Change Course

The organizational ecosystem helps us understand how our organizations respond to change and how we can manage change more effectively as change leaders. Over the past few episodes we've discussed systems theory and how understanding organizational systems help us better understand how change happens in a group setting.   

Well, this is where we get to the good stuff.  What if there was a change model that talked about the organization as both a structure and an ecosystem?  I developed Connected Change (TM) for this specific purpose - to address gaps in the current change models and come up with a focused approach that helps us better understand and predict how our organizations respond to change. Furthermore, Connected Change (TM) is an integrated change approach that defines the system attributes we are changing alongside core organizational components, AND helps us identify which interventions will be most effective in moving us from current to future state. 

In this episode I talk about the Connected Change (TM) model and the 5 elements: Power/Influence,  Politics, Culture, History and Stories and how we use these core elements to bring out profound changes in organizations.

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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During the Pandemic, our world was turned upside down. As we exit into the immediate post-pandemic period, it seems like many of the changes that were made are going to stick. Why is that?  When looking at complex adaptive systems and change, having another event kick the system out of homeostasis can actually be a huge advantage to bringing about changes to the system itself.

Also - humans? We LOVE homeostasis.  So much of who we are, our nature and how we respond and react to change has to do with maintaining homeostasis. So what do we need to do to change?  Change the system itself and create new systems to sustain change.  

This wraps up our 5 arc series on Complex Adaptive systems!  listen to episodes 13 - 17 to catch them all.

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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Change is not a process, it is the destination.  If we look at change as a process in a systems view, it doesn't work! Complex Adaptive Systems aren't linear, so applying linear process to a system often ends in failure.  When we add a layer, thinking about systems in homeostasis, we start to see why incremental change, tweaks and nudges work.  Systems seek steady state, and small adaptations are easily absorbed.  When we want to make big change, we need to change the system itself and seek a new and redefined homeostasis in order to make things stick.

In the domain of biology, organic biological systems are characterised by a state of homeostasis or "steady state".  Complex adaptive systems are adaptive in nature, in that they exist in steady state and attempt to preserve steady state through adaptation.  When something threatens or changes the system, thereby interrupting steady state, the system will adapt to return to steady state as quickly and efficiently as possible. When change is introduced, there is a push and pull, an ebb and flow that is a natural part of the system. Like the waters of the earth resist the pull of the moon's gravity, creating the tides, there is a natural ebb and flow to systems as part of change.

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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Humans and our organizations are more like bees and beehives than they are like machines and component parts!  Human systems are more like the complex adaptive systems that we see in nature.  Complex, because the relationships and behaviours that make up the way the system operates are complex and interconnected.  It can be difficult to predict how a complex system will respond to change!  Bee colonies have a hierarchical structure with 1 queen, attendants, drones and workers, but the way they operate goes above and beyond the colony's organizational structure. Where information is currency,  the way that bees interact and communicate with each other, mirror how our human organizational systems operate.  We humans and our organizations are more like bees than like machines.

The only constant is change.  Heraclitus of Ephesus (ancient Greece) was an ancient philosopher who introduced the central characteristic of the universe was not static but that is was ever-changing.  While Heraclitus defined this central characteristic in 500 BC, this idea hasn't formed the central tenet of change management.  What if our approach to change needs to be more aligned with nature, biology and the idea that change is ever present?

youtube (accessible version with captions) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtV5wKa8NZbwplNtBaVdEog

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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"We knew something was happening when we saw those swans dancing".  You may have noticed the images of dancing swans and wondered what all of this was about.  Story, imagery and symbolism can be a powerful tool to transmit messages without saying anything at all.  We talk about the story of the ballet of Swan Lake, how it was used to buy time and distract in the context of regime change, the symbolism and imagery and the story transmitting information from a totalitarian regime to today, where the images are becoming those of protest.  Story and symbolism can be a powerful way to transmit information in the context of change as we are seeing today.

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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In this episode, we address a question from one of our listeners: what effect do the laggards have on the innovators and early adopters and why?  We dig deep in this question, and pick apart why laggards have such a negative effect on others and why focusing too much on the lagging end of change can undermine your efforts. The three main areas we dig into are leadership and what we are saying to our leading edge, confronting the fact that laggards just don't want to change, and that laggards can be toxic.  Figuring out how to navigate this difficult group is the key to sustainable change.

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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In this follow-up episode to last week's brief history of change management, we talk about where the practice of change is going, focusing on three key areas: how we look at organizations, deepening our understanding of people and how the way we work is changing. Key resources in each of the areas are outlined and provided in the show notes.

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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Did you know that the first change management theory was introduced in the 1950s?  Change Management is a relatively new field of study and research and it is evolving at a really fast pace.  This episode acts as a primer for the key theories and models that have built the foundation of change management and is great for those who want to learn more about change, and the leading practices out there.  I start with Lewin's first model,  and talk through the leading methodologies including Kotter's 8 step model, Jeff Hiatt's ADKAR, Bridges - Managing Transitions,  Kubler-Ross's change curve and McKinsey's 7S model.   

I also touch on the two published "fables" that introduce the concept of change management in story form,  "My Iceberg is Melting" and "Who Moved my Cheese". 

I briefly talk about why to apply each model, some pros and cons, and hint at where the practice is going. 

show notes:  www.connectedchange.com

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