Leaders are always curios about the need for Change Management. To appreciate the below insights, it would help to have full understanding of what Change Management is.
- According to Prosci®, on a project level, Change Management is the application of a structured process and set of tools to achieve a desired outcome. On an enterprise level, Change Management is a leadership competency and strategic enabler.
- According to APMG®, Change Management is an emergent profession and organizational capability. It is a business discipline focused on navigating change by exploring key questions which will influence the adoption and acceptance of change.
- According to a mentor, Change Management is a business profession that impacts business as usual.
Why structured?
- Structure holds things together. It provides strength. It arranges positioning for all elements to excel.
Why a set of tools?
- Tools build items which cannot otherwise exist. Tools enable action.
Why desired outcomes?
- Desired outcomes are what we aim for. They provide direction and make us feel great once reached. Desired outcomes are best when tangible and measurable.
Why 'the people side of things'?
- People are not machines that can be programmed, but rather are bodies of emotions that will create willingness and desire against their own criteria.
Why a competency?
- Competencies provide evidence of performance, with strong capability, belief and conviction.
Why a business discipline?
- Discipline maintains consistency, demonstrating a degree of conviction to action. Business disciplines provide efficiency and effectiveness. In the case of change, this translates into 'faster and better' adoption of usage.
Is the need now clear? Without structure to hold change up or connect its elements, without tools to enable change, without desired outcomes setting a clear set of priorities, without discipline and conviction, people can and will take different paths, hold different priorities, work in different ways and drive the organization towards different destinations.
Any and all successful change outcomes are linked to a dependency on people’s adoption and usage. How does your P&L line reflect your need and priority for Change Management? How can your leadership survive without its capability?
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