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By Dagmar Recklies

Change processes and change projects have become major milestones in many organizations͛ history. Due to the
dynamics in the external environment, many organizations find themselves in nearly continuous change. The scope
reaches from smaller change projects in particular sub business units up to corporation-wide transformation
processes.

Unfortunately, not every change process leads to the expected results. There are multiple reasons for potential
failure: Typical barriers to change are unexpected changes in the external conditions, a lack of commitment in
implementation, resistance of people involved, or a lack of resources. The implications of failed change projects go
beyond missed objectives. More important is the negative symbolism and the de-motivation of people involved.
People within the change team may become dissatisfied with their own performance or with the lack of support
they received. In the result, some of them will probably never again be willing to commit themselves to change
initiatives. Similarly, people affected by the (failed) change effort will develop growing skepticism. They might
perceive future change projects as ͞another fancy idea from management͟, which brings a lot of work and few
benefits.

In the light of the many problems and risks associated with change projects, the change agent1 has a very
important function. The change agent͛s or change leader͛s capabilities have a major impact on success or failure of
the project, and on the extent of potential unwanted side-effects.

The following article describes required capabilities of good change agents. Readers should keep in mind, however,
that there is no ͚ideal͛ change agent. Particular requirements normally relate to the actual situation in the
organization (e.g. corporate culture, strategic relevance of the project, acceptance of the project among
management and staff, timeframe, resources etc). Depending on these factors, change agents either may need
good project management capabilities in order to guarantee timely progress, or they should be good leaders with
the ability to motivate people. Jim Canterucci defines change leaders on five levels. Although he mainly focuses on
leadership capabilities and qualifications, his system can easily be transferred to change projects with varying
importance. The leader of an organization-wide restructuring project will need different capabilities than the one
who is responsible for clearly defined project on departmental level.

Levels of Change Leadership Skills, derived from Jim Canterucci:2

Level I Accepts the need for change, communicates and defends the need for change throughout the
organization, creates an open and receptive environment

à small change initiatives with clear direction

à change projects at local level

à transformation of a central vision into change initiatives and organization-wide communication

à generates change with a high degree of transformation

à Ability to revolutionize organizations

Change agents always need the ability to get all people affected by the project involved, to ensure their support
and commitment. This requires a high competency as the basis for acceptance as well as soft skills, which are often
summarized as emotional intelligence. This includes the ability to communicate, to understand and to take into
account opinions and doubts of others. Change projects involve a great variety of factors and forces. These factors
do not only comprise the reasons and objectives for change, but also the existing state of the organization, values,
beliefs and routines of the people there. Many change projects challenge the existing cultural framework of an
organization. Efforts to change such lasting values, however, lead to resistance and denial. More than in
technology-related projects (e.g. implementation of new software), it takes the acceptance and the support of all
people affected by such projects to make them succeed. It is the change agent͛s task to generate this acceptance
in order to implement change with the people, not against them.

Buchanan und Boddy3 have carried out a study on the perceived effectiveness of change agents. On that basis,
they compiled the fifteen most important competencies of change agents. These, too, are evidence for the
importance of the soft factors:

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1. Sensitivity to changes in key personnel, top management perceptions and market conditions, and to the way in
which these impact the goals of the project.
2. Setting of clearly defined, realistic goals.
3. Flexibility in responding to changes without the control of the project manager, perhaps requiring major shifts in
project goals and management style.

 

4. Team-building abilities, to bring together key stakeholders and establish effective working groups, and to define
and delegate respective responsibilities clearly.
5. Networking skills in establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within and outside the organization.
6. Tolerance of ambiguity, to be able to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain
environment.

 
 

7. Communication skills to transmit effectively to colleagues and subordinates the need for changes in the project
goals and in individual tasks and responsibilities.
8. Interpersonal skills, across the range, including selection, listening, collecting appropriate information,
identifying the concerns of others, and managing meetings.
9. Personal enthusiasm in expressing plans and ideas.
10. Stimulating motivation and commitment in others involved.

 
 
11. Selling plans and ideas to others by creating a desirable and challenging vision of the future.
12. Negotiating with key players for resources, for changes in procedures, and to resolve conflict.



 

13. Political awareness in identifying potential coalitions, and in balancing conflicting goals and perceptions.
14. Influencing skills, to gain commitment to project plans and ideas form potential skeptics and resisters.
15. Helicopter perspectives, to stand back from the immediate project and take a broader view of priorities.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter also mentions many emotional components among the most important characteristics of
change agents.4 In addition to the factors described above, she stresses the need to question the knowledge of the
organization. According to Moss Kanter, existing patterns of thinking and existing assumptions about the
organization, its markets, customers and relationships have to be challenged. Thus, change agents should realize
that there is more than one right solution. The change agent has to be able to evaluate facts from different points
of view, e.g. from the customer͛s or competitor͛s perspective. Furthermore, Moss Kanter stresses the importance
of coalition building, which she describes as an often-ignored step in change processes. Change agents should
identify and involve opinion leaders, decision makers on resources, functional experts and other important persons
as early as possible in the project-planning phase. The importance of the factor motivation is well described with
the phrases transferring ownership to a working team and making everyone a hero. In my opinion, Moss Kanter
gives the most important preconditions for successful change management ʹ the involvement of the people ʹ with
these two phrases. Members of the change team and other employees affected by the change initiative must not
feel like as if they are just the tools for change or the subject of change. In my experience, it is not enough to have
a convincing vision. Real commitment can only be gained by giving people the chance to become actively involved,
to contribute their own experiences. Every employee needs to know that his contribution to the project is
important and is valued. Thus, people will develop a sense of ownership for the project, which, in turn may serve
as a major source of motivation when it comes to the inevitable problems and barriers.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter provides a great summary of the characteristics of a good change agents when she writes
that the most important things a leader can bring to a changing organization are passion, conviction, and
confidence in others.