3 What do we mean by change management?

‘Change’ can be mapped onto a spectrum of scope, pace, complexity and scale; can be transformational (impacting an entire organisation); or can be a minor realignment of a single process. It can be proactive (addressing a future need) or reactive to an imminent challenge and can be hard or soft, planned or emergent. In terms of pace, change can be ‘continuous’ or ‘intermittent’, and in terms of scale, change can be reactive, planned, incremental, operational, strategic, radical, revolutionary or big-bang.

Activity 4 What do you think change management is?

Timing: 10 minutes

Your experiences of change will influence what you think change management is and what it is not. You may have examples of change initiatives that have gone well and others less so. What were the differences in the approach to these initiatives, and what was the change they were trying to achieve?

Watch the video below and consider how it reflects your understanding and experiences of change management. You may wish to make notes in the box below.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 3

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Transcript: Video 3 What is change management?

SPEAKER:

Every day we managed to navigate an exponential amount of changes in our lives, big and small, from overcoming road detours and downloading new apps, to adopting flexible office environments or moving overseas. At the individual level, change is a human process we all experience when we try new things, do things differently or when something impacts the way we function day to day.

The way we experience change is very personal. It's our thoughts, feelings and beliefs, positive or negative, that drive our behaviour. They determine if we perceive change as a threat that needs to be avoided or an opportunity to be embraced. How we respond to change can determine the success of projects or transformation initiatives. And when we consider that organisations are composed of groups of individuals, the challenge of change management becomes so much greater.

Change for organisations is now constant. Customer and business demands are changing, technology is becoming more agile and our work environment is constantly evolving. With a greater degree of change on its way, a company's ability to adapt successfully at an individual and organisational level will make the difference between whether the company survives or thrives, and this is where change management comes in.

Change management is a business discipline focused on navigating change by exploring key questions, such as who the change affects, how the affect will be felt and what the change will ultimately deliver, and by when. This discipline focuses on increasing acceptance and adoption of changes by reducing uncertainty, confusion and human angst as the people transition unfolds. This can get complex, especially as multiple changes overlap.

As such, change management has evolved into both a profession and an organisational capability. People that are highly skilled at designing and enabling effective change processes and practices have become specialists in this business discipline, while organisations are building internal change capabilities to better manage and adapt to constant change. In a busy workplace where priorities compete, it takes effort from everyone, individuals, leaders and those tasked with implementing the change, to achieve collective organisational change.

And you'll know you've accomplished this when you can truly say that leaders demonstrate sound leadership and consciously dedicate time to engage their teams in conversations about the changes. The pace and volume of change is managed, and those responsible for implementation understand how different change initiatives fit together. Project frameworks incorporate strong people change processes. Change is implemented with true and transparent input from those impacted. And change processes are managed through effective partnership between change professionals and business leaders.

To help you on your change journey, connect with the Change Management Institute today. We're all about supporting our members and our community to be better connected, to strengthen capability and enhance credibility.

End transcript: Video 3 What is change management?

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Video 3 What is change management?

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There are many definitions of change management in circulation, and most describe it in terms of a structured process and set of tools used for leading people from the current state to a future desired state to achieve an outcome. We explore some of the aspects of change management in the next steps.