—Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is
Hard. Change. Just say the word and it can evoke a spectrum of emotional and ...
Leading Transformative IT Change in Higher Education Fred Damiano, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
ECAR Research Bulletin 8, 2011 4772 Walnut Street, Suite 206
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Boulder, Colorado 80301
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educause.edu/ecar
Overview For anything to change, someone has to start acting differently. —Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard
Change. Just say the word and it can evoke a spectrum of emotional and physical reactions—excitement, anticipation, enthusiasm, anxiety, nervousness, fear, dread. Why is change so difficult? In today’s technology-driven world, the capabilities and opportunities that emerge through technological innovation are often one of the drivers for transformation. Change is difficult for many people. Peter Senge, a senior lecturer at MIT and author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, points out that people don’t so much resist change as they resist being changed. As a leader, understanding and respecting that single concept can result in a successful transformative event. This is not a bulletin about project management. It is about leadership. It is a collection of valuable techniques for leading technology-driven transformative change by recognizing that people are at the heart of what will make the change successful. People need to understand what the change entails. Most are not likely to support the change on the basis of “newer” or “better” technology alone. There has to be value in it for them. What types of change are we talking about? Change can involve implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or it can be the integration of best-of-breed systems that together serve enterprise-wide requirements. It can involve converting to a new learning management system (LMS), remodeling a library into a modern learning commons, migrating from on-site services to cloud-based services, dealing with the explosion of mobile devices, or converting to an open-source product from a commercial product. It can also be people-centric change, such as merging information technology (IT) and library functions or reorganizing traditional IT department operations to enable highperformance teamwork. Whatever the technology drivers are, they alter the way people do their jobs. Knowing this, leaders can be confident that the people affected will have many questions, including (almost certainly): 1) Does this change threaten me? 2) What’s in it for me? This ECAR research bulletin synthesizes and applies prudent management concepts about change to the ongoing IT challenge of continually changing technology services for continually evolving customer needs. It is based on 10 principles of effective leadership, organizational management, and the transformational aspects of 21stcentury technologies gleaned from literature and professional experience: 1. Put First Things First 2. Organize and Motivate the People 3. Embrace the Ambiguity 4. Create Transparency 5. Empower Teams
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6. Manage Expectations 7. Treat Disturbances as Gifts 8. Deliver Results 9. Acknowledge and Celebrate 10. Measure Value
Highlights The field of leadership and change management is very broad, with many, many excellent resources available. Leading change when technology is the driver can be successful by ensuring that some key aspects are part of the overall game plan.
Put First Things First Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. —Stephen R. Covey
There is no better place to start than in making sure that a change initiative starts with “the project before the project.” Leading a transformative event requires strong project management practices. Project planning must be completed before the change project begins. Many technology-centric projects fail because they do not meet customer expectations or requirements, they are not on schedule, and/or they exceed allocated budgets. In some cases, the failures are so extensive that they become a media sensation or result in legal action. Projects can fail for many reasons, but technology projects don’t usually fail because of hardware or software. They generally fail because of poor or nonexistent program and project management. In essence, it is the project that fails, not the technology. At the onset of a transformation initiative, some of the first things that need to be in place include:
Visible and engaged executive sponsorship
Clear and measureable goals
Funded resources that are needed for success
A governance structure to guide priority setting and decision making
A clear, concise, and achievable plan and schedule
A skilled project manager
Organize and Motivate the People The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions. —Ellen Glasgow, Pulitzer Prize Winner
Depending on the nature and urgency of the change, a variety of formal structures can be put in place to organize the people who will be involved. Typically, there are three
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important roles or functions that a transformative event requires to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome:
Executive Steering Committee. This group is responsible for providing overall support and guidance to the project team. This committee does not engage in operational decisions, but it ensures that the project teams have the resources they need to complete the project. This committee also adjudicates conflicts that project teams cannot resolve internally.
Program Office. This is the individual or group that is responsible for carrying out all of the activities generally associated with managing a project. This includes coordinating all of the resources, reviewing and approving project plans, tracking budgets and schedules, managing vendors and partners, monitoring open issues and risks, and producing status reports and communications to all project stakeholders.
Project Team(s). These are the groups that are directly involved in implementing the change. They are generally cross-functional in nature and include individuals with varied backgrounds and skills that are essential to making the change happen. Each project team must have one project leader who is accountable for the team meeting its goal.
With this general framework in place, a leader must then become a motivator in guiding the team in a way that will impel it to continue moving forward throughout the change initiative. In his book Great Business Teams, author Howard Guttman writes that great teams are led by great leaders who:
Create a burning platform for change
Are visionaries and architects
Know they cannot do it alone
Build authentic relationships
Model behaviors they expect from their teams
Embrace the Ambiguity Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up. —James Belasco and Ralph Stayer, Flight of the Buffalo
It would be a rare instance where a transformative change initiative has all the facts and data it needs to get started and/or proceed. Leaders must help teams recognize that there will be many gray areas, and that they will need to get comfortable operating in that situation. The general tendency is likely to be hesitation in making decisions or commitments. Inaction, although it might feel like the more prudent path, may actually be just the opposite. The opportunity for the leader is to acknowledge the ambiguity and establish the risktolerance levels in which the group will operate. This will provide a frame of reference for the project team and those affected by the change. The leader can use a number of tactics to encourage the teams to take reasonable risks when the payoff might be high.
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Some tactics a leader can employ in helping teams get comfortable with ambiguity include:
Focusing on how things can be better for the institution and for individuals
Seeking early wins to gain momentum and build team confidence
Creating a supportive environment where reasonable risk-taking is encouraged and rewarded
Highlighting what is good or going well as the initiative unfolds, rather than dwelling on things that may not be going according to plan
Expecting that failures will happen, and learning rapidly from them
Helping each individual answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
While this is only a partial list of actions a leader can take, it will go a long way in setting the tone for getting team members comfortable with ambiguity.
Create Transparency If you want to make enemies, try to change something. —Woodrow Wilson
It is essential that an organization understands the rationale behind a transformative change. To the degree possible, decision making should be transparent. People will usually get on board with the change if they have an understanding of the general roadmap. The leader must articulate the route to make clear to the organization where they are headed. So what exactly does the leader have to do to create transparency? Fundamentally, there are three key “windows” the leader must create for all constituents: 1. The overall roadmap of where they are starting and how they will know they’ve reached the destination 2. The structure that will drive how decisions are made, how priorities are set, and how constituents can provide input into the decision making process 3. The communication channels that will be used to report on status and progress Simply stated, these processes and practices must be open, visible, and inspectable. A lack of transparency creates an environment that contributes to the fear of the unknown, and that can impede the institution from moving forward.
Empower Teams It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up. —Vince Lombardi
If you listen closely, you may discover how often the word “team” is used, and sometimes abused, by a leader or manager when referring to a group of people for whom they are accountable. But just saying “team” does not mean a team exists. Leaders of transformative events don’t simply need teams; they need empowered teams.
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Mirriam-Webster’s definition of a team is “a number of persons associated together in work or activity.” Teams are not created by simply assembling a group of people and anointing them a “team.” Teams have to be nurtured, grown, and built. This is especially true of an empowered team. There is much literature and research on the successful models and concepts of highperformance teams and empowered teams. This is not an attempt to synthesize that vast field of study. But there are several fundamental elements at the core of an empowered team:
An empowered team is one that owns the goals of the project. It has complete clarity of purpose, it knows it is responsible for the outcome of the project, and it works together to create successes.
An empowered team accepts the charge that it is authorized to make decisions as close to the task or problem as possible. It does not look to elevate decisions to higher levels of management but is guided in its decision making on the basis of moving the project toward its stated goal.
An empowered team consists of teammates who explicitly trust one another. Teammates operate in an environment where open and honest communication is a core value. There is a refusal to let a teammate fail. Teammates are committed to each other’s success and recognize that the team succeeds only when all teammates successfully fulfill their responsibilities.
So how does the leader begin to establish a culture of empowered teams? It all starts with the how the leader approaches the challenge. In his book, Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value, Bill George points out that “authentic leaders genuinely desire to serve others through their leadership. They are more interested in empowering the people they lead to make a difference than they are in power, money, or prestige for themselves. They are as guided by qualities of the heart, by passion and compassion, as they are by qualities of the mind” (see http://www.lifeworkleadership.org/program/books/authentic-leadership/ ).
Manage Expectations There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. —Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
At its core, managing expectations needs to be done on two levels: the first with regard to the technology and the second with regard to correctly orienting the frame of reference for the people who will be affected by the change. The Gartner Hype Cycle is often referenced in setting appropriate expectations for the technology aspect. The Hype Cycle has five stages (technology trigger, peak of inflated expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment, and plateau of productivity) through which new and emerging technologies will pass. Some technologies can migrate through the Hype Cycle quickly (measured in months), while others can take more than a decade. The key for the change leader is to understand where on the Hype Cycle the technology they are trying to implement falls. To a large 6
extent, that will dictate how much effort must be spent on setting an appropriate expectation on the value that the technology can deliver. Many times, implementing a new technology does not result in the kind of instant change that results from flipping a light switch on and off. It’s important for the leader to understand that many people who will be affected by the change do not know this. In fact, they are likely thinking that their world will be completely turned upside down as soon as the technology is deployed. These expectations can often be managed linguistically—for example, by referring to the project outcome as a “transition” rather than a “change.” Unrealistic expectations are often a component of failed projects. Many technology projects are perceived to have failed when expectations about the technology are misaligned with what the technology can actually deliver. Once expectations are not met, it is very difficult to win back stakeholders who feel they have been let down. Being transparent about the capabilities of the technology throughout the project is a good way to manage people’s expectations.
Treat Disturbances as Gifts The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic. —Peter Drucker
The best planned, funded, and staffed projects will encounter turbulence and require course corrections. The disturbances show up in all forms: a team member has a medical crisis; a consultant doesn’t work out; a crucial staff person leaves for another job; an unexpected technical problem derails the project schedule; executive leadership changes the project scope; and so forth. How does a team plan for disturbances? The defining moment for any team is how it reacts when the disturbance occurs or when its well-crafted plan is hit with unexpected events or circumstances. Can it recognize the disturbance as a detour rather than a reason to abandon ship? Does it retain key project management processes? Does it avoid temptation to affix blame? Does it keep its eye on the ultimate goals and objectives? It is neither practical nor valuable to try to predict every potential project disruption. Rather, focus on creating a team culture where the expected behavior and response is rooted in collaborative problem solving and developing course corrections. This becomes much easier when the goal is clearly articulated, when everyone is focused on the goal, and when team success is valued more highly than individual achievements. Like Yogi Berra, the New York Yankee great, once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Deliver Results Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day. —Frances Hesselbein, The Key to Cultural Transformation, Leader to Leader
For a change initiative to gain traction, credibility, and momentum, there must be visible progress by meeting specific milestones and producing deliverables…and the sooner this occurs in the project, the better. Anyone who has led a technology change initiative knows
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this is a lot easier said than done. The journey of a change initiative is usually not a straight road but more of a winding road with many bumps along the way. But with road signs marking progress along the route, the team will be motivated to continue moving forward. Which tools or methodologies can the leader look to in guiding the team to deliver results? In their book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath describe a practical model that leaders may find useful. The framework comprises three components:
Direct the Rider. Leaders must make project goals and objectives both clear and meaningful to team members. If a team member is unclear about project direction, s/he can spin the team in circles. The leader must continually point to the destination or goal, build off things that are going well, and script the right moves.
Motivate the Elephant. No matter how hard project team members work, they are unlikely to achieve the goals until they become emotionally committed to the outcomes. Team members can often become exhausted when they are not emotionally engaged in a project, and leaders can misinterpret this exhaustion as laziness. To successfully motivate a team, shrink the change into more digestible pieces or into a series of smaller achievable goals.
Shape the Path. What often look like people problems are actually situational problems. No matter what is happening with individual team members, the leader must look for opportunities to shape the path by tweaking the environment, building new habits, and rallying the team toward the goal.
Acknowledge and Celebrate Celebrate what you want to see more of. —Tom Peters
As the team proceeds through the change initiative, it is important for the leader to celebrate the progress and acknowledge the achievement. This serves a dual purpose. First, it reinforces for the team that they are headed in the right direction. This is especially important early in the project to help the team gain momentum and build confidence. Second, it illustrates to the team the behavior and performance that are expected…and that the leader wants repeated. To “celebrate” doesn’t mean that lavish gifts or large bonuses need to be given to the team or its members…although those certainly are very effective if they are appropriate. Assuming those options are not available, the key is to recognize the achievement. What is “given” can be as simple as a thank you. The key is for the leader to do something to reinforce the performance and the value it has created. Recognizing performance does not need to wait until the end of the project. In fact, that is probably too late. Successes should be celebrated as key milestones are met.
Measure Value This “telephone” has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. —Western Union internal memo, 1876
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Value is often associated with the concept of return on investment (ROI), which is a standard measure of business performance. Although ROI might not necessarily translate well to all environments or institutions, this doesn’t mean that the notion of understanding what benefits the institution expects from its investment in the change initiative should be ignored. The time to determine the value metrics is at the very start of the project. In fact, the measurable goals and objectives should be one of the first things done in terms of identifying what the institution wants to get better at. This doesn’t need to be done in a traditional ROI approach, but there must be some type of value framework established so the team can measure its progress and, more importantly, its contributions. While there are many ways to establish a value framework, the following is a simple hierarchical structure that can help the team in charting the value provided by the change initiative.
Dimension: This defines what the institution wants to get better at, at a high level. For example, some dimensions might be timeliness, accuracy, simplification, completeness, or transparency. Attribute: This defines a next level of detail of a particular dimension. For example: accuracy of data in financial system, timeliness of reporting, simplification of procurement process.
State of the attribute prior to the initiative: This is a statement that formally documents the current state of the attribute using qualitative or quantitative measures.
State of the attribute after the initiative: This is a statement that formally documents the desired state for the attribute using qualitative or quantitative measures.
With this simple framework, or something similar, the institution will have a much better understanding of how it will track and report on the value that has been returned to the institution. Plain and simple, it’s all about outcomes.
What It Means to Higher Education These days, there is little room for error when an institution takes on a change initiative, and a lot less time can be expended on analyzing and thinking about how to proceed when there is a need for change. Not everyone will be happy with change. The institution needs to accept this and move forward nonetheless. Higher education institutions compete for students, faculty, staff members, and financial resources. Which leaders will help their institutions by successfully driving and implementing technology changes that give their institution a competitive advantage? In her 2010 ECAR research bulletin “The Future CIO: Critical Skills and Competencies,” Debra Allison highlighted key skills required by senior technology leaders on campus. While Allison provides an extensive list of competencies, many of which apply to leading
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the kinds of transformative change articulated in this bulletin, three competencies stand out as essential:
Change Agent. The ability to serve as the institution’s change agent, the willingness to challenge the established institutional culture and long-held paradigms, and the leadership skills to foster adaptive change and flexibility among members of the institution
Emotional Intelligence. The social skills and ability to be self-aware, be selfmanaged, understand the environment, and accept and respond to feedback from all levels of the institution
Strategic Vision. The ability to develop a compelling vision for building institutional success through the knowledge of the institution’s mission and goals and by leveraging investments in technology and other institutional resources
Key Questions to Ask
Is the rapid adaptation and use of technology-based capabilities considered a strategic competitive advantage at your institution?
Who at your institution has demonstrated the ability to get people to join them in implementing a significant change?
Through what institutional channels can people who perceive strategically important problems be heard?
Is your institution likely to embrace the potential of change, or is it more apt to hold fast to the status quo?
What level of risk taking does your institutional culture embrace?
Where to Learn More
Allison, Debra Hust. “The Future CIO: Critical Skills and Competencies” (Research Bulletin 15, 2010), Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2010, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
Covey, Stepehn R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster; 1989.
George, William. Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
Gutman, Howard. Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2008.
Heath, Chip, and Dan Heath. Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group, 2010.
Johnson, Spencer. Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998.
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Pretz-Lawson, Mary L. “Formalizing Enterprise IT Project Management” (Research Bulletin 5, 2010). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2010, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
Project Management Institute, http://www.pmi.org.
About the Author Fred Damiano (
[email protected]) is Chief Information Officer at the Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Citation for This Work Damiano, Fred. “Leading Transformative IT Change in Higher Education” (Research Bulletin 8, 2011). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2011, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.
Copyright Copyright 2011 EDUCAUSE and Fred Damiano. All rights reserved. This ECAR research bulletin is proprietary and intended for use only by subscribers. Reproduction, or distribution of ECAR research bulletins to those not formally affiliated with the subscribing organization, is strictly prohibited unless prior permission is granted by EDUCAUSE and the author.
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