Four aspects of change have been appearing frequently in our clients’ organizations:
- Change used to be considered a discrete event, and methodologies developed around managing it as such. These have had to expand as change has become constant, turbulent and disruptive.
- Tactics for resisting change have also expanded; it helps to remember that resistance is a rich source of data and feedback for change leaders, not necessarily evidence of pathology in those who are trying to change. Responding constructively to resistance is a key enabler for leadership success.
- Getting clear on the difference between change and transformation will help determine the most effective communication and leadership approaches for each.
- Organizational traumas, such as layoffs, leave wounds that need to be cauterized if the company hopes to regain its focus on productivity.
Representative influences:
- Linda Ackerman-Anderson and Dean Anderson website: https://beingfirst.com/
- Gervase R. Bushe and Robert J. Marshak, Editors, 2015, Dialogic Organization Development: The Theory and Practice of Transformational Change, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., Oakland, CA
- The Bushe-Marshak Institute: https://b-m-institute.com/
- John Kotter, 2012, Leading Change Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, MA
- John Kotter, Accelerate! Harvard Business Review, November 2012
- Peter Block, 2011, Flawless Consulting Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA (especially Chapter 8: “Understanding Resistance”)
- David M. Noer, 2009, Healing the Wounds John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco, CA