I attended a session entitled ‘Investigating New Ways to Drive Growth and Engage
Employees in Change’ with Paul Taylor (NHS Employers), Tony Crabbe (BusinessPsychologist) and Jen Wright (Change Management Institute) which consisted of
some thought provoking ignite talks and an open space discussion.
It
was in Jen Wright’s ignite speech however when she produced the metaphor, ‘Any
good change is a diamond… multi-faceted’ which pinged a light on in my head
instantly for obvious reasons.
This
idea that change was multifaceted was great – change can be and should be seen
from different perspectives which will each have different needs, and each
perspective will reflect the changes in a different light, but I don’t think it
stops there.
Change
is valuable, and desirable by many. Change is what prevents the status quo,
what makes the world spin round and shakes up things from time to time. It is a
rough ground substance, by which I mean that it forces organisations to look at
their roots and founding ethics or key priorities and base any proposed changes
to further these and improve the business. My work in OD is how I respond to
that change, and how I can make my organisation and my staff more flexible and
adaptable as a result.
Diamonds
are formed at high temperature and high pressure – often a component when
organisational change is brought into the mix. A change could be proposed by a
senior manager and potentially under high pressure and heat from the rest of
his or her senior team, it can be moulded into a ‘better’ change. The change
proposed by management teams can then go through more scrutiny and pressure
when staff are invited to comment and provide suggestions and ideas, if they
are asked at all, but theoretically this should make the proposals into a ‘good
change’ like Jen refers to.
Not
one to shy away from my #stagey legwarmers, it is in the musical Wicked where
Glinda and Elphaba share a lyrical exchange of ‘Who can say if I was changed
for the better, but because I knew you, I have been changed for good’.
Sustainable and long-lasting changes which build and improve relationships
therefore could constitute a ‘good’ change otherwise what was the point in
instigating and implementing it? But what constitutes a ‘good’ change? Reduce
costs? Improve staff wellbeing? Push profit? Or merely just making a
significant beneficial difference?
Any
changes we make in our organisations need to be constantly re-evaluated to see
if they are both fit for purpose and still making a positive difference to the
business and the staff who deliver our priorities. And if not, it’s time to
shake things up again; be creative and innovative whilst engaging those that
the changes will affect – they tend to have all the ‘good’ ideas anyway.
Thank you to CIPD for inviting me to be part of the blog squad 2015.
Thank you to CIPD for inviting me to be part of the blog squad 2015.