Change management is a structured approach to dealing with the human dynamics of any organizational change. It’s about aligning people to new values, processes, procedures and behaviours needed to deliver on a desired result.
In most organizations, change management begins at the ‘top of the house.’ Next, a persuasion campaign takes place to mobilize the rest of the organization and promote organic behavior change.
This approach is fundamentally flawed.
Change management cannot be left as an afterthought. It needs to be woven into the entire solution forming process, from the outset. Engagement and mobilization are the absolute prerequisites to motivating change. If you leave them out early-on, they will cost you, with interest, later on.
Leaders need to approach problem solving in more collaborative ways. They need to involve everybody that matters, everybody that touches the challenge at hand.
And that’s because individuals and small teams are not equipped to match the variety that complex challenges pose. Filling in the gaps in your thinking after you’ve already made a decision takes time, creates frustration, and can render your solution obsolete.
When you bake in the change management in the actual solution forming process itself, as in you involve the right thinkers and the doers, you’re much better positioned to lead successful change.