If you hit your thumb with a hammer, how likely are you to shout “CHANGE MANAGEMENT!!”?

The words “change” and “management” should almost be interchangeable. They show up in the same sentences and context all the time, primarily because so much of management revolves around change. Today, though, I want to glue them together and cover the surface of the topic known as “change management”. It is a term that is used frequently, and bandied about freely. It is often the excuse for below-par outcomes, and is often used as a collective noun for project activities that might otherwise get forgotten about, such as "Once we start to implement the new …………., let's not forget about the change management that will be needed with it."

So let’s start by trying to give it a workable definition. “Change management is a structured approach designed to ensure that changes are properly and sequentially implemented, and that the permanent benefits of the changes are realised.”

In simple terms, it is what I work with on a daily basis – how do individuals, or teams, move smoothly from their current situation to a better one, on the way to reaching the best situation, for their unique set of circumstances. There will be wider impacts than just those that apply to people, but the non-human impacts are very seldom anywhere near as obstructive as the human ones. And the change we are talking about could be anywhere from a simple process change, right through to significant shifts in policy, or strategy (TYJ) that are required for an organization to achieve it’s true potential.

Mind Tools covered this subject in a recent article and gave us this wonderful bunch of additional definitions: -

It's a noun: "Change management is key to the project."
It's a verb: "We really need to change manage that process."
It's an adjective: "My change management skills are improving."
It's an expletive: "Change management!"

Theories on how organizations change are found in many disciplines, from psychology and behavioural science, through to engineering and systems thinking. The foundational principle is that change never happens in a vacuum – it impacts the entire organization or system around it, and everybody is affected to a greater or lesser degree by it.

If we are going to manage change successfully, we need to attend to the full spectrum of the changes – both the obvious and tangible impacts of change, and the personal impact on those affected, and how they will need to work and behave in order to support the change.

Which means we need a way to determine exactly what those changes, impacts and new behaviours are likely to be so that we can put the necessary plans to maximise the benefits, in place. And that, Jedi Warrior, is what we will cover in the next blog on this subject.

If you are about to head into, or maybe are already in, a season of change and you are not 100% sure that you have all the bases covered we’d love to help you. Check out the “Square Wheels” section of www.version8.com.au and drop us a line to set up a no obligation chat.