Change Management – A Bird’s Eye View of the What, How and Why Aspects of Change Management.
At Viral Solutions, we understand the trials and tribulations that many new owners of small businesses face in the early going. The commitment of time and resources that is necessary at the outset can leave many business owners frustrated or exhausted. We’ve experienced this ourselves in our own business operations, so we know just how unpleasant it is and how it can come close to crushing the motivation you had that led you to start the business in the first place.
Change is an inevitable. It happens in every moment. Just now, reading this sentence change is happening. There are many forms of change that occurs. There is the change that management proactive plan and change that management did not expect to happen, but arises. There is the change that in a moment can ultimately make or break a situation. There is the change that is so small that it goes under the radar. Change simply is a part of life. It can be a dynamic, fun, and exciting part of life, or it can be miserable. It depends on the situation. The purpose of this post is to identify, describe, and analyze the change management process to aid managing small to massive change.
What: Change management is the process of identifying, organizing, implementing, monitoring and controlling concrete initiatives for change within an organization.
How: Dr. John Kotter, Harvard Business School Professor, Author, and Entrepreneur stated “leaders who successfully transform businesses do eight things right and in the correct order.” The change management process can be broken down into the following tried and true steps:
- Create a sense of urgency.
- Form a coalition of powerful people to support the change initiative.
- Create a vision.
- Communicate the vision.
- Empower others to act on the vision.
- Plan, create and reward short-term wins.
- Consolidate improvements and manage new change(s).
- Institutionalize new change(s).
Success leaves clues. Change success also leaves clues. The ability to create a sense of urgency, get people to support the change and help facilitate the direction of initiatives, and create a clear vision of change is the first part. Like many things, if there is a lack of communication the buck will stop there. As such, it is essential to communicate the vision effectively. That communication has to be such that it is clear, precise, and empowers others to act on the vision. Empowerment is delightfully complex. The methods used to empower may vary organization to organization, individual to individual and so on. The key is to plan and establish specific short-term wins that will aid fostering and rewarding such empowered action that aligns with the vision. Monitoring the vital initiatives and outcomes is yet, another quintessential aspect of consolidating improvements and managing new change(s). Lastly, the new changes need to be institutionalized.
Why: Change matters. Ineffective change management practices can result in monetary, productivity, employee 
morale, clients, and competitiveness. The level of influence surrounded by not taking change seriously can be disastrous. Likewise, the opposite is a possibility. Whereas, if effective change management occurs miraculous outcomes may result. Although, some may beg to differ on the term “miraculous” if the system and steps used were what led up to the successful outcome of change management. However, by definition, “miraculous is a highly improbable and extraordinary and bringing very welcome consequences.” There are some changes that are so disruptive that with effective planning and implementation of change management practices still face high odds of failure, i.e. mergers and acquisitions have 66% failure rate to achieve the desired synergies.
In conclusion, change management matters. This post is a simple prima facie identification, description, and analysis of change management. Stay tuned for future posts over the next month that takes on each step of the change management process. The purpose of this change management series is to provide you with a deeper understanding of the change management steps. The additional detail and analysis of each step will also aid in helping you to implement such strategies within your operational, marketing, sales, or human resource management sides of your organization. For questions or to carry on an intellectually stimulating conversation about change feel free to reach out.
Have a blessed day.
by Katie Doseck, PhD MBA
Chief Visionary and Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve | Viral Solutions LLC
Katie Doseck, PhD MBA | Chief Visionary & Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve. I catapulted my experience with extensive education, trainings, and personal coaching; earning a PhD in Organizational Management with a specialization in Human Resource Management, MBA in Organizational Leadership, and BA in Law & Liberal Arts. Subject Matter Expert (SME) areas: Human Resource Management, Employment Law, Organizational Change, Change Management, Resource Planning, Strategic Planning, Talent Management, Selling & Sales Management, Training & Development, Decision Making Models, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Motivation. Dr. Doseck is based out of Logan, Utah.
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