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Organisational change requires people to change their behaviour.  Whether it be strategic change, IT business system led change, or cultural change perhaps through merger-acquisition; the business needs people to do things differently.  Leaders need to change their communication and their leadership style in order to inspire and lead change. Managers need to devise and implement new policies, processes and procedures and measure results in different ways. And employees have to change their work activities; use more (or less) initiative, stop old ways of doing and find new ways of being. 

As human beings we have brains that are programmed for maximum efficiency.  This means that we are efficiently wired into patterns and habits of behaviour.  Hence it takes significant effort to get people to change at a behavioural level.  (Think about the pattern you are ‘wired into’ for driving your car.  How difficult would it be to change that in a radical way??).

At Changeworks we use the Logical Levels of Change as an underpinning model in our change management work.  This describes a hierarchy of levels of processes with individuals or groups.  The function of each level is to synthesise, organise and direct interactions on the level below it.  Put simply, if you work with people at a couple of levels above that of behaviour, you tap into deeper levels of motivation and influence. 

At the highest level, by getting people to create a vision for change, perhaps expressed as a metaphor or symbol (picture) it will give them a sense of the wider system in which they are working.  It will help them see the interconnectedness and gain a sense of purpose which can help them to connect to their role in the larger system.

The next level down, identity, is highly influential.  In getting employees to connect to their identity, which may be very different in the new order of things, can help to build a strong sense of self and shape their beliefs and values.

Beliefs and values are the unconscious, deep level influences on our behaviour.  Beliefs and values determine why we think what we think.  Influencing how people think will determine what they will do (i.e. their behaviour) in a particular situation. Our beliefs and values are therefore shaped by our sense of purpose.

In any programme of change, consideration should be given to the level of capabilities (skills).  Training has its place, but only after everything else has been considered. Our capabilities, mental and intellectual, are shaped by our beliefs and values.  In addition, when it comes to learning people have different motivational traits, ways of absorbing information and learning styles; so this variety should be taken into account in both communications and training programmes.

Finally a word of warning: whilst the environment level is the lowest level it acts rather like Herzberg’s ‘hygiene factors’.  It won’t necessarily motivate people to change but it can be a dominating factor and a hell of a block.  If you have a large team of remote workers who don’t have access to the right channels of communication or a noisy, unpleasant office environment, change will be far less likely.

Listen to our podcast to hear a case study on how the logicals levels effected powerful change for the better at a manufacturing company:

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