Subject: Does change need to be managed? Or is it just common sense?

I think both are true. Change needs to be managed Yes. 

Management consultants make money by making it complicated Yes. 

(I've worked as a management consultant but not in "Change Management." )

Any intervention makes some kind of difference - and in my view the best intervention builds on the knowhow and commonsense of the people in the organisation and also brings a view from outside and from seeing what happens in other similar organisations. Good and relevant questions can be a challenge to the "received wisdom" and unchallenged assumptions which bring a real value if anyone wants to listen. 

"The onlooker sees most of the game." 

I like that - 'the onlooker sees most of the game'! I think asking the right questions and bringing an outside view is so important - do you think more important than following a model of change management?

A long time ago, when I was working as a private sector general manager, I learned the formula C=DxMxP, where C=Change, D=Dissatisfaction, M=Model and P=Process.  In English, the formula says Change is the result of Dissatisfaction with the status quo, a clear Model (or vision) of what things will look like when the Change is complete and a Process (or road map or plan) for making the Change happen.  One thing I like about this formula is that if any term on the right-hand side of the equation is zero (or non-existent), Change is also zero.  This says that Dissatisfaction, Model and Process must all be present for Change to occur.  Another thing I like about it is that it is simple and easy to remember.  Finally, the terms on the right hand side imply a lot more than just Dissatisfaction, Model and Process; they imply lots of Communication and Action!

As someone who provides change mngt services to not-for-profits I suppose I have a vested interested!  However I do believe that change does need to be managed.  People often think that change mngt is about tools and spreadsheets and timelines and key performance indicators etc etc.  Whilst there is obviously a need for proper project mngt of a change programme, the most important elements and the way to success are - ensuring you have a vision, that you build your strategy on that vision, that you engage and inspire your staff and volunteers and reassure your customers and client base.  Whatever is driving the change it is all about people - it can create fear, anxiety, stress.   But properly communciated and delivered it be uplifting, life changing, inspiring.  

One additional comment - I don't think you can say "just" common sense!  A lot of what makes sense in a change situation does come down to common sense but just how rare is common sense?!

Hi

Thanks for the responses - seeing how different charities manage change is so interesting, it's good to hear your views on what's happening.   I like the C=DxMxP formula  - does that assume then that all change requires dissatisfaction with the status quo?  Sometimes I wonder if dissatisfaction isn't in fact the status quo which people are quite content with! I've heard of some organisations where changes are so frequent that people just become adept at maintaining their usual ways of working whilst structures around them change, so it is something like the rearranging deckchairs on a sinking ship analogy.

I agree with you though Anne - I don't think common sense is not as common as it could be.  But then isn't change management simply about thinking through the change and making reasonable assumptions about direct and indirect conseqences and then planning implementation, communication etc all accordingly.  And surely that isn't so complicated?  I'd be really interested to hear of examples of when it really works and is truly uplifting and inspiring - that is what so many of our organisations need!

Isn't the difference between the common sense approach and managed change to do with awareness and perspective.

My "new management process" is someone else's "challenge to the way we've always done things here."  I've found that the biggest challenge is to understand what the change is that needs to be managed as it often seems to have an indirect relationship to the actual "thing" that is to change.

I think Handy referred to the satisfaction with dissatisfaction you've alluded to Stella as strategic delinquency; a state in which great satisfaction is taken from just how hard everything is rather than only being satisfied with actual achievement.  Too often when I've made the naive assumption that a change would be welcomed I haven't seen it from the stance that enjoys the problem more than the solution.  To manage change effectively requires lots of time in the shoes of others.

'Strategic delinquency' - what a great term - can I ask which Handy's books that comes from?  Thanks Francis and for these thought provoking contributions.    I agree completely that it does require a lot of time in the shoes of others, which in some ways, should be common sense. I guess though the piece which is not quite so straightforward is understanding the change that needs to be managed.  So much of the time when implementing change it's not the thing that would appear to be most obvious which causes the difficulty or scuppers progress.  It's a by product or an implication of the change which seems to spark the problems...

Stella - the delinquency ideas is in Handy's Understanding Voluntary Organisations (1988).

I've just noted that your original posts are nearly a couple of years old.  Have you found anything specific to the voluntary sector and change?  I'm currently trying to pin down a dissertation topic in the area; this currently feels a bit like trying to nail jelly to the wall.

Cheers,

Francis

  

Thanks Francis, I have also been looking into the issues of change in the sector and would be very happy to share what I have come across.  Have you had  a look at 'Voluntary Agencies; Challenges of ORganisation  and Management'?  (Billis and Harris).  Or if you are looking for answers to specific questions, you could start a new thread of discussion here?

Thanks Stella. I'll have a look at the Billis and Harris.  Any other leads you're happy to share gratefully received.  Thanks.