By Kim Jong-nam
Many corporations are interested in growing "change agents," employees tasked with the role of helping change an organization's culture. These people are not experts but regular employees who are chosen to represent employees generally. They have typically been selected because of a high level of awareness of organizational issues and colleagues' opinions. During the many projects I have worked on aimed at educating change agents and providing counsel to organizations on their culture change endeavors, I have noticed that corporations seem to be blindly employing this strategy without giving enough thought to it. Continuing to push agents to effect change that they are not capable of will not lead to the results organizations expect and may even backfire.
1. Change agents should have time to create familiarity with each other. They are chosen from different departments and hold their roles only for a certain period of time. If they don't have a shared purpose or values or perspective about their roles and responsibilities, they will not contribute to changing the whole culture of a company. Instead, they will only focus on their own worksite goals rather than the whole picture. In order to prevent this, they need time to get to know each other and understand the collective purpose of their task.
2. Every time change agents meet, there should be enough time given for them to get a full understanding of why they're gathering, what issues are at hand and what outcomes they are expected to reach. Change agents are usually from different departments, worksites and work situations. Due to these reasons, diverse interpretations, approaches and strategies will be used by different agents. As stated above, when there is a collective purpose and sense of background, a bigger impact can be created.
3. In order for agents to be effective, they must recognize the importance of listening to their colleagues, either through conversation or through surveys. This listening also includes availing themselves of resources that are already there, such as records of previous surveys or meetings. If they do not, the purpose of their role will be foiled: they are supposed to represent the employees. They must play an expert's role even though they are non-experts. If they don't listen to their fellow employees, they will not be able to understand specific on-site issues and problems. That is why they need to make use of all information in order to see wider and deeper. They must pay meticulous attention not only to their colleagues' opinions but also to their specific desires and preferred directions.
4. Corporations should also make efforts to show change agents a roadmap for the entirety of their tenure. If not, change agents will not know what they need to do in terms of the bigger picture and will become confused. If change agents can know the overall structure under which they will be engaged in specific activities, they will be more careful about their expected behaviors and roles and take on a shared sense of responsibility.
5. Change agents must also be helped in creating a safe environment where ideas can be exchanged freely. They don't know each other very well, which might make them reluctant to disagree with each other in order to avoid conflict, and they know that their roles as change agents are temporary, making it seem less worth it to do something difficult. However, this reluctance goes against the very idea of the program. They were chosen precisely because they had different and unique opinions due to not being experts. If they remain silent, organizations lose the opportunity to get opinions from their employees and to tap into this resource for new and creative solutions. Ground rules must be created so that each change agent can voice their opinions freely and listen to others without any misunderstandings. Creating a positive atmosphere in which change agents can support and encourage each other is essential to this program. Change agents represent other employees. They must be able to voice their opinions.
6. If there is an internal manager who leads the change agents, they should be scrupulous when designing their meetings because there is a high probability that they won't be an expert either. Organizational culture manifests itself as broad and varied phenomena in a corporation. This diversity makes it difficult to discern whether they're dealing with subjects comprehensively.
7. Many corporations forget the importance of small things, such as how to set up a meeting room, how to seat participants, how to record what transpired during the meeting, and how to decide on what has been resolved and what hasn't. Everything the change agents do should be recorded and shared with all participants. If the change agents can't create a common understanding, it will be very difficult for them to start from where they left off next time. The continuity of their projects will thus weaken and their effectiveness will deteriorate.
Corporations must realize that without strong and thorough support on their part, many change agents will be embarrassed and confused about what to do. Bottom-up change is usually three or four times harder than top-down change, but it is worth it.
Kim Jong-nam is the founding CEO of META (www.imeta.co.kr) and a global organizational development consultant who specializes in organizational culture and leadership.
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1. Change agents should have time to create familiarity with each other. They are chosen from different departments and hold their roles only for a certain period of time. If they don't have a shared purpose or values or perspective about their roles and responsibilities, they will not contribute to changing the whole culture of a company. Instead, they will only focus on their own worksite goals rather than the whole picture. In order to prevent this, they need time to get to know each other and understand the collective purpose of their task.
2. Every time change agents meet, there should be enough time given for them to get a full understanding of why they're gathering, what issues are at hand and what outcomes they are expected to reach. Change agents are usually from different departments, worksites and work situations. Due to these reasons, diverse interpretations, approaches and strategies will be used by different agents. As stated above, when there is a collective purpose and sense of background, a bigger impact can be created.
3. In order for agents to be effective, they must recognize the importance of listening to their colleagues, either through conversation or through surveys. This listening also includes availing themselves of resources that are already there, such as records of previous surveys or meetings. If they do not, the purpose of their role will be foiled: they are supposed to represent the employees. They must play an expert's role even though they are non-experts. If they don't listen to their fellow employees, they will not be able to understand specific on-site issues and problems. That is why they need to make use of all information in order to see wider and deeper. They must pay meticulous attention not only to their colleagues' opinions but also to their specific desires and preferred directions.
4. Corporations should also make efforts to show change agents a roadmap for the entirety of their tenure. If not, change agents will not know what they need to do in terms of the bigger picture and will become confused. If change agents can know the overall structure under which they will be engaged in specific activities, they will be more careful about their expected behaviors and roles and take on a shared sense of responsibility.
5. Change agents must also be helped in creating a safe environment where ideas can be exchanged freely. They don't know each other very well, which might make them reluctant to disagree with each other in order to avoid conflict, and they know that their roles as change agents are temporary, making it seem less worth it to do something difficult. However, this reluctance goes against the very idea of the program. They were chosen precisely because they had different and unique opinions due to not being experts. If they remain silent, organizations lose the opportunity to get opinions from their employees and to tap into this resource for new and creative solutions. Ground rules must be created so that each change agent can voice their opinions freely and listen to others without any misunderstandings. Creating a positive atmosphere in which change agents can support and encourage each other is essential to this program. Change agents represent other employees. They must be able to voice their opinions.
6. If there is an internal manager who leads the change agents, they should be scrupulous when designing their meetings because there is a high probability that they won't be an expert either. Organizational culture manifests itself as broad and varied phenomena in a corporation. This diversity makes it difficult to discern whether they're dealing with subjects comprehensively.
7. Many corporations forget the importance of small things, such as how to set up a meeting room, how to seat participants, how to record what transpired during the meeting, and how to decide on what has been resolved and what hasn't. Everything the change agents do should be recorded and shared with all participants. If the change agents can't create a common understanding, it will be very difficult for them to start from where they left off next time. The continuity of their projects will thus weaken and their effectiveness will deteriorate.
Corporations must realize that without strong and thorough support on their part, many change agents will be embarrassed and confused about what to do. Bottom-up change is usually three or four times harder than top-down change, but it is worth it.
Kim Jong-nam is the founding CEO of META (www.imeta.co.kr) and a global organizational development consultant who specializes in organizational culture and leadership.
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