Managing the Change Challenge
Human Resources

Managing the Change Challenge

Consultants Megan Buffington and Jan Victor presented this program to the Administrative Assembly on November 30, 2007.  You may find this material helpful.

PowerPoint

Managing the Change Challenge

Articles

• Coping with the Challenge of Change, Copyright 2005 University of Notre Dame.

• Random Tips for Dealing with Change, Joanna Howard, Hants/Sussex, United Kingdom. 

 

Important Facts to Remember Regarding Change

 

The only thing you can personally control about change is your reaction to it.  You can control the way you respond.

People often resent change when they have no involvement in how it should be implemented.  So, contrary to popular belief, people don’t resist change – they resist being controlled.

People who are left out of shaping change have a way of reminding us that they are really important.

A leader needs to attract followers… but if the mobilization process is to succeed, those followers must become leaders too, finding their own sense of purpose in the shared challenge and spreading the call and vision of the change.

Predictable Reasons Why Change Efforts Typically Fail

• People leading the change think that announcing the change is the same as implementing it.

• People’s concern with the change are not surfaced or addressed.

• Those being asked to change are not involved in planning the change.

• There is no compelling reason to change.  The business case is not communicated.

• A compelling vision that excites people about the future has not been developed and communicated.

• The change leadership team doesn’t include early adopters, resisters, or informal leaders.

• The change isn’t piloted, so other organization doesn’t learn what’s needed to support the change.

• Organizational systems and other initiatives aren’t aligned with the change.

• Leaders lose focus or fail to prioritize, causing “death by 1,000 initiatives.”

• People are not enabled or encouraged to build new skills

• Those leading the change aren’t credible-- they under-communicate, give mixed messages, and do not model the behaviors the change requires.

• Progress is not measured, and no one recognizes the changes that people have worked hard to make.

• People are not held accountable for implementing the change.

• People leading the change fail to respect the power of the culture to kill the change.

• Possibilities and options are not explored before a specific change is chosen.

 

Human Resources