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Change Management? Cut the Crap - Adapt!
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Greetings!
 Most, if not all of us are familiar with the term "Change Management". You've probably heard it used in conjunction with Mergers & Acquisitions, restructurings, downsizings, changes in business strategy, etc. You've also heard about how important it is to manage change carefully, and there are any number of frameworks and processes dealing with the subject that you can google for yourself.
What, actually, is change management? Wikipedia says it is "a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations from a current state to a desired future state". It cites Kotter, saying that "Kotter [2] defines change management as the utilization of basic structures and tools to control any organizational change effort. Change management's goal is to minimize the change impacts on workers and avoid distractions". Kotter further makes a distinction between "change management" and "change leadership". While I understand where that is coming from, with all due respect to Kotter, I have always maintained that management is one of the functions of leadership, and that managers ought to have good leadership qualities as well. I don't understand what all the flap is about.
Jim Collins' "Good to Great" should certainly rank in many people's minds as a classic. There is one problem with that, however. Classics tend to be books that everyone has heard about, but which few have actually read. And of those few who have actually read, even fewer have actually applied. When companies say that people are their greatest asset and then treat them as revenue-generating digits, the overall climate in that company is one of fear, cynicism and distrust. In this case, change management has to be carefully managed. For the company's benefit, not of all stakeholders, including employees. In a great company, "change management" or "change leadership", with the latter term preferred by Kotter, doesn't really exist. This is because a great company is already strategically aligned with its raison d'etre and either automatically or deliberately reframes, re-flexes and re-focuses when riding the winds of change. Employees in such a company feel like shareholders and act accordingly (It's OUR company). Optimization is actually lived out, and expansion and innovation are a way of life. Great companies have a great PURPOSE, and all employees know and have internalized that purpose. When that becomes true, natural adaptation takes place, and very little "change management" or "change leadership" is actually required.
How has your company fared where "change management" or "change leadership" is concerned? How adaptable to you? Are you riding the winds of change well? Drop me a line and let me know! |
