1.5 Tools: Forcefield Analysis

Every year, PMI performs its Pulse of the Profession survey. One theme stands out in recent surveys: Disruption is the new normal. What does this mean? One answer: Success increasingly depends on “big, bold ideas.” Organizations rely on people with the mindset and skill set to deliver “big, bold projects.” In this new and challenging environment executives now recognize organizational agility as perhaps the most important key to success. Simply put, they need team members who can lead change. In fact, more than half of surveyed organizations say that they are focused on “building a culture receptive to change.”

Now, a little good news: Although change is hard, effective project management can be a powerful mechanism to help you cultivate and drive change. So, let’s take a few minutes to talk about a change management tool that will help you lead change: Forcefield analysis.

Change Dynamics

Forcefield analysis recognizes that change doesn’t happen by itself. In fact, change initiatives almost always provoke resistance. Forcefield analysis invites you to make the sources of resistance visible so you can proactively manage the change process (see Figure 1.7).

Let’s talk through the logic of forcefield analysis.

Starting Point: Steady State

Companies, and people, operate in a steady state. You might call this state of equilibrium the comfort zone.

Phase #1: Unfreeze as Driving Forces Emerge

As comfortable as the steady state is, your company can’t stay there forever, especially in today’s disruptive world. Emerging technologies, for instance, may enable new capabilities, driving change. New competitors may enter the market, requiring change. And government may impose new regulations, dictating change. As the source and nature of these change drivers can be just about anything, the possibilities are practically limitless. Yet, they share a common denominator: If your company doesn’t adapt well, it will die.

Your takeaway: You need to unfreeze your operating model to explore how you might conduct business differently. Grasping the nature and strength of these driving forces is the key to stepping out of the comfort zone safely. Simply put, the drivers help you know how to adapt.

Phase #2: Tension and Potential Change

Change requires that you step from the comfort zone into the tension zone. That is, to stay competitive—or preferably improve your company’s market position—you must change what or how you do things. Typically, you adopt a new strategy—perhaps lean six sigma—or a new technology—maybe artificial intelligence (AI)—as your change vehicle. Can you guess what happens next? No sooner do you announce your AI initiative than resistance begins to emerge. People think, and maybe even feel, you are going to force them to change.

The tension emerges as the change drivers and change resistors collide. This tension threatens your ability to implement lean six sigma, especially if you ignore sources of resistance. Your job is to identify these sources of resistance and evaluate their rigidity and strength. Ask, “Why are people resisting?” Don’t settle for the easy or superficial answers. You really need to dig in, find, and address the underlying issues. Look for the following.

1. Role Ambiguity. New initiatives require new behaviors and new roles. Nobody likes ambiguity. So be clear and precise in how you explain what you hope to achieve through AI and what you expect your people to do during each step of the implementation process. Saying, “We’ll figure that out when we get there” feeds ambiguity—and resistance.

2. Threat to Identity. When you ask people to change, you aren’t just asking them to do things differently; you are changing the way they view themselves. We call this self-perception identity. Threats to identity provoke strong resistance. AI is often perceived as a major threat.

3. Economic Threat. Changes that may lead to employee reduction programs or diminished hours threaten people’s livelihood. Expect fierce resistance. Japanese firms have long been famous for lifetime employment. The goal: Reduce fear so employees are free to embrace change.

4. Cost of Skill Acquisition. If the changes you are seeking require radical re-skilling, employees will fear the high cost of getting up to speed. Your job is to reduce the cost of upskilling, and make sure everyone sees how they can stay in the game.

Each of the resistors discussed above emerge from people’s natural—and appropriate—concerns. Beyond these “human” responses, sometimes people just doubt that the benefits of change will be worth the cost of change. Your job is to tell a sticky story. As you work on the narrative, keep in mind that the fear of loss is often greater than the hope for gain. Address both sides of this equation.

Phase #3: Solidify and Strengthen

How well you manage the tension between drivers and resistors—i.e., the balancing act in Phase 2—will determine which of the following two paths your company takes.

• Path 1: Revert and Refreeze. Figure 1.8, Panel A shows the path you want to avoid. When the resistors overwhelm the drivers, your company will revert to its former steady state. Your change efforts and investments will be wasted. Your credibility will also take a hit.

  Worse, as people live through the churn of change and consistently end up back in the comfort zone, cynicism increases. The “flavor of the month” syndrome emerges. When people hear managers talk about the latest new initiative, they shake their heads and think, “Here we go again. I’ll go with the flow because I don’t want to rock the boat, but I’m not going to invest my heart and soul in this. Like other initiatives, this too will die.”

• Path 2: Succeed and Refreeze. Figure 1.8, Panel B highlights your goal: Drivers overcome resistors and you achieve a successful AI implementation, one that enables machine learning to improve production processes and elevate customer satisfaction. The outcome: Your AI implementation project delivers an AI-enabled competitive advantage.

Managerial Intervention

You may be wondering, “What makes the difference in outcome?” Take another look at Figure 1.8, Panel B. By mapping driving and resisting forces, you begin to understand how you can intervene to promote proactive change. Your goal: Mobilize the resources to strengthen driving forces and weaken, or remove, resisting forces. For instance, to amplify drivers, run an effective pilot project and tell a sticky story about how AI improved a process and elevated customer satisfaction. To mitigate resistors, acknowledge them and talk candidly about how you will address them. Develop a communication strategy to answer these questions.

• What will new roles look like? Why will the new-and-improved roles be better?

• What training will you provide to get workers up to speed at the lowest possible cost?

• How will you make sure that AI and the new-and-improved processes won’t cost colleagues their jobs? Your team members want to help, but not at the cost of their livelihood.

• How will AI enhance worker well-being and self-perception?

Here’s the good news: Although people perceive change—and leading change—as scary, effective project management supported by forcefield analysis can help you make change safe. This sense of safety is critical to coaxing people out of their comfort zones. That’s why some people say, “Change happens through projects.”