18 :: Change Management

🚪TL;DR:

They say that the few things in life that are certain are death, taxes, and - nowadays more than ever before - change. Uncertainty. It is a common denominator across organizations regardless of their sector or size and it is also a condition for growth - both in life and business - so no one can stand still. Without change, there is only space for stagnation, complacency, and ultimately decline. If the role of innovation is the complete opposite of that in all possible ways, change management (or change leadership) becomes the bedrock of its success.

🧠 What is it?
Change management draws on principles from multiple fields like behavioral science or engineering and simply put, it refers to a structured approach to guiding individuals, teams, and organizations to transition from a current state to a desired future state with minimal disruption and maximal acceptance. However, no change happens in isolation. It always impacts multiple areas and people and must be deeply understood and thoroughly planned before implemented and communicated (even though all 4 steps are essential).

📦 Why is it relevant?

We’ve covered multiple ways in which an organization's culture impacts its innovation efforts because innovation is a combination of transformation processes across the organization. Mastering the art of managing those processes end-to-end and mobilizing others to follow along (i.e. leading change) are two of the most important jobs for CINOs or any innovation-driven leader. By effectively managing change, risks are mitigated, collaboration is fostered, and momentum toward achieving transformative outcomes is sustained. On the other side, no matter how many ideas or technologies one tries to implement, failing at the adoption and behavior change step represents a failure to realize their full potential, thus representing a failure at innovating.

🧶 Where to learn more about it:
The Harvard article from which the quote above was taken is a good summary of the change management topic overall, so I’d recommend taking a look at it. However, diving deeper into it through models and frameworks that enable its activation in real-life scenarios was particularly effective for me. As such, here is my selection:

• Lewin’s Change Management Model

• Beckhard and Harris' Change Equation

• The McKinsey 7-S model

• Leavitt's Diamond

• SPOC Diagrams

• Kotter’s Change Management Theory

• ADKAR Change Management Model

• Nudge Theory

• Bridges Transition Model

• Change Curve

See you next Tuesday! 👋