Managing Stakeholders

BriscoBikes management have decided on a cloud software solution, which implies that they are aiming for standardization. The impacted users must adapt to a new IT interface and new best-practice business processes. Sometimes, they must also adapt to new roles, responsibilities, and organizational structures. They must build new skills and learn new ways of working. There is likely to be resistance during the transition from the current to the future state.

In general, there are diverse reasons for resistance. Typical drivers for people’s reluctance to change are uncertainty and fear of the unknown, lost established routines and habits, and the anticipation of negative implications (for example, higher workload or job insecurity). Resistance can lead to significant issues, such as project delays, loss in productivity, or poor user adoption. As a result, it is important to actively manage resistance throughout the 4S project.

The project lead IT, Ron Williams, is increasingly concerned about Bart’s negative attitude towards the 4S project. He schedules a call with Sandra and Paul for an exchange on possible interventions.

Resistance can manifest itself in a broad range of different behaviors. Recognizing these signs at an early stage and trying to understand the underlying reasons is key for addressing and managing resistance effectively.

How much do you already know about resistance in the cloud context?

Take 10 minutes to complete exercise 22 in your workbook.

In preparation for their meeting, Sandra sends Paul and Ron an overview of typical examples for resistant behavior in cloud projects.

In addition, she shares a slide summarizing potential causes for resistance in the cloud context.

In the following video, Sandra, Paul, and Ron talk about resistance in cloud projects and develop ideas how to change Bart’s attitude towards the 4S project.

Leadership alignment aims at ensuring that leaders across the BriscoBikes organization have a common understanding of the purpose and benefits of the 4S project. It includes visible commitment to the associated changes and support to champion the change initiative. Poor leadership alignment is often indicated by resistant behavior from managers around the project. In addition, the misalignment of the leadership team often results in mixed or even contradictory messages sent to the impacted employees. As a result, employees can be irritated and become reluctant to support the project. Therefore, strong leadership alignment at all levels of the organization is crucial for successfully implementing the 4S project. It helps provide direction, momentum, and motivation for employees to embrace the changes across all levels of the organization.

Jane Brisco is convinced that the 4S project builds the foundation for future growth and will move the entire company to the next level of operational excellence. However, she notices that not all members of the management team share the same conviction about the project. Specifically, she notices some doubts during the last steering committee meeting. In addition, the project managers informed her about resistant behavior from middle managers involved in the first fit-to-standard workshops. Therefore, Jane decides to have a conversation with Sandra to discuss strategies for enhancing the leadership commitment and buy-in for the 4S project.

Supporting the project sponsor on aligning the leadership team is part of the change managers’ role. What kind of leadership alignment strategies would you recommend to Jane?

Take five minutes to complete exercise 23 in your workbook.

The following video shows the strategies that Sandra proposes to increase leadership alignment across the BriscoBikes organization.