build trust 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Intelligence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Emotional intelligence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
- Do you see yourself as scoring high on some items compared to others? If so, you are more likely to be comfortable in a change agent role. Lack of these attributes and skills does not mean you could not be a change agent—it just means that it will be more difficult and it may suggest areas for development.
- Are you more likely to be comfortable in a change leadership role at this time, or does the role of change manager or implementer seem more suited to who you are?
- Ask a mentor or friend to provide you feedback on the same dimensions. Does the feedback confirm your self-assessment? If not, why not?
Toolkit Exercise 8.3
Your Development as a Change Agent
Novice change leaders often picture themselves as being in the right and those that oppose them as somehow wrong. This certainty gives them energy and the will to persist in the face of such opposition. It sets up a dynamic of opposition—the more they resist, the more I must try to change them, and so I persuade them more, put more pressure on them, and perhaps resort to whatever power I have to force change.
- Think of a situation where someone held a different viewpoint than yours. What were your assumptions about that person? Did you believe they just didn’t get it, were wrong headed, perhaps a bit stupid?
Or did you ask yourself, why would they hold the position they have? If you assume they are as rational and as competent as you are, why would they think as they do? Think back to Table 8.2. Are you at stage one, two, three, or four?
- Are you able to put yourself into the shoes of the resister? Ask yourself: What forces play on that person? What beliefs does he or she have? What criteria is he or she using to evaluate the situation?
- What are the implications of your self-assessment with respect to what you need to do to develop yourself as a change agent?
Toolkit Exercise 8.4
What Is Your Change Agent Preference?
- How comfortable are you with risk and ambiguity?
Do you seek order and stability or change and uncertainty?
Describe your level of comfort in higher-risk situations.
Describe your degree of restlessness with routine, predictable situations.
- How intuitive are you?
Do you use feelings and emotion to influence others? Or are you logical and systematic?
Do you persuade through facts and arguments?
- Ask someone who know you well to reflect on your change preferences and style. Does that person’s judgment agree or disagree with yours?
Why? What data do each have?
- Given your responses to the above, how would you classify yourself? Are you:
- An emotional champion
- An intuitive adapter
- A developmental strategist
- A continuous improver
- How flexible or adaptive are you with respect to the approach you use?
Do you always adopt the same approach, or do you use other approaches, depending on the needs of the situation?
Which ones do you feel comfortable and competent in using?
Again, check out your self-assessment by asking a significant other for comments. Comment on their response.
Toolkit Exercise 8.5
Your Skills as a Change Team Member
- Think of a time when you participated in a team. What was the team’s goal?
How well did the team perform? Were the results positive?
Why or why not?
- Did the team members exhibit the characteristics listed by Prosci listed below? Rate your team members’ performance on these characteristics.
- Being knowledgeable about the business and enthusiastic about the change
- Possessing excellent oral and written communications skills and a willingness to listen and share
- Having total commitment to the project, the process, and the results
- Being able to remain open minded and visionary
- Being respected within the organization as an apolitical catalyst for strategic change.[i]
- What personal focus do you have? Do you tend to concentrate on getting the job done—a task focus? Or do you worry about bringing people along—a process focus?
- How would you improve your skills in this area? Who might help you develop such skills?
[i] Prosci Benchmarking Report. Best Practices in Change Management. (2000).
