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Change Management
Change is easy – in fact, it is inevitable. Getting the change you want, when you want it? Not so easy. The formula for achieving change is simple: Change occurs when an institution becomes Dissatisfied with the status quo, develops a Vision for the future, can identify the First Steps for action, and these collectively (DVF) are greater than the Resistance to change: C = D x V x FS > R (this is from Dannemiller/Tyson, a favorite resource for change management information.).
Deliberate, calculated, thoughtful change takes work, and this work frequently requires the support and guidance of professionals whose expertise is in navigating change. Achieving meaningful, long-lasting, sustainable change requires a multi-faceted, multi-stage, highly choreographed effort.
Some of the key elements of successful change initiatives:
- Deciding that your organization needs change in order to realize its vision and goals;
- Determining the root causes, not just the surface symptoms, of unproductive or ineffective structures, behaviors and attitudes;
- Visualizing what the future state will be, and generating the support of those whose work will be required to achieve it and getting their investment in the outcome;
- Building the structures that will encourage and support change on the path to building the future;
- Creating support networks that will keep moving;
- Creating rewards for those who do the work and make the changes and invest in the vision;
- Developing visible, tangible ways to celebrate successes along the way.
More on key elements
This service might be for you if...
Change management projects can be small and focused, but are more frequently long-term collaborations between a campus leader and a team of CLOC consultants who bring a wealth of experience with change management and provide critical support to leaders. This allows leaders to stay focused on long-term objectives, not allowing themselves to become discouraged by short-term roadblocks or delays. And when necessary – and in partnership with and when agreed to by the client – the consultants can and will hold the leader’s “feet to the fire” to ensure that they take the actions necessary to ensure long-term success. In the press of day-to-day business, losing sight of long-term objectives is perhaps inevitable; CLOC consultants partner with leaders to help them stay on the path they have established.
While we have a methodical approach, our consultants are too experienced with the processes of change to believe that they are going to proceed as precisely as planned; human enterprises are inherently messy. One of our key skills is our ability to adjust to unforeseen outcomes and/or events. We accept that complex human processes within large, complex organizations are not going to proceed in the exact order of our theoretical model; at the same time, we can help leaders distinguish between what might appear to be chaos and what is actually productive movement.
CLOC processes are highly strategic; we help define and align a leader’s top-level team, and determine which internal stakeholders are critical to the long-term success of the change effort. We also help leaders analyze their organizations within the larger context to determine where they need to make strong external alliances.
Equally important is the support consultants provide to the leader during a process that requires extraordinary patience and commitment, can be frustrating, and is not hugely rewarding in the short-term – in short, the kind of process that will make a lasting difference.
The consultants will also work with the organization’s members – faculty and staff at all levels – to help them gain an understanding of individual and organizational responses to change. Overcoming the fear and uncertainty that change creates can remove a significant barrier to movement. These processes can also help individuals understand where the organization is going and why, and what the implications of that might be. This provides them with information and power that can allow them to make important decisions about their future through deliberate self-assessment and reflection – is this where they want to be? Is this organization still the right fit? This increases the commitment and buy-in of those who chose to stay and invest in the future.
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This service might be right for you if:
- Your organization is stagnant, unable to attract the resources you need, keep up with peers, and meet leadership expectations;
- You have had at least one failed attempt at a substantive change effort;
- You have been unable to overcome resistance or inertia and have run out of ideas for strategies to help make forward movement possible;
- Your organization is stagnant, unable to attract the resources you need, keep up with peers, and meet leadership’s expectations;
- It feels like you are only retaining mediocre people; the promising ones tend to leave;
- Your goals are unclear or you have been unable to reach them;
- You know that you are not on a course that will keep you aligned with the way the campus, state, nation and world are changing.
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