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Personal Business Coach
Inspired Development and Coaching |
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Making organizational change work
The successful management of organizational change is a current hot topic in most organizations. Few have experienced such challenging and fast moving times and most understand that this pace of change is not about to stop any time soon.
So how is today’s business leader to successfully navigate through the uncertainties and unpredictabilities of unforeseen change, let alone lay claim to being able to proactively manage strategic change.
One of the best recent treatments of this subject is Living Leadership, by Binney et al. (2005). They describe the process of managing change as follows:
“Change does not come about to order. It starts to happen when leaders get involved in the muck and bullets of change processes and demonstrate that they are willing to invest themselves in the process. If you want others to change, you have to change yourself. Going through the process is both frightening and exciting. Experiencing it first hand will make you open to your people’s difficulties on their challenging change journey. When they can feel your empathy and when they feel you as accepting of their ambivalence, they will lose their fear of letting go more easily.”
Periods of change are usually accompanied by lack of certainty about what is likely to happen and little agreement about what should be done. In these situations, the skills required for managing and leading in steady state situations need to be considerably extended, but not abandoned.
The ordinary management for ordinary times requires the creation of minimalist structures, robust procedures to support core business processes, and effective performance management. It also requires strong financial management skills.
The present uncertain times require a great deal more of managers. Organizations now need extra-ordinary managers who can positively impact the culture of the organization, creating the conditions most likely to facilitate beneficial change and growth. This requires: creating conditions which foster innovation and renewal, increasing the flow of information, fostering connectivity, promoting diversity and reducing power differentials.
Leaders who are effective in managing change also do the following:
o Play in the informal processes
o Network
o State intentions and foster inquiry
o Promote “strategic” conversations
o Encourage dialogue
o Foster initiative
o Articulate constraints
o Challenge norms, habits and routines
In my third and final article on managing change in troubled times, I will add to this list with more practical ways of freeing up and preparing the organisation for whatever lies ahead.
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