CHAT ME ON TEAMS


FIGURE 1


(Learn more about Kotter’s theory in “Change Agent” from Army AL&T’s Spring 2019 edition.)


CREATE


INSTITUTE change


SUSTAIN acceleration GENERATE


short-term wins


removing barriers Creating organizational change is a process that can take months, KOTTER’S 8-STEP MODEL


Kotter’s multi-step organizational change management model assumes that organizations should change over time, not overnight. (Graphic by USAASC)


ENABLE action by


a sense of urgency


BUILD


a guiding coalition


OPPORTUNITY THE BIG FORM


a strategic vision and initiatives


ENLIST


a volunteer army


COMMUNICATION IN TELEWORK Tere is an argument that the most fruitful conversations happen before and after a scheduled meeting—the so-called “meeting before the meeting.” We’ve all been there; everyone gets to the conference room 15 to 20 minutes early before the boss walks in, and that’s when the real conversation (meeting) occurs. Ten the meeting happens, and then the “meeting after the meeting” takes place to identify additional tasks or adjustments needed. If these pre- and post-meetings don’t happen, could an organiza- tion become inefficient and lose critical information?


Constant communication is the heartbeat of an organization. When you’re all in the office, it’s easy to poke your head into someone’s cubicle or office to chat, but when separated, the level of drop-off in communications is significant. In a telework envi- ronment, that issue can be further exacerbated. Email is stale, old and inefficient because it does not happen at the real-time speed of a conversation. One of the tools in Microsoft Teams that DOD may be underutilizing is the chat function. Te chat, group chat and file-sharing functions of Microsoft Teams provide the means to keep the conversation alive in a telework environment. It is


if not years. Tere is no short supply of change models, but one of the most well-known models is Kotter’s Eight-Step Change Model, seen in Figure 1. Kotter designed a systematic plan to change an organization over time—not overnight. Te pandemic handled Step One—create a sense of urgency. However, DOD did not have time to complete Steps Two through Four—forming a powerful coalition, creating a vision for change and commu- nicating that vision. Instead, DOD jumped from Step One to Steps Five and Six: Remove obstacles and create short-term wins.


Initial challenges were easy to identify—network connection, not enough equipment and lack of meeting space were all part of the initial problem set. Tese hurdles the Army overcame rela- tively quickly (once we had Microsoft Teams) and acquired the requisite hardware. Other challenges have been cultural accep- tance and leader adaptation. Tese challenges include how people communicate effectively and lead and build a team in a virtual environment—and were not so easily overcome. To be honest, we’re still working on it and probably will be for some time.


GOODBYE TO THE DROP BY


When everyone is in the office, it’s easy to poke your head into someone’s cubicle or office to chat, but when separated, the level of drop-off in communications is significant. (Photo by Getty Images)


102


Army AL&T Magazine


Summer 2022


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