change management

Well designed change will draw people in

Melissa Dutmers — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:44:16 -0500

There’s a reason Tim Brown, CEO of the design firm IDEO, titled his book, Change by Design. There’s a reason Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, titled his book, The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage.

Why? Because successful change happens by design.

Massive change and breaking patterns

Melissa Dutmers — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:28:18 -0500

I’m making some people really uncomfortable by asking, “How might we expand the field of change management to take a leap in our thinking and impact change?” Breaking patterns makes people feel uneasy. Oh well. So goes it.

Organizational change remains notoriously elusive

Melissa Dutmers — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:15:22 -0500

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) weekly poll cites John Kotter's definitive work on leading change featured in the well known HBR article, Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail.

"Although Kotter’s advice for leading change is well-known, successful organizational change is still notoriously elusive."

Successful change happens by design

Melissa Dutmers — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:32:06 -0500

Have you ever asked these questions when leading change?

Leading change… Is the lock a key or a combination?

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:37:13 -0500

It’s clear to me that leading change is the most important skill—for organizations, governments, communities, and as individuals. So I’m fascinated by change.

I used to think that realizing successful change was about securing executive sponsorship, creating a sense of urgency, building a coalition of committed supporters, and following a structured change management process (plus a slew of other best practices).

The intersection of change management and design thinking

Melissa Dutmers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:51:34 -0500

When I read articles like Bruce Nussbaum’s, Life in Beta, I am more and more convinced that change management can teach us what (not how) we can do to lead change and design thinking can help us understand how. Humanistic thinking, a fundamental aspect of design thinking, can also teach us what we should do. For me, design thinking helps bridge the gap between mechanical change management methodologies and tools and realizing successful change (results!).

Change… just get the ball rollin’

Melissa Dutmers — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:47:35 -0500

I love the quote below from former President Bill Clinton. Regardless of whether you are for, or against, health care reform doesn’t matter (advocating or disparaging health care reform is not my point here). The quote captures what I believe is a crucial and fundamental belief required to impact change.

Don’t be a snob about managing change

Melissa Dutmers — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:21:00 -0500

One of the most dangerous things you can do is think you’re different than everyone else. I have found that the best way to manage change is by asking for a lot of help. The question is, how do you know who to take advice from?

Here are three counter-intuitive principles I have used to figure out who to listen to when it comes to managing change:

Muster up some courage and leap!

Melissa Dutmers — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:45:09 -0500

I’m an equestrian; my passion—horses. Sun going down, horses eating dinner, my riding coach, Jen, tells me a story. She just returned from teaching a riding clinic and one of her students shared that she was having trouble getting her horse to canter (a faster, bigger gate). To test whether the horse understood the cues to canter, Jen got on the horse and signaled the horse to canter (the horse cantered immediately). I asked Jen why the student was struggling to canter her horse.

Is the field of change management saddled by best practices?

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:06:04 -0500

Saddled by best practices

Why change is needed in the field of change management

Let me assure you that this is a thoughtful person who shows all due deference to those that have gone before me. I would add that now more than ever we need to move beyond and expand our thinking in the field of change management. Do broad, surface level “best practices” saddle the field of change management with limited success?

The Change Leader of Tomorrow

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:53:02 -0400

The change leader of tomorrow will not be a left brained technologist,but they will understand the implications of technology. The change leader of tomorrow will not be a touchy-feely HR person, but they will understand the implications of human behavior. The change leader of tomorrow will act more like a savvy guide rather than a prescriptive “I know what you need” salesperson.

Change Readiness: Insight vs. Effort

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:39:15 -0400

I spoke with a lady yesterday that asked me a valid question that inspired me to write this post. She asked, "What does it cost to do a change readiness assessment?" I responded, "It depends - what insights are you trying to glean?"

There is no one answer. Organizations need to understand the insight they are looking to derive first. There are plenty of vanilla change readiness surveys out there - do they result in any insight to impact change? I think you know the answer...

Change by Design Insight No.1. Go out into the world

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:40:39 -0400

Quantitative data that measures what we already know rarely yields insights that create impactful change. A better starting point… go out into the world. Observe the actual experiences of those that will be impacted by change. Collaborate and generate ideas with the audience you are trying to reach. In doing so you will create optimism and generate creativity rather than resistance.Explore the next stage in the evolution of change – migrate from managing change for people to creating change with people.

Leading Change? Know Your Starting Point

Melissa Dutmers — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:53:56 -0400

Effective change leaders know that there is no “single way” to move through the process of change. There are various entry points. A golfer for instance is going to choose a different strategy if the wind is blowing, if the greens are fast, or if they are 10 shots ahead of their competition. The same holds true for leading change – you need to know your entry point before you decide on your strategy.

No doubt there are more entry points than what are represented here, and these three categories are useful in thinking about where you’re starting from.

Why Change Management Needs Design Thinking

Melissa Dutmers — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:44:57 -0400

Unfortunately, traditional change management tactics fall short of realizing successful change. Tactical change management plans are only as useful as the strategy that drives them. You can’t put your change process into boxes and check everything off and call it "leading change."

Leading Change: It's Time to Pause

Melissa Dutmers — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:53:21 -0400

LEADING CHANGE: IT’S TIME TO PAUSE

Changing the Definition of Change Management

Melissa Dutmers — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:09:37 -0400

The current definitions of change management are hopelessly ’soft’ and poorly defined. Let’s look at how Wikipedia reports on the definition of change management.

Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. The current definition of Change Management includes both organizational change management processes and individual change management models, which together are used to manage the people side of change. (Wikipedia)

read more

Practical Change Management: The Top 10 Countdown

Melissa Dutmers — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:55:06 -0400

10. LEARN TO LEAD CHANGE BECAUSE (1) YOU CAN, and (2) IT DIRECTLY IMPACTS RESULTS

The rate of change is exponentially increasing and professionals are looking for real world practical help to survive and thrive as their organizations create and respond to changes. Leading change, understanding how individuals and organizations transition through
change is a key leadership competency and directly related to business results.

Stop Bemoaning the Loss Of Employee Loyalty & Trust Already!

Paul Glover — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:57:31 -0400

Harvard Business blogger Tammy Erickson points out the following:

Â· A Towers Perrin study , conducted earlier this year, found that 40% of employers had either implemented or were considering a mandatory furlough, 32% a reduced workweek.

Strategy Acceleration with Natural Effectiveness

Gayla Hodges — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:19:46 -0400

Each human being is wired a little differently. We are made up of preferences, levels of comfort, skills, strengths, weaknesses, ways of listening and hearing, ways of speaking, and our own ways of doing things. When people discover and learn to leverage their strengths and work in ways that support their preferences, they discover new levels of effectiveness and efficiency. We call this Natural Effectiveness™.

The Care & Feeding of Intrapreneurial Employees

Paul Glover — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:05:07 -0400

To thrive in the the WorkQuake(tm) of the Knowledge Economy, an organization must find, retain and develop Intraprenuerial Employees. Here's how:

Onboarding for Fun & Profit!

Paul Glover — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:02:37 -0400

Orientation ain't cutting it anymore in the time of the WorkQuake(tm)! Instead organizations need to pay more attention to not only who the hire but what they are doing to retain who they hire. An Onboarding Process will increase retention and productivity - and that's a very good thing.

Why Managers and Supervisors ARE NOT the Best Communicators During Times of Change

Marcia Xenitelis — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:40:22 -0400

Everywhere you look these days the focus in Human Resources and Employee Communication is managing change within organizations. But most of these programs fail to achieve their objectives. During bad economic times the focus is usually on providing coaching on understanding the emotions people go through during change, helping employees deal with the complex emotions of watching colleagues leave, communication strategies that utilise management hierarchies to communicate face to face with their teams on what is happening next in organizational restructures and so on.

How To Cascade Messages via Managers To Employees

Marcia Xenitelis — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:38:58 -0400

One of the common mistakes people make when designing a change program is assuming that if a person is a team leader, supervisor or senior manager they should naturally know how to communicate face to face with their teams. However communication skills are rarely one of the key competencies that is taught or measured by organizations. There is however a very easy way to ensure that there is structure and content that make it very easy for managers at all levels to follow.

How To Engage Employees With Technology Based Change

Marcia Xenitelis — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:33:51 -0400

When you think about the millions of dollars organizations spend each year on IT programs of work, wouldn't it be prudent knowing that employees actually understand and most importantly embrace the reason behind the changes? There is one way of ensuring that employees and their managers have got the message and truly understand the reasons for the new system implementation. And that is the means that you communicate change.