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Change
Management "How-To"
Do
you have questions about initiating a
change effort?
Spend
a few minutes with Jennifer Guy and get them
answered.
- How
do I begin a change effort?
- Where can
I find tools to help me?
- Why
don't people like change?
- What
is the key to successful change?
- Do I need a consultant to help me through?
How do I begin a change effort
?
You
begin any change effort with a vision. You
must have something compelling - something that
makes the effort worth while. If you
don't have a burning platform, or something external
that is forcing the change, then work with your
senior management team to sort out WHY any change
should be attempted. Unless you can find
a compelling reason, don't try it.
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Why
don't people like change?
The
answer has to do with how people see themselves. People,
in general, know themselves in comparison to
others. You walk into your house and know
how to move because you know where the furniture
is. You know how to behave because you know other
people behave. Over time, you adjust your actions
to your surroundings and become accustomed to
how things are. When something changes,
it literally means that at some level you have
to redefine yourself. This is uncomfortable
and jarring and we attempt first to rectify the
change if it is in our control, and to adjust
to it if it is not. Many of us live our
lives complaining about changes that should not
have been. For more discussion of change
and why we don't like it, see Peter Senge's book The Fifth
Discipline Fieldbook
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What
is the key to successful change ?
Engagement. That
is the key. Engage
your senior management. Engage the rank and file.
Engage middle management. Engage your customer,
your vendors, your accounting department. Engage
everyone. This has two effects. First,
the people who are on board are really on board.
Second, those who find fault with your
effort will be heard. Third, YOU will get the
benefits of the nay-sayers. This important
group, if you listen carefully, will tell you
all the things you have to address in order
to have a successful change effort.
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Do
I need a consultant to help me through?
Whereas
a major change is nothing to take lightly,
there are many resources you can use to avoid
using a consultant. 1)
If you have the time (it will take longer to
do than you expect - probably
three times longer), and 2)
if you have the local resource (it will take
someone dedicated to the
change effort with the authority to make decisions),
and 3) if you have the
will (ability to deal with problems, continually
recontextualize
your actions, recreate vision), and 4)
if you have the vehicles with which to communicate
(over and over and
over and over again), ... you could be successful. You
should not do it without the proper resources
and I would recommend speaking to a consultant
and perhaps getting several proposals/recommendations
about your change effort before deciding either
to go it alone, or hiring a consultant.
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Copyright © 2001 [Jennifer Guy Associates].
All rights reserved.
Revised:
May 26, 2007.
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