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Change Management and Conflict  Resolution
by Olufemi Boyede
Paper presented at the Strategic
management and Team Building Workshop
M – Plaza Hotel, Accra, Ghana
2 – 6 August, 2004

Change Quotes

If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships--the ability of all people, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Change is 'making or becoming different'. Change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
John F. Kennedy

Change is constant. We must learn to deal with it positively or we will sink in its shifting sands. We don’t have to be super human, but we do have to increase our ability, improve our attitude, take action and make allowances just four steps to walk on the quicksand of change.
Anonymous

All things change, nothing is extinguished . . .. There is nothing in the whole world that is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement.
Ovid, Roman poet (43 b.c. — a.d. 17)

Change or Be Changed
Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less. One is always living a little more or dying a little bit.
Norman Mailer

Definitions

“Organizational change is any alteration of activities in an organization that may be the result of changes in the structure of the organization, transfer of tasks , new process introduction, or change in attitude of group members or process or any number of events inside and outside of an organization.” (Carson; 1998). There are external and internal forces of change

Change management may be seen in three dimensions:
- The task of managing change
        The making of changes in a planned and managed or systematic fashion
        The response to changes over which the organization exercises little or no control (e.g. legislation, actions of competitors, shifting economic tides, social or political upheavals, etc)
- An area of professional practice (skills differ among practitioners)
- A body of knowledge (consisting of models, methods, techniques and other tools)

Activity levels in Change management

Change management involves three levels of activities
- Unfreezing
- Change
- Refreezing


Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution includes all the processes employed to address the phenomenon of and resistance/reactions to change
Just like we cannot avoid change, we must always equip ourselves to resolve conflicts

Will involve:
- working with difficult people
- Fortifying ourselves for change and its implications
- Adapting to the new (changed) situation
- Being at peace with ourselves and our environment

Basic concepts

Perhaps the most permanent feature of human existence is CHANGE
One of the most difficult aspects of leadership is fostering and managing change
The greatest problem of change is perhaps the uncertainty of the future; the fear of the unknown
Change will always produce conflict
Just as the introduction of change produces conflict, the resolution of such conflicts must engender change
As Managers, we must learn the change phenomenon in its full ramifications
Unmanaged or badly managed change impacts negatively on productivity


Why Change?

To make progress
To address organizational dysfunction
To adapt to external forces
To comply with social and political environment; etc.


Why Change Management?

Change must be managed because there will always be (strong) resistance to change.
Reasons for resistance include:
- “Fear is the primary obstacle for embracing change”. ….Puccinelli, 1998
Other reasons:
- Vested interests; lack of trust or misunderstanding, differences in assessment of the situation, limited resources, peer pressure, fear of failure, inter-organizational agreements, loss of status or job security, disruption of cultural traditions or group relations, personal conflicts, poor reward systems, insensitive manner of change introduction, improper or difficult timing etc.


The Change Management Process

Phase 1: Preparing For Change

Define your change management strategy
Prepare your change management team
Develop your sponsorship model

Phase 2: Managing Change

Develop change management plans
Take action and implement plans

Phase 3: Reinforcing Change

Collect and analyze feedback
Diagnose gaps and manage resistance
Implement corrective actions and celebrate success


Defining conflict

What words come to your mind when you hear the word conflict?

unavoidable.....challenging.....directly.....flexible.....inevitable.....human.....politics.....necessary.....


What then is conflict?

When two or more people do not share the same beliefs, interests, or goals
Conflict is natural and inevitable
Conflict is uncomfortable and stressful
The goal of conflict resolution is not to eliminate conflict (or the other person) but to handle it constructively


Why are people difficult?

Feeling thwarted or threatened
Exceptional levels of stress
Your reactions to their difficult behavior which reinforces the behavior by increasing the stress they already feel
Learned behavior (getting their way)
Inflexibility (on both sides)


What can you do about it?

You can’t change other people
Learn to appreciate and draw upon the different strengths of difficult people
Focus on coping with difficult behavior (adapting to other communication styles)


10 Common Difficult Behaviors

Sherman Tanks Snipers Exploders Know-it-all Experts Think-they-know-it-all

Super-Agreeables Indecisives Unresponsives Negativists Complainers

Sherman Tanks

Attacking, accusing, abusive, abrupt, intimidating, overwhelming, confrontational
Feel strong need to prove that their view of the world is always right
Get irritated or angry if sense resistance
See tasks as clear and concrete
Value assertiveness and confidence


Snipers

Teasing, innuendoes, not-too-subtle digs used to make you look foolish in groups
Hides behind crowds and social constraints
Often very witty
Share Tank’s strong sense of how others should act but is often unrealistic
Can turn into a Tank if exposed


Exploders

Adult tantrum, rage barely under control
When person feels thwarted and threatened
May cry, be silently enraged, or yell/scream
Anger often moves to suspicion and blaming
Creates highest amount of resentment among others of all behaviors


Know-it-all Experts

Highly productive, thorough and accurate thinkers, careful planners
Believe facts and knowledge provide stability; answers lie within themselves
Low tolerance for correction/contradiction
Condescending, don’t wait for others to catch up to their thought process or seek input from others 


Think-they-know-it-alls

Seek the admiration and respect of others by trying to act like experts when they are not
Don’t always know they are not experts
Curious people; like to learn a little about a lot of things


Super-Agreeables

Want to be liked and loved by everyone
Make others feel liked and approved of
Tell you things that are satisfying to hear
Often use humor to ease conversation
Say “Yes” to everything but often don’t deliver because they are over-committed
Can secretly be resentful of doing so much


Indecisives

Put off making important decisions because they don’t want to hurt anyone
Have high standards
Strive to help people
Usually stall until the decision is made


Unresponsives

Close down, even when asked direct question (answer yes, no, I don’t know)
Clam up when you need a response or expect conversation
Difficult to determine why they are silent


Complainers

Find fault with everything, complain constantly, accusatory, prescriptive
Feel someone should be doing something but feel helpless to take action
Have distinct idea of what should be done
Usually is some truth to their complaints


Negativists

Feel defeated and dispirited as though they have little power over their lives
Pessimistic, more bitter than complainers
Bring others down quickly
Say “We’ve tried this before” or “That won’t work” without looking for solutions


10 Coping Methods

Sherman Tanks Snipers Exploders Know-it-all Experts Think-they-know-it-all

Super-Agreeables Indecisives Unresponsives Negativists Complainers

Sherman Tanks

Stand up for yourself without fighting
Give them time to run down
Don’t worry about being polite, just get in
Get their attention, carefully
Get them to sit down
Speak from your own point of view
Avoid a head-on fight
Be ready to be friendly


Snipers

Surface the attack immediately
Give the sniper an out (ask questions)
Seek group confirmation or denial of the sniper’s criticism
Move on to solve any problems uncovered


Exploders

Give them time to run down
Show that you take them seriously
Interrupt the interaction


Know-it-all Experts

Do your homework
Listen and acknowledge
Question firmly, but don’t confront
Ask extensional questions to get details
Acknowledge their competence
Make time for reflection
As last resort, let them be the expert

Think-they-know-it-alls

State the facts as an alternative version
Give them a way out

Super-agreeables

Make honestly non-threatening
Be personal - when you can
Listen to their humor
Be prepared to compromise


Indecisives

Establish a comfort zone
Surface the issues
Help them problem solve (make decision)
Reassure after decision is made
Strengthen the relationship


Unresponsives

Ask open-ended questions
Use the friendly, silent stare
Don’t fill the space
Comment on what’s happening
If clam opens up, listen rather than talk
If clam stays closed, terminate meeting and reschedule 


Negativists

Avoid getting drawn in
State your own realistic optimism
Don’t argue
Don’t rush into proposing solutions
Set a horror floor
Use comments to make decisions
Be ready to take action on your own


Complainers

Listen attentively to their complaints
Acknowledge what they say
Be prepared to interrupt to acknowledge
Don’t agree or apologize
State the facts without comment and apology
Move quickly into problem solving

And Remember…

The person who grabs the cat by the tail learns about 44 percent faster than the one just watching.
Mark Twain


Acknowledge Positive Intent

Control (to get the job done)
    - Sherman Tanks, Snipers, Know-it-alls
Perfection (to get it right)
    - Complainers, Negativists, Unresponsives
Approval Seeking (to get along)
    - Super-agreeables, Indecisives, Negativists
Attention Getting (to get appreciation)
    - Exploders, Think-they-know-it-alls, Snipers


Basic Strategy (time to think)

Describe the behavior in detail
Write down your understanding of behavior
Review your interaction with this person (what worked and didn’t work)
Choose the proper coping behavior
What do you need to learn and practice
Create an action plan and follow through


Basic Strategy (on the spot)

Determine positive intent/valued criteria
Listen (but stop destructive behavior)
Summarize (length depends on behavior)
Clarify questions to collect details

Speak to be heard
State your positive intent
Tell your story from your point of view
Don’t damage the relationship, if possible


Conclusion

Coping with difficult people is never easy and hardly ever fun
Getting along with other people, even the difficult ones, is as important a skill for us as good writing and Java scripting
Practice coping techniques in safe situations (like in STC)
Avoid attributing internal motives to behavior; assume good intentions
Remember that everybody is somebody’s difficult person at least some of the time


Food For Thought

Have you learned lessons only of those 
who admired you, and were tender with 
you, and stood aside for you?

Have you not learned great lessons from 
those who braced themselves against you, 
and disputed the passage with you?
Walt Whitman

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