ADVICE ON COMM DURING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE_ARTICLE
ADVICE ON COMMUNICATING DURING ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
The Content of Popular Press Books
Laurie K.Lewis
University of Texas
Amy M.Schmisseur
University of Kansas
Keri K.Stephens
Texas State University
Kathleen E.Weir
University of Texas This study offers a thematic analysis of the advice from a sample of bestselling popular press books on the subject of communication during implementation of organizational change.This analysis uncovered themes concerning the communicative role of change agents,general strategies for communicating and introducing change,and tactics for communicating during implementation of change.Themes within each of these general categories are presented and discussed in terms of their prevalence and general character.Implications for how practitioners can make the best use of this advice and how it compares to empirical findings in the scholarly literature are then discussed.Further directions for organizational communication scholarship are suggested.
Keywords:planned change; implementation communication; managerial advice; popular press books
I set down my briefcase by my office door and headed around the corner to the
coffee and donuts—the last bastion of stability.I poured my coffee and was
rummaging through the donuts when Marsha Fillmore,our VP of marketing,
brushed by.She shot me a worried look and whispered,“The boss has a new
book.”...Oh no.I quickly forgot about the donuts and walked back to my
office.Not another book.
Armstrong(1994)
This study was made possible by a Special Research Grant provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Texas.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Laurie K.Lewis,Department of Communication Studies,University of Texas at Austin,Austin,TX 78712; e-mail: lklewis@https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,.
Journal of Business Communication,Volume43,Number2,April2006113-137
DOI:10.1177/0021943605285355
?2006by the Association for Business Communication
114JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICA TION
The above narrative is humorously yet terrifyingly familiar to many who occupy midlevel or supervisory roles in organizations.It depicts one simple effect of “guru-advice books”:the constant introduction of change influenced by a man-ager’s reading of the latest trend,fashion,or fad of managerial practice.Authors have begun noting in recent years how prolific and powerful managerial fashions, fads,and“flavors of the month”can be(e.g.,Clark&Greatbatch,2004;Furusten, 1999;Jackson,2001;Watson,1994).Zorn,Page,and Cheney(2000)argued that once a particular discourse has become established or fashionable, it helps to shape managers’and workers’assumptions about what constitutes effective practice,thereby providing an impetus for initiating changes and a ready-made logic for interpreting them....Simultaneously,managerialist discourse serves as a powerful rhetorical resource for managers in communicating the changes they initiate.Policy makers’and managers’calls for change gain legiti-macy and authority through their apparent consistency with the gurus’writings.(p.
519)
At a more micro level,business advice books also have the potential to inspire feelings of confidence and competence in individual managers.Watson(1994) explored how managers grapple with the introduction of various managerial fads and managerial books in their organizations.Watson argued that these ideas give them a discursive framework so they can make sense of their working lives and that reading these books gives managers the feeling that they are at the lead-ing edge of management thinking.
The guiding question for this project concerns how the current popular press books about implementation of change direct readers to communicate about those change programs.Many of the leading-edge books address the topic of planned organizational change,an increasingly familiar feature of organizational https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,a-nizations appear to be drawn—almost cultlike—to embrace constant change(Zorn, Christensen,&Cheney,1999).And as Zorn et al.(2000)pointed out,“two of the most popular ways of creating and communicating change are to emulate the‘best practices’of‘excellent’organizations and to be guided by the popular writings of management gurus”(p.516).These authors argued that popular management books,articles,and videos on the subject of change exist in a“symbiotic relation-ship with management discourse and practice”(p.518)and that they reflect and influence management practices.Our interest in this study is to examine how popu-lar press books address issues related to communication during implementation and to characterize the nature of that advice.In addition,we wanted to know whether there were dominant themes of agreement with regard to communication issues across these advice books.Our interest stems in part from a desire to under-stand how current scholarly knowledge about communication and change is reflected in the practitioner-advice found in popular press books.
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS115 Rationale for Study
By providing a description of the content of popular advice books about change implementation,we make two major contributions.First,if these books,as they appear to,have influence on actual organizational communication practice,it is useful for researchers of business practices to examine them to better enable theo-retical explanation for the tendencies observed in managers’choices of communi-cation strategies and tactics.That is,understanding the degree to which these books reveal contradictory,clear,and/or readily applicable advice helps us to better understand the challenges faced by the practitioner who is trying to use this advice. In one case,there might be major differences between camps of advice givers, whereas in another case,there might be a great deal of agreement among gurus about a particular approach or tactic.Where advice is vague or lacking,contin-gency guidance(i.e.,how to apply advice within certain conditions)for taking the advice might also imply a more complex process of adaptation.In short,unpacking the quality of the instruction packet(i.e.,the advice books)is a way to begin to understand how guru advice is adopted and becomes influential in practice.
Organizations appear to be drawn—
almost cultlike—to embrace constant
change.
Second,practitioners(e.g.,implementers and consultants)will gain from a description of the most popular of change management guides in much the same way they might gain from an executive summary of a lengthy report.Rather than having to read a dozen books on change management,a thematic analysis of the generally recommended steps,strategies,and tactics with regard to communication will give a good overview of the prevalent current advice.Such a description of trends in advice will also help them identify unique or unusual advice that might be out of the norm of what experts consider to be beneficial practice.Such compari-sons allow a normative baseline to judge individual strategies under consideration.
In our own search for large descriptive analyses of popular press writings on change implementation,we have discovered very few helpful resources.There are numerous book critiques that give descriptions of single works or compare two or three works(cf.book reviews published in the Journal of Organizational Change Management),but rarely is a systematic content analysis done that compares the themes across a set of these books.Even more rare is a specific focus on communi-cation issues during implementation.Lewis and Seibold’s(1998)review of25 practitioner-oriented journal articles in such publication outlets as Organizational Dynamics,Harvard Business Review,and Sloan Management Review is one
116JOURNAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNICA TION
example of such a review.Lewis and Seibold found several themes and recommen-dations related to communication during implementation in these works and identi-fied several action steps recommended by different sets of articles.In their review, they concluded that few recommendations were shared by more than a few authors and that few of the recommendations made any reference to communicative prac-tices.Furthermore,of those that did discuss communication,little specificity was offered as to how to execute the advice.In another work,Culpan(1987)performed a limited content analysis of10recent popular management books.He evaluated the texts on such characteristics as time perspective,orientation to task or people, uniqueness,scope,and level of analysis(individual,organizational,environmen-tal).However,these reviews are far from comprehensive and seem to miss in-depth analysis of the advice content,the advice consistency,and the focus on communication during change.
METHOD
To garner a sample of books to read,we used https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,’s book listing and searched with the subject term“organizational change.”Because we wanted to identify popular press books that were having the highest degree of influence in managerial practice,we sampled from the best-selling books rather than a pure ran-dom sample from the2,000titles generated by our search.We then went through the top100best-selling books on organizational change(so indicated by https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,)to include books that(a)focused on how to implement change rather than what change to implement and(b)provided advice to practitioners for imple-mentation.Twenty-four of the books selected were within the top100best-selling books listed.The other books were relatively new publications with rankings slightly lower than100(none ranked lower than133).See Table1for a list of the books and book chapters analyzed.
After each of us read approximately one-fourth of the books,we met to create a data sheet for each book that included notes,quotations,and lists of critical ele-ments of advice within each of a set of categories.We then each took a single cate-gory,and we subjected each data sheet to iterative readings to identify the dominant themes(Strauss&Corbin,1990).A dominant theme was defined as a recurring trend in advice.Themes were then shared among the team,and confirmation and adjustments were made to the descriptions of the themes.In the third step of the analysis,each researcher took a different set of books than what was originally read and went through them again to confirm the presence or absence of each theme.In this process,we discovered additional authors’works that could be added to the count of themes,but we did not discover any misattributions of themes from the first round.This process resulted in the final counts represented in our tables and the descriptions provided below.
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS117
Table 1.Books and Book Chapters Reviewed
Allen, R. C. (2002).Guiding change journeys. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Anderson,A.L.,&Anderson,D.(2001).The change leader’s roadmap:How to navigate your organiza-tion’s transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Augustine,N.R.(1998).Reshaping an industry:Lockheed Martin’s survival story.In Harvard Business Review on Change(pp. 159-187). Boston: Harvard Business School.
Beer,M.,&Nohria,N.(2000).Resolving the tension between theories E and O of change.In Breaking the code of change. Boston: Harvard Business School.
Belasco, J. (1991).Teaching the elephant to dance. New York: Crown Publishers.
Bridges, W. (1991).Managing transitions. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.
Bridges,W.,&Mitchell,S.(2002).Leading transition:A new model for change.In F.Hesselbein&R.
Johnson (Eds.),On leading change(pp. 33-47). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Cameron,K.,&Quinn,R.(1999).Diagnosing and changing organizational culture.Reading,MA: Addison Wesley Longman.
Collins, J. (2001).From good to great. New York: HarperCollins.
Collins,J.C.,&Porras,J.I.(1998).Building your company’s vision.In Harvard Business Review on Change(pp. 21-55). Boston: Harvard Business School.
Conger,J.(2002).The new age of persuasion.In F.Hesselbein&R.Johnston(Eds.),On leading change (pp. 127-141). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Conner, D. (1992).Managing at the speed of change. New York: Random House.
Davidson, J. (2002).The complete idiot’s guide to change management. Indianapolis: Alpha Books. Duck,J.D.(1998).Managing change:The art of balancing.In Harvard Business Review on Change(pp.
55-83). Boston: Harvard Business School.
Duck, J. (2001).The change monster. New York: Crown Business.
Dupuy, F. (2002).The chemistry of change. New York: Palgrave.
Eckes, G. (2001).Making six sigma last. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Ghoshal,S.,&Bartlett,C.A.(2000).Rebuilding behavioral context:A blueprint for corporate renewal.
In M.Beer&N.Nohria(Eds.),Breaking the code of change(pp.195-222).Boston:Harvard Busi-ness School.
Goss,T.,Pascale,R.,&Athos,A.(1998).The reinvention roller coaster:Risking the present for a power-ful future.In Harvard Business Review on Change(pp.83-112).Boston:Harvard Business School. Heller, J. (1998).Essential managers: Managing change. New York: D K Publishing. Hesselbein,F.(2002).The key to cultural transformation.In F.Hesselbein&R.Johnston(Eds.),On leading change(pp. 1-6). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Hirschhorn,L.(2000).Changing structure is not enough:The moral meaning of organizational design.
In M.Beer&N.Nohria(Eds.),Breaking the code of change(pp.161-176).Boston:Harvard Busi-ness School.
Holman, P., & Devane, T. (Eds.). (1999).The change handbook. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Kanter,R.M.(2002).The enduring skills of change leaders.In F.Hesselbein&R.Johnston(Eds.),On leading change(pp. 47-61). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kegan,R.,&Lahey,L.(2001).How the way we talk can change the way we work.New York:John Wiley & Sons.
Kotter, J. (1996).Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School.
Kotter,J.P.(1998).Leading change:Why transformation efforts fail.In Harvard Business Review on Change(pp. 1-21). Boston: Harvard Business School.
Kriegel, R., & Brandt, D. (1996).Sacred cows make the best burgers. New York: Warner.
Larkin, T., & Larkin, S. (1994).Communicating change. New York: McGraw.
Lipman-Blumen,J.(2002).The age of connective leadership.In F.Hesselbein&R.Johnston(Eds.),On leading change(pp. 89-102). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Martin,R.(1998).Changing the mind of the corporation.In Harvard Business Review on Change(pp.
113-138). Boston: Harvard Business School.
continued
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Table 1.Continued
Maurer, R. (1996).Beyond the wall of resistance. Austin, TX: Bard Press.
Miller,K.(2002).The change agent’s guide to radical https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,waukee:American Society for Quality.
Mourier, P., & Smith, M. (2001).Conquering organizational change. Atlanta: CEP Press.
Oakley,E.,&Krug,D.(1991).Enlightened leadership:Getting to the heart of change.New York: Fireside.
Pritchett, P., & Pound, R. (1994).Business as unusual. Plano, TX: Pritchett Publishing.
Senge,P.,Kleiner,A.,Roberts,C.,Ross,R.,Roth,G.,&Smith,B.(1999).The dance of change.New York: Doubleday.
Watkins, M., & Mohr, B. (2001).Appreciative inquiry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
RESULTS OF THE THEMATIC ANALYSIS
Communicative Role of Change Agents
The role of the change agent in the overall change process was an important sub-ject.Davidson(2002)claimed that“today,everyone with the title of manager,in one form or another,has to be a change manager”(p.6).Our analysis revealed three themes describing what change agents do:promote communication and participa-tion, facilitate the process for change, and create a vision (see Table 2).
Promoting communication and participation.As part of the change agents’role in promoting communication and participation,they give other organiza-tional members the requisite resources to conduct the change process.Belasco (1991)argued that after creating a new tomorrow,change agents must empower their employees to live that vision:“The common thread throughout all success stories is the action of leaders—at all levels in an organization—to create a right new tomorrow—and then empower people to achieve that tomorrow”(p.50). Oakley and Krug(1991)said that among the positive qualities of a creative leader is the ability to be“listen-oriented”(p.223),empowering people to make decisions,and teaching the importance of self-responsibility.Kegan and Lahey (2001)asserted that leaders need to focus more on creating different channels and contexts for others to talk rather than on talking too much themselves.
Facilitating the change process.A change agent can facilitate the change pro-cess either by guiding specific steps in the change process or by delegating responsibility to oversee that element to another individual.Holman and Devane(1999)presented a variety of techniques(e.g.,search conference,future search,participative design workshop,open space technology)wherein the change agent is a facilitator of a participatory process that is designed to help move a change to success.Allen(2002)demonstrated implicitly through exam-ples how change agents are in the business of leading discussions and
facilitating thinking about several cycles of https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,ler (2002)argued that change agents are rarely in a position of power in their organizations but instead have a keen ability to facilitate groups of people through the processes to develop,organize,and sell new ideas.
Creating a vision .Another prominent activity identified for change agents is their role in maintaining or establishing a vision for the change.Kotter (1996)posited that change agents are leaders and that leadership includes “establishing direction:developing vision of the future—often the distant future—and strate-gies for producing the changes needed to achieve that vision”(p.26).Oakley and Krug (1991)noted,“Enlightened leaders know how to get their people excited about their mission.By expanding the purpose into a vision,they effec-tively draw out the inspiring and energizing aspects of purpose so their people can become focused and excited about it”(p.171).
General Strategies for Communication
and Introduction of Change
In response to expected resistance,or in an effort to simply ensure a smooth implementation of change,authors recommended a number of general strategies for communicating and introducing change initiatives.A strategy,for our purpose,Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS 119Table 2.
Themes Concerning Role of Change Agents Theme #
Description Promote communication and participation 12Focus on the participation and communication
of stakeholders
Anderson & Anderson (2001)Kegan & Lahey (2001)
Belasco (1991)Kotter (1996)
Bridges (1991)Kotter (1998)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Kriegel & Brandt (1996)
Davidson (2002)Oakley & Krug (1991)
Kanter (2002)Pritchett & Pound (1994)
Facilitator 7Guide specific steps of a change process
Allen (2002)Miller (2002)
Duck (2001)Mourier & Smith (2001)
Holman & Devane (1999)
Watkins & Mohr (2001)Lipman-Blumen (2002)
Creator of vision
5Define focus or vision for others to follow Belasco (1991)
Maurer (1996)Kegan & Lahey (2001)
Oakley & Krug (1991)Kotter (1996)Note:# refers to the number of sources containing the theme.
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is a general pattern or approach to a problem or task.The majority of implementa-tion strategies in these books reflect a general philosophy specifying how change ought to be introduced,who ought to control it,and to which factors implementers ought to be sensitive.We describe those strategies most related to communication here and list them in Table 3.
Emphasize participation and empowerment.Despite advice surrounding the need for management to lead and control change efforts,some of these books also promoted the need for change agents to empower and encourage stake-holders to take ownership and participate in the change effort,particularly when it comes to evaluating and implementing various change processes.Some authors encouraged leaders to relinquish their established control by promoting risk taking and/or empowering members to be action oriented during change (e.g.,Holman&Devane,1999;Kriegel&Brandt,1996).They argued that par-ticipation gives members a sense of control and reduces uncertainty about their changing circumstances,such that if people can feel a part of the implementa-tion process,they will be more committed to the change and thus less resistant to its goals and objectives.For example,according to Kriegel and Brandt, Barring profit sharing,the best way to create ownership is by giving employees as much control over their destinies as possible.In other words,they may not be able to own the company,but they can“own”their jobs....It’s equally true that this kind of ownership is a great way to get people excited about change.In fact,the more ownership,the more motivation.(p.252)
Create a change culture.According to Davidson(2002),it is important for managers to first know the culture of the organization because some cultures are resistant to change.Authors espoused that a key to successful change implemen-tation is a healthy change culture.For example,Cameron and Quinn(1999) reported that the most frequently cited reason for failure to change is a neglect of the culture.They wrote,“In other words,failure to change the organization’s culture doomed the other kinds of organizational changes that were initiated”(p.
1).Similarly,Kriegel and Brandt(1996)described a change-ready environment as one that encourages thoughtful preparation and dissemination of ideas:“When you create a change-ready environment first,resistance is minimized, and employees are more open to innovation and more likely to take risks.In the change-ready environment,new ideas blossom everywhere,even those places where you least expect them to”(p.157).
Emphasize purpose and vision.To garner support and commitment for change,leaders were encouraged to provide a consistent and compelling justifi-cation for the change.Authors contended that having a clear purpose and vision for change is necessary for getting others on board.Establishing a clear vision, for example,not only lends a sense of credibility and urgency to the change
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS121
Table 3.Themes Concerning General Strategies
Theme#Description
Emphasize participation and empowerment 26People need to feel a part of the change process if they are going to accept change and com-
mit to its objectives. Leaders need to encour-
age members to take ownership and be auton-
omous independent thinkers.
Allen (2002)Holman & Devane (1999)
Anderson & Anderson (2001)Kanter (2002)
Beer & Nohria (2000)Kegan & Lahey (2001)
Belasco (1991)Kotter (1996)
Bridges (1991)Kotter (1998)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Kriegel & Brandt (1996)
Conner (1992)Larkin & Larkin (1994)
Davidson (2002)Maurer (1996)
Duck (2001)Miller (2002)
Dupuy (2002)Oakley & Krug (1991)
Ghoshal & Bartlett (2000)Pritchett & Pound (1994)
Goss, Pascole, & Athos (1998)Senge et al. (1999)
Heller (1998)Watkins & Mohr (2001)
Create a change culture14Use culture as a tool or anchor to enable change
to occur
Beer & Nohria (2000)Eckes (2001)
Belasco (1991)Heller (1998)
Bridges (1991)Hesselbein (2002)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Hirschhorn (2000)
Collins (2001)Kotter (1996)
Davidson (2002)Kotter (1998)
Dupuy (2002)Kriegel & Brandt (1996)
Emphasize purpose and vision14Leaders should provide a consistent and strong
justification for implementing the change to
occur
Anderson & Anderson (2001)Eckes (2001)
Belasco (1991)Heller (1998)
Bridges (1991)Kotter (1996)
Bridges & Mitchell (2002)Mourier & Smith (2001)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Oakley & Krug (1991)
Duck (2001)Senge et al. (1999)
Dupuy (2002)Watkins & Mohr (2001)
Emphasize communication6Communicating is key to working through prob-
lems and successfully implementing change Anderson & Anderson (2001)Kegan & Lahey (2001)
Bridges (1991)Larkin & Larkin (1994)
Duck (1998)Maurer (1996)
Note:# refers to the number of sources containing the theme.
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effort,but it can also help mitigate some of the uncertainty that frequently accompanies change.If people know where the organization is headed and the purpose for their actions,then they are more likely to stay the course in seeing the change through to its fruition,despite any challenges a change initiative presents.Watkins and Mohr(2001)suggested that a shared image for the future can be established by creating a visual and written image of that future and by developing an organizational structure that will help see that future to its fru-ition.Furthermore,as Eckes(2001)argued,leaders should communicate their expectations of others in making that vision a reality.Bridges and Mitchell (2002)claimed that leaders can help to better manage the change process by reit-erating the purpose,picture,plan,and part that employees should play in moving the organization forward.
Emphasize communication.Whereas many of these works noted communi-cation in at least a single section or chapter(usually concerning sharing the vision or announcing the change),six of the books we analyzed emphasized a whole communication-focused strategy wherein interacting about the change and/or disseminating information about change are major keys to success.For instance,Duck(1998)suggested that managers at every level make clear and consistent communication a priority:
In fact,communications must be a priority for every manager at every level of the company....It is important for the messages to be consistent,clear,and endlessly repeated.If there is a single rule of communication for leaders,it is this:when you are so sick of talking about something that you can hardly stand it,your message is finally starting to get through.(p.61)
Similarly,Larkin and Larkin(1994)advocated that leaders need to communi-cate probabilities,particularly in times of uncertainty,or else rumors are likely to be generated.However,these authors were also quick to point out that more communi-cation is not always better.Although Kotter(1998)advised managers to use every possible vehicle in communicating change,Larkin and Larkin contended that orga-nizations need to be more strategic when it comes to allocating communication efforts and put most emphasis on line supervisors’face-to-face communication that concentrates on local work areas.
Communication was also addressed as a tool for dealing with resistance to change.Specifically,Maurer(1996)argued that to preempt resistance,change leaders should attempt to create a more structured dialogue among members, allowing them to feel more involved in the process.The majority of his recommen-dations for coping with potential and actual resistance were grounded in communi-cation processes and detailed several modes for interacting with stakeholders, including direct face-to-face communication,questionnaires,formal surveys,and focus groups.
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS123 Specific Communicative T actics for Change
Lewis and Seibold(1998)bemoaned that few specific tactics and action steps appear in practitioner-oriented journal articles on planned change implementation. Our review of popular press books on the subject revealed considerably more spe-cific advice about how to proceed in change implementation.However,much of it was still directive(e.g.,communicate often)without providing much guidance on channels,frequency,mix of types,or specific message strategies.We identified seven major themes (see Table 4) in this category.
Asking for input.Authors made explicit reference to tactics and actions aimed at soliciting input and/or increasing participation and interaction of stakeholders of change programs.Many of these authors recommended using communication to create some sense of shared vision or using participation tac-tics as a means to quiet rumor mills,venting,and therapy-like sessions in which employees may express themselves as part of a healing process.Pritchett and Pound(1994)advised that an implementer should“provide a variety of opportu-nities for employee input...and be a careful listener”(p.19).
Specific tactics for gathering input were provided in many of these books.The Change Handbook(edited by Holman&Devane,1999)detailed several Large Group Interaction Methods(LGIMs),which are used to increase participation and collect wide-ranging input from large groups of individuals.They explained and provided some theoretical and practical rationale for each technique.Examples included Appreciative Inquiry(which trains participants to focus on what is work-ing rather than critique),Open Space Technology(which enables large groups to prioritize large numbers of complex issues),and Dialogue(which serves as an alternative to debate and focuses on discovery and appreciation of diverse views).
A few authors claimed that face-to-face communication is the most effective method of https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,rkin and Larkin(1994),for example,argued in their chapter titled “If it’s not face-to-face, it’s not communication,”
The right goal for communication is not making stuff or holding events but giving supervisors what they need to adequately perform the most critical communica-tion any company has:informal,face-to-face,verbal[spoken]interactions between supervisors and their subordinates.(p.87)
Some books in our sample focused on guidelines and rules for good participative communication,such as make it easy for others to speak(Watkins &Mohr,2001);be good listeners(e.g.,Oakley&Krug,1991);ask lots of ques-tions(e.g.,Collins,2001);and encourage every perspective to be heard—even critiques(Collins,2001;Heller,1998).
Use informal networks and knowledge of key stakeholders.Authors dealt with the topic of using informal networks and key stakeholders to carry
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Table 4.Themes Concerning Specific Tactics and Action Steps Theme#Description
Ask for input19Embrace a participatory philosophy by involving
many stakeholders in communication about
change
Anderson & Anderson (2001)Kotter (1996)
Belasco (1991)Kriegel & Brandt (1996)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Larkin & Larkin (1994)
Collins (2001)Martin (1998)
Conner (1992)Maurer (1996)
Davidson (2002)Oakley & Krug (1991)
Duck (2001)Pritchett & Pound (1994)
Dupuy (2002)Senge et al. (1999)
Heller (1998)Watkins & Mohr (2001)
Holman & Devane (1999)
Use informal networks and
knowledge of key stakeholders 18Use key stakeholders, opinion leaders, coali-
tions, and key networks to carry change mes-
sages and address resistance
Belasco (1991)Kotter (1998)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Larkin & Larkin (1994)
Conner (1992)Lipman-Blumen (2002)
Duck (2001)Maurer (1996)
Ghoshal & Bartlett (2000)Miller (2002)
Goss et al. (1998)Mourier & Smith (2001)
Heller (1998)Oakley & Krug (1991)
Holman & Devane (1999)Senge et al. (1999)
Kanter (2002)Watkins & Mohr (2001)
Disseminate information15Develop tactics for providing information to
stakeholders
Anderson & Anderson (2001)Heller (1998)
Augustine (1998)Kriegel & Brandt (1996)
Bridges (1991)Larkin & Larkin (1994)
Cameron & Quinn (1999)Miller (2002)
Duck (1998)Mourier & Smith (2001)
Duck (2001)Pritchett & Pound (1994)
Dupuy (2002)Senge et al. (1999)
Eckes (2001)
Manage the style and content of communication 14Be strategic in design of message style, lan-guage, and content
Anderson & Anderson (2001)Heller (1998) Augustine (1998)Kegan & Lahey (2001) Bridges (1991)Maurer (1996)
Bridges & Mitchell (2002)Miller (2002)
Conger (2002)Oakley & Krug (1991) Conner (1992)Pritchett & Pound (1994) Davidson (2002)Senge et al. (1999)
messages of change.For example,Duck (2001)stated,“During times of change,when people are hungry for news,alarmists have a field day;rumors and misin-formation proliferate.Leaders who learn how to use informal networks well can gain a huge advantage”(p.186).She identified three types of key opinion leaders (cassandras,networkers,and influencers)who play different roles in spreading the news about change and affecting reactions to it.
Larkin and Larkin (1994)argued that line supervisors are absolutely necessary to the change process because they are so influential with frontline employees.They suggested preparing three-by-five laminated briefing cards with key points about the change and providing them to line supervisors for their use in answering Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS 125
Be motivational in
communication
14Motivate people in your communication by cele-brating wins and inspiring effort Anderson & Anderson (2001)
Heller (1998)Belasco (1991)
Kanter (2002)Cameron & Quinn (1999)
Kegan & Lahey (2001)Collins (2001)
Kriegel & Brandt (1996)Conner (1992)
Larkin & Larkin (1994)Davidson (2002)
Miller (2002)Duck (2001)
Pritchett & Pound (1994)Formulate and follow a commu-
nication plan
13Create specific plans for use of channels, mes-sage strategies, messengers, timing Anderson & Anderson (2001)
Heller (1998)Belasco (1991)
Kotter (1998)Bridges (1991)
Kriegel & Brandt (1996)Bridges & Mitchell (2002)
Larkin & Larkin (1994)Cameron & Quinn (1999)
Miller (2002)Davidson (2002)
Mourier & Smith (2001)Eckes (2001)
Create and communicate vision
13Communicate about vision with stakeholders Allen (2002)
Heller (1998)Anderson & Anderson (2001)
Kanter (2002)Belasco (1991)
Kotter (1996)Collins & Porras (1998)
Kotter (1998)Davidson (2002)
Oakley & Krug (1991)Dupuy (2002)
Watkins & Mohr (2001)Eckes (2001)
Use threats, punishment, and
intimidation to move change
along
4Motivate, reduce resistance, kick-start change through punishments, threats, and “kick in the pants” tactics Davidson (2002)
Heller (1998)Duck (2001)Miller (2002)
Note:# refers to the number of sources containing the theme.
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employees’questions.Other authors were less specific about who the key stake-holders are but emphasized that the right people should be included in presentations and discussions about change(e.g.,Kotter,1998;Miller,2002).Goss,Pascale,and Athos(1998)argued that implementers should assemble a“critical mass of key stakeholders”(p.102).Key stakeholders are those who may hold key resources,are central in opinion networks,are key technologists,and can create momentum in the organization.
Disseminate information.Authors advised implementers on how to dissemi-nate information including providing clarity about roles,tasks,responsibilities, and procedures.In general,these books supported the idea of giving all impor-tant stakeholders as much information as early as https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,ing multiple methods for communicating the information was also a popular suggested tac-tic.Kotter(1998)claimed that executives should incorporate messages about change into their everyday activities:
In a routine discussion about a business problem,they talk about how proposed solutions fit(or don’t fit)into the bigger picture.In a regular performance appraisal,they talk about how the employee’s behavior helps or undermines the vision.(pp.11-12)
Duck(1998)agreed that repeating the change messages over and over again is important.She stated,“It’s important to provide regular updates,even when there isn’t any‘hard’news to deliver,to help people make connections to others outside their own spheres”(p.212).Beyond these general principles for dissemination of information,these books offered few specifics for topics of dissemination,modes for communicating information,or appropriate timing for different types of infor-mation.However,as indicated under the next theme,different channels were often viewed as having specific purposes in the general communication campaign of a change implementation.
Manage the style and content of communication.Some advice on managing the style and content of communication was extremely specific,including sug-gestions to use colored and scented markers on flip charts(Miller,2002);to pay attention to tone,to use candor,and to project credibility and concern(Anderson &Anderson,2001);and to describe change succinctly in1minute or less (Bridges&Mitchell,2002).
More general advice suggested topics that should be addressed.For example, Heller(1998)suggested that the presentation of a change program should break down the overall objectives into aims of specific units and departments.He further recommended emphasizing the positive points of the change and de-emphasizing the negatives to gain greater buy-in from employees.In a different approach, Conner(1992)argued for the delivery of“pain messages”wherein the painful
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS127 truths of current problems must be disseminated before people can be motivated to accept the future state embodied in the change (pp. 98-99). Conner claimed, Change-related pain is the level of discomfort that we experience when we can’t meet our goals(current pain)or don’t expect to meet them(anticipated pain)....
Orchestrating pain messages throughout an institution is the first step in develop-ing organizational commitment to change.The goal of pain management is to motivate people to pull away from what they are doing now and develop a strong commitment to making a change.(pp.98-99)
Davidson(2002)agreed with the pain management philosophy and argued that stakeholders’heads will follow their hearts.Davidson suggested that invoking this pain in implementation messages will promote the best responses to change.
A few of these books discussed the persuasive tactics to use during change. Conner(1992)argued for“sober selling,”which entails telling people about the costs that will be associated with the change(p.141).Miller(2002)recommended “selling up”the idea to the project sponsor’s boss by identifying the hot buttons that will provide benefit and“selling down”by identifying the possible objections and concerns of the people who will have to implement and live with the change(p. 239).Many of the authors recommended adapting the messages to the audience and creating two-way communication as part of the strategy.
A change agent can facilitate the
change process either by guiding spe-
cific steps in the change process or by
delegating responsibility to oversee that
element to another individual.
Other authors focused on the use of language in change communication.In addi-tion to discouraging the use of jargon and encouraging the use of clear communica-tion,authors(Bridges,1991;Conger,2002)recommended using metaphors and stories for various purposes during change.One book(Kegan&Lahey,2001)was completely devoted to exploring the language habits of an organization and learn-ing to move from old styles to new ones(e.g.,from language of complaint to com-mitment, from language of blame to personal responsibility).
Be motivational in communication.Implied definitions of motivation in com-munication varied from images of cheerleading and building esprit de corps (Pritchett&Pound,1994)to redesigning organizational rewards to support needed behavioral changes(Anderson&Anderson,2001).Those who favored
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motivational communication included tactics like encouraging risk taking,pay-ing compliments,writing short notes to employees,and singling people out for praise(Heller,1998;Pritchett&Pound,1994).In contrast,Collins(2001) argued that“spending time trying to motivate people is a waste of effort”and said that the important key is to avoid de-motivating people.He suggested that “one primary way to de-motivate people is to ignore the brutal facts of reality”(p.89).
Formulate and follow a communication plan.Some books included grids or guidelines made up of both different mediums for communication and various purposes for communication.For example,Anderson and Anderson(2001) offered advice about different levels of communication(e.g.,information shar-ing,building understanding,identifying implications,gaining commitment, altering behavior)and the style of communication and media vehicles appropri-ate to that level.They explained that each level of communication needs to be addressed and that simply sharing information is inadequate in change imple-mentation.Heller(1998)provided guidelines on when to use media(i.e.,maga-zines,newspapers,Web sites,video)as opposed to presentations,training,team meetings,or troubleshooting sessions.Most of the authors who addressed communication plans recommended using a variety of channels to communicate.
Create and communicate https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,ually,vision creation was described as a participatory process.Authors representing this theme gave advice about mech-anisms for the creation of vision such as LGIMs.Holman and Devane(1999) advised using stories,meetings,newsletters,posters,and one-on-one discus-sions,and asking questions.Much advice was provided about good qualities of visions(e.g.,clear,unambiguous,personally relevant,simple,vivid),but not much detail was given about how the vision should be disseminated.The most prevalent advice implied that if many are involved in the creation of vision, many will understand and internalize it.
Use threats,punishments,and intimidation.Although a much less popular theme than others(only four authors mentioned it),this set of tactics involves the darker side of advice.Here,authors defined the point at which a manager might invoke a punishing strategy to kick-start change.For example,Duck (2001)advised,in a section titled“Enlist star power or have a public hanging,”that managers can gain the attention of stakeholders by“assign[ing]someone impressive to head the change effort and/or fir[ing]a recalcitrant executive who isn’t leading the change.Either move can demonstrate the seriousness of the commitment to change”(p.155).Heller(1998)agreed that when dealing with resistors who simply will not be convinced,firing is an https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,ler(2002) took the point of view that people will need to be“kicked in the pants”now and then to keep them moving along in the implementation(p.243).Furthermore,
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS129 they are not likely to meet deadlines and respect directives unless some sanctions are applied.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this analysis was to describe the trends in advice available in best-selling popular press books on communicating during organizational change implementation.We wanted to discover the nature of the popular press discourse that is instructing change implementers on how to introduce and guide change pro-grams in organizations and to uncover the dominant themes in that advice.In the following discussion,we compare overarching themes in the popular books with current scholarly literature on change,describe the character of this advice,and present the challenges faced by practitioners who attempt to apply the advice. Finally,we suggest further directions for organizational communication scholarship in this area of research.
Before beginning our discussion,it is important to address a few limitations we faced in this study.First,we drew our sample texts from only one source,the https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html, Web site.We realize the limited breadth of this search and the poten-tial that some influential books might be omitted from the sampling frame.Second, in the reduction of a large set of recommendations and advice to a few general themes,we have lost some richness in these data.Further analysis of these texts could include a more fine-grained content coding or critical analysis.Although beyond the scope of our initial project,both of these approaches would likely reap new insights.
Comparing Practitioner Themes With
Conclusions From Scholarly Literature
Wide participation in the change process was a common piece of advice in implementing planned change.Specifically,there seemed to be a strong focus on including various stakeholders in the planning and implementation phases.The rationale behind such advice appears to be that the more people feel included in the process,the more committed they are to the change effort.Participation may offer people some measure of control that they might otherwise not have in the midst of uncertainty and change.This view was also found in the major tasks of the change agent because they were portrayed as concerned with gaining participation and facilitating the specific form of that participation.Furthermore,there was a strong recurring theme of empowerment and autonomy noted in these books.Leaders were encouraged to empower others and allow others to take ownership over the change process.Risk taking and initiative seeking were described as characteristics often desirable during the change process.
Participation was a strong current of the scholarly literature as well.Research to date has generally supported participatory processes as associated with more
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successful outcomes from the perspectives of“users/employees”as well as organi-zational decision makers(Bordia,Hunt,Paulsen,Tourish,&DiFonzo,2004; Coyle-Shapiro,1999;Edmondson,Bohmer,&Pisano,2001;Lewis,in press;Nutt, 1987;Sagie,Elizur,&Koslowsky,2001;Sagie&Koslowsky,1994).However,the form and exact nature of participation is understudied.Generally,measures of par-ticipation take the form of self-reported feelings of inclusion in the process or beliefs that one’s ideas are valued.Aside from employees or users of change prod-ucts(e.g.,new technologies),wider circles of stakeholders have rarely been consid-ered in either practitioner or scholarly literatures.How stakeholders more external to the changing organization(e.g.,community,customers,suppliers,affected part-ner organizations)are involved in change and how such participation affects their responses is also understudied.
The role of autonomy or empowerment in change processes has not been explored much in the scholarly literature to this point.One exception is that Bordia and colleagues(2004)explored the importance of creating feelings of control by providing stakeholders with quality information about changes that are introduced. Richer senses of control or empowerment that might be derived from stakeholders’ability to control important resources or have an active voice in change have received far less attention in the scholarly literature.
In sum,although there appears to be coherence between the popular press books reviewed here and scholarly conclusions to date with regard to the benefit of partic-ipating in change processes,very little has been specified in terms of(a)the most effective means of participation,(b)the selection of participants,and(c)the various components of that participation(e.g.,sincerity,empowerment,uncertainty reduc-tion)that most account for various outcomes(e.g.,lowered resistance,improved adaptation of change programs,innovativeness,satisfaction).So,where there is agreement on philosophy,the methods and contingencies are far less understood.
In addition to promoting wide participation in change communication,these books for practitioners tended to advocate wide dissemination of information. None of these authors suggested deception or withholding of information,and sev-eral directly addressed the negative consequences of such behavior on the part of implementers.The general spirit of the advice underscored openness and wide dis-persal of information,early notification,and discussion of just about any topic that any stakeholder wishes to raise.Numerous channels of information were advo-cated in these books,and differences in opinions about which channels are most effective were evident.But the idea of keeping the flow of information going throughout change programs was a constant message.The content of the informa-tion to be provided to stakeholders was not discussed as frequently as the sugges-tion that dissemination be frequent and open.To the extent that content was addressed,these authors recommended that both good and bad news be delivered and that details about the timing,expectations,and processes of change be thoroughly discussed with stakeholders.
Again,at the level of general principle,there is clear agreement between these practitioner-oriented sources and the scholarly literature that information
Lewis et al. / POPULAR PRESS BOOKS131 dissemination be honest and open.Research has supported the notion that any information,even negative information,about change can help alleviate anxiety and reduce some negative reactions to change(https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,ler&Monge,1985).The scholarly literature(cf.Lewis,in press;Lewis&Seibold,1996;https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,ler,John-son,&Grau,1994)focused more on the quality of that information(e.g.,timeli-ness,accuracy,usefulness)than did the discussion found in the popular press books.The books for practitioners all but ignored the content of the information disseminated during change initiatives yet,in some cases,made claims about the nature of the messages(e.g.,sober selling,pain messages).Discussion of such stra-tegic framing of change messages was much more rare in the scholarly literature (for exceptions,see Smeltzer’s,1995,work on planning an effective announcement of change,and Dutton,Ashford,O’Neill,and Lawrence’s,2001,examination of issue selling).Essentially,scholarly literature has paid scant attention to the content of what to disseminate and the channels that should be used to disseminate informa-tion.As Timmerman(2003)noted,“There has been no comprehensive effort to describe,explain,or predict the use of communication media during the implementation of organizational change” (p. 302).
Most of the authors who addressed
communication plans recommended
using a variety of channels to
communicate.
A third thread running through these popular press books concerns the impor-tance of communication about vision and purpose.Leaders were widely encour-aged to provide justification for the change and establish a clear and compelling vision for the change.Most agreed that articulating the goals and purpose of the change are necessary for seeking commitment.These popular press authors argued that painting a broad picture of the change is necessary for people to find where they fit within that picture—it gives them a sense of control over an otherwise equivocal situation.
Scholarly literature has examined the role of vision in change communication and found similar results for providing general information.For example,Lewis(in press)found that employees’perceptions of the clarity of leaders’vision for the change program does relate to their perceptions of important outcomes of change processes.Fairhurst(1993)reviewed the literature concerning important functions of vision creation and communication during change.She argued that vision serves as a means to create and manage shared reality,inspire action,focus attention,and create new social structures in organizations.She further contended that a vision that is clearly understood and perceived by employees is more likely to engender a
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favorable https://www.360docs.net/doc/2413881459.html,munication about vision and purpose has been generally viewed as a positive form of uncertainty reduction.However,the scholarly litera-ture has not,as far as we know,examined the participatory visioning process advo-cated by the popular press,nor has it investigated the comparative effects of vehi-cles for spreading vision,language for packaging vision,or effective spokespersons for vision.
Character of the Advice
Nearly all of these books for practitioners,at one point or another,to one degree or another,acknowledged the critical importance of communication in change. However,they also tended to boil tactics for communication down to sound bites and general philosophy.This is a practice likely driven by the nature of the market for such books.As Clark and Greatbatch(2004)suggested,these books are often created as“star vehicles”to launch promotional tours for their authors(p.408). They are written to focus on the tangible and immediate and toward superficiality and short attention spans.According to the writers of these advice books,the key to implementing change successfully is to present the ideas in an accessible form that “requires that the main elements of the ideas be reduced and simplified into pithy lists,acronyms,concepts,mnemonics,metaphors,and stories that are immediately graspable,understood,and assimilated”(p.412).In the case of the books reviewed here,even where authors created grids for use in planning communication strate-gies for various purposes,there seemed to be scant detail in considering very basic problems that practitioners might have with communication.In short,these books came across as extremely sloganesque when specifying communicative strategies and advice.Although occasionally pithy,and usually adamant,the advice prescribed in these books often lacked detail and appropriate qualification.
Areas of underspecified advice in these books might prompt many practitioner questions as they decide how to apply the advice to their own organizations.For example,practitioners might ask,What should be the basic persuasive strategy for different contexts of change(e.g.,change that is very controversial vs.change that is more routine and accepted)?What steps should one go through in creating effec-tive messages?In soliciting input on vision,how much participation is desirable? What are the warning signs that one has overcommunicated information to stake-holders?What is the best balance between the amount of communication focused on dissemination of information and the amount devoted to input solicitation?Is face-to-face communication still most effective when communication norms dic-tate electronic communication?What decision criteria should be used to select dif-ferent communication strategies for different stakeholder groups?How do you exe-cute good communication when working within a narrow time frame or during crisis?How does this advice apply in cross-cultural contexts?These are all opportunities for further scholarly investigation.
Argyris(2000)argued in his book,Flawed Advice and the Management Trap, that much business advice presented in such books,as those analyzed here,tends to