Overcoming Organizational Resistance Thanks to a Management Simulation
Every change management strategy meets resistance, but there's a simulation that helps you plan and execute the process step by step, and makes you aware that influence is more effective than mere hierarchical power. The simulation is called Gear and it was developed by Learning Lab, the SDA Bocconi laboratory that explores new approaches to learning. The participants play the role of a consultant approached by a company that needs a change management strategy.
The simulation is divided into four phases. The players read and analyze a business case. Then, during phase 1, they have to decide which of the problems exposed is the most important. Phase 2 is the most complex. Participants prepare an action plan selecting some actions from a basket of fifty. They can choose only a few, because each action has a cost and there is a strict budget. They are asked to place them in chronological order, from the most to the less urgent. In phase 3, the "consultants" recommend to the CEO the key concepts for a speech in which he will announce the change. During the fourth and final stage, participants answer the question: what factors may hinder the success of the process? The system assigns a score and generates a personal report that features all the answers. Results are discussed in the debriefing process.
"I talk about theory only when the simulation is over, when participants are fully attentive and willing to understand the reason why their score is lower than they expected", says Leonardo Caporarello, Director of the Learning Lab. The "consultants" often underestimate the need to clearly communicate the urgency of the change. They wrongly delay the creation of a team of influencers with whom to define the strategy. They forget that a plan for an effective organizational change ends only with a psychological acceptance, not with a zealous obedience to a hierarchical superior.
"It's an intuitive method and an effective simulation on change management" says Riccardo Cortiana, Head of HR Training & Development at Siram. He used Gear at the end of the SDA Bocconi HR Management Intensive Program. "Gear is a good way for a HR professional to learn how to design and implement a plan for an effective organizational change", says Beatrice Manzoni, coordinator of the program. "Some participants are called to build from scratch the HR function within the company, which is a organizational change itself, some other are HR professionals who promotes the change process. Gear urges them to be proactive, not just reactive".