Jennifer A. Chatman, Professor
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Interview Description
Professor Jennifer A. Chatman, Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, joined us for a Deep Dive into making positive change and emerging stronger in the context of a pandemic. We discussed approaches to inspiring people and helping them clarify priorities, creating a cohesive culture, and maintaining an agile and adaptable organization. Jenny is a dynamic and thoughtful researcher, teacher, and consultant on culture, change, and strategy, and had great insights to share on leading change in this particular moment.

Speaker Bio
Jennifer A. Chatman is the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, she’s the Berkeley Haas Associate Dean for Learning Strategies, the Co-Founder and Director of the Berkeley Haas Culture Initiative, and the Editor of the premier research series, Research in Organizational Behavior. She also designed and produces the Berkeley Culture Initiative's annual Berkeley Culture Conference.

Interview Summary

01:18 What makes organizations or individuals good at leading change?
01:40 Psychological Resistance: Don’t take it personally
04:21 Changing in response to COVID-19

05:09 What makes an organization adaptable?
05:44 Change Leadership Steps & Best Practices
06:56 Case Study: Change Practices Applied
09:00 Incorporate Change into the Work

09:42 Why do organizations resist this approach?
10:33 Underestimating Psychological Resistance
12:06 Challenge of Combining Technical and Interpersonal Solutions

14:51 What idea opens the biggest door you open for your students?
15:06 Accounting for Human Behavior

17:02 How do you craft a vision in uncertain times?
18:08 Balance Realism and Reassurance
19:02 Communicate Regularly
21:26 Create a (Calm) Context for Productivity
22:00 Focus on Short-Term Horizons

22:44 What can organizations do to better support their leaders?
23:14 Boards and Advisors to Support Leaders
24:21 Leadership Peer Groups

25:56 What makes a cohesive culture?
26:16 High Impact of Leadership Priorities
27:09 Strong Culture is a Strategy Execution Tool
27:51 2x2 of Cultural Cohesion = Agreement x Intensity

29:56 Which of the 4 options is most prevalent among organizations?
30:16 Summary of the 4 Cultures
31:10 Causes of Vacuous Culture

31:18 Why do organizations or individuals struggle at leading change?
32:53 Too Many Priorities
34:13 Prioritizing Values during the Pandemic
34:56 Summary

35:06 How is cultural intensity demonstrated?
35:44 Intensity is Built into Everything
36:31 Case Study: Haas School's 4 Defining Principles

38:32 What does building the case for change look like?
38:56 Strategically Informed Vision of the Future
39:51 Convey Your Vision through Story Form
41:49 Example: I Have a Dream Speech
43:42 Spread Your Vision Speech

44:51 Where should leadership focus their change capital?
46:20 The Lasting Implications of Change Decisions
47:08 Example: University of California hiring values
49:23 Lesson Learned: Vet decisions and consider long-term impacts

51:18 What changes to culture do you anticipate in the next 12 months?
52:06 Reduction in real estate holdings
53:04 Understanding of when human interaction is required

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

Read Notes