Leadership impact and change management (1)
If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it’ll change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry it’ll change” (John Simone).
Change is a term that describes an act or process through which something becomes different. Broadly stated, change is a movement, passage or transition from a current state to a new state. The thing about change is that it is a constant, and as long as life remains, change will always be an important feature of life. The well known philosopher and author, John Simone possibly had the inevitability of change in mind when he made his classic quote, which remains one of the most poignant of any about change. According to John Simone, “If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it’ll change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry it’ll change”. Surely, no condition is permanent.
Whether internally or externally motivated, there are changes taking place around us all the time, and quite often also involving, affecting or impacting us. As a result, whether it is at home, work, relationships, or in our community, we are constantly faced with the need to adapt to the changes that will always occur. Sometimes the change may be drastic or gradual; anticipated or unexpected; fundamental or superficial. In all instances, the opportunity and the ability to make the necessary adjustments that would make the change(s) more useful and beneficial involves some level of management. And, that is what change management is all about.
Change management is essentially the act of transitioning individuals, teams and organisations into a desired future state. Change management is therefore a necessary process that requires adequate understanding of the need for change, the type of change required, the magnitude of change expected, the change processes, and the desired end result, among others. Therefore, in order to successfully effect a sustainable change management system, especially in the organisational set up, there must be a strong foundation established. This must be in terms of clarity, communication, acceptance, implementation and sustainability.
The place and role of leadership and organisational (team) coaching in change management has been recognised for several years. This is especially with regard to the power of coaching in altering, reinforcing and/or compelling mind sets, mind frames and belief systems, in order to fit desired change situations and scenarios. As a matter of fact, change coaching has developed in the past few years as a result of coaching methodologies and principles being utilised to manage change, especially in corporate organisations.
To give an example, it is wise and practical for organisations and businesses that want to remain relevant, competitive and profitable in the face of changing scenarios to act proactively. In this regard, they would be expected to invest in the appropriate development and improvement of their systems and processes, in order to adapt to, and exploit changes in their operating environment. They will also be expected to invest in adaptive personnel training programmes as a means of positioning their people to take advantage of the compelling changes.
However, this does not always happen that easily. The problem usually is that despite the investments in systems and processes, the nature and personality of most people is to resist any change, which they are not the architects of, and which they do not fully understand. As a result, the people will persist in their old ways knowingly or unknowingly. Because personality and especially belief systems underpin how people will respond to change, a proper understanding of how to change mind sets and belief systems becomes an essential skill in change management. This is one of the key skill sets of organisational coaching.
The organisational coaching approach and process, which tests and explores what the changes mean to the people works equally well for individuals, teams, and organisations. It operates on the premise that the most potent strategy for sustainable change is personal belief. It suggests that the belief system of people is what needs to be challenged for change to occur. In this regard, an organisational coaching process can be trusted to reveal the differences in peoples’ personalities. This in turn allows organisational leaders to predict different personality responses more accurately.
As a result, there is a better understanding of how different people are likely to respond to a situation or change. That understanding thus becomes a powerful tool in effective change management planning. This is especially with regard to how to deploy the correct leadership or coaching style in order to smooth over the transition from change resistance to acceptance. The key is that it affords the people the opportunity to learn by themselves, so that they can express their own perception and reality of change.
The perception is this regard relates to the belief of the individuals about the change, whether it is good, necessary or desirable. Furthermore, it is this personal perception that effectively challenges their belief systems and determines the possibilities of acceptance of change. It is only when people get to this stage that the organisation can truly realise the benefits of desired change. This is also when the systems and processes, together with other ideas and innovations can yield positive results. You can read more about the transformational power of coaching at www.ceedcoaching.com.
Emmanuel Imevbere