Managers at all levels try to focus on culture change to work around a myriad of organizational troubles. My message to most of them? You’re doing it wrong.
Almost all managers trying to influence culture change focus their efforts on practical changes. People interacting differently, doing tasks differently, or seeking organizational approvals differently. That’s fine, but it’s important not to get ahead of yourself.
The critical step, almost always missed, is that of unfreezing. Unfreezing is the stage which makes people receptive to change. It loosens the existing culture, which makes it easier to change the elements as desired. When managers skip the step of unfreezing, and move straight to other parts of culture change, it causes several problems.
Firstly, with an ingrained culture and without receptive staff, any kind of culture change will be difficult to drive. Staff will resist, directly or indirectly, and make the changes a terribly difficult experience. Secondly, any change that is successfully driven without unfreezing is very unlikely to stick. Those same unreceptive staff are likely to pay lip service to change, and quickly slip back to old ways making your expensive culture change program practically useless.
How does unfreezing happen, and what does it all mean? There are several different methods, each suited to particular circumstances and existing cultures. Usually, unfreezing involves experiences which take staff out of their comfort zones, and expose them to uncomfortable interactions. It’s a little bit like Scrooge McDuck in “A Christmas Carol“, coming to understand the real truth. Next month I’ll post my top tips for unfreezing organizational culture. Keep an eye out, it will help you become an effective manager of change within your organization.