Who will Win?

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

“Change is inevitable – except from a vending machine” – Robert C. Gallagher

A practical method to help navigate a change process is to consider the various forces affecting a change situation. The “Force-Field Diagram” (see diagram below) is a model created by change specialist, Kurt Lewin, around the idea that forces in an organization are either driving or restraining the need for change.  These forces can include: People, Habits, Culture, Customs, and Attitudes.

**This method helps a leader to:

• Picture the “war” between various forces in a change issue.
• Identify the most important Players, Stakeholders, and Target Groups in a change initiative.
• Identify specific Opponents and Allies.
• Identify how the leader can Influence each target group.

**How to conduct a “Force-Field” analysis:

1. Clarify and describe the current situation.
2. Clarify and describe the desired situation.
3. Identify what will happen if no action is taken at all.
4. List all the forces driving a change toward the desired situation.
5. List all the forces resisting the change.
6. Discuss and interrogate all the forces: Are the valid? Can they be changed? Which are the most critical ones?
7. Allocate a score to each of the forces using a numerical value (e.g. 1 is extremely weak, and 10 is extremely strong.) Chart the forces. List the driving forces on the left and the restraining forces on the right. Show the strength of each force represented by the length of the arrow.
8. Re-examine whether the change is indeed viable, and progress can occur.
9. Discuss how to specifically decrease the strength of restraining forces – and how to increase the strength of the driving forces.
10. Remember that increasing the driving forces (or decreasing the restraining forces) may increase or decrease other forces – or even create new ones.

Remember: “If you don’t create change – Change will create you.”