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managing change before it happens
Despite the
constancy of change, many strategies for managing it focus on the defined
period within which change occurs: the phase following an acquisition; a
process redesign; the response to a competitive threat. Such efforts often fall
far short of expectations. That’s because the core factors in successful
change can't always be created at short notice; they need to be in place.
These factors include clarity, leadership, engagement, and communication. Change comes much more
readily to the organization with a clear mission and strategy; consistent and
supportive leaders at every level; and stakeholders - especially employees - who are engaged: committed, informed, educated and
involved.
Preparing for, managing and integrating
change
Managing today means dealing with change: understanding it,
leading it, integrating it, responding to it, creating it. But most
organizations are organized and staffed for current operations. They have
limited resources for planning and managing change. The failure to adjust
workloads or reallocate resources during change is one of the primary sources
of resistance and breakdown.
Major change calls for intensive and sustained effort at
many levels. It may mean driving a new culture through an organization, or
integrating a newly acquired business, or divesting some operations, or
installing new systems and processes. It certainly calls for effective and sustained communication, with great clarity about purpose, rationale and process.
It’s been observed that change happens, and can’t be managed. Some
changes are external to the organization and can’t be controlled. But the
organization’s response, or the initiatives it takes to prepare for change, can
certainly be managed.
