Change Leadership: Developing a Change‐adept Organization

Citation

McVanel‐Viney, S. (2010), "Change Leadership: Developing a Change‐adept Organization", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 474-476. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437731011056489

Although there is a proliferation of change management resources on the market today, it is difficult for the middle manager to know exactly where to start. Do you drive in deep by immersing yourself in the “classics” by well‐known and respected authors in the field (e.g. Kotter, Ackerman Anderson)? Do you look for resources that are specific to your area of focus (e.g. transitions, sustainability)? Or do you target your level of expertise (e.g. introduction to change)? This is a challenging decision for many reasons: we may not think to use a particular change management resource until we realize we are in the midst of a problem we do not know how to handle; our organizations may not value or employ change management specialists to act as mentors and project team members; change mastery is often lower on the list of leadership attributes targeted during hiring and training programs; and there are few resources that provide sufficient content to meet the various change mastery needs of the middle manager given the sheer breadth of the field.

The key reason why this particular book, Change Leadership: Developing a Change‐Adept Organization, is appealing to middle managers is that it offers some theory with direct management application. Although theory is rather “light” in Chapter 1, “A little theory concerning personal and organizational change”, it does provide theoretical content most relevant to new change leaders. Despite it being light, however, it is still essential to give credit to scholars instrumental in bringing key theories forward; Rogers' classic work on change adoption, for example, was not referenced as a key influence in the Organizational Acceptance of Innovation and Change model (p. 10). New change leaders will find this to be a useful start, but are well advised to continue to build their theoretical foundation.

In Chapter 2, “Moving the organization”, a few easy to remember acronyms are provided – FEE (feelings, experience, environment) and LIPS (leadership, incentives, plans, sense of involvement) – as a means of exploring core concepts of managing continual transformation. Another acronym – VICTORY (vision, inclusion, communications, timing, organization, resistance reduced, you) – is provided to denote the role of the leader in preparing the organization for change. Other topics covered in this chapter include planning the pace of change, understanding initial versus imposed change, finding allies (i.e. importance of commitment), push versus pull influence styles, addressing peoples' needs, and how to address issues when they go wrong, all with tools and templates to support each section.

In Chapter 3, “75 ways to help sustain organizational transformation”, the author uses the FEE and LIPS acronyms to sequentially outline suggestions for successful change. Many of the suggestions provided are repeats of key material covered in the first two chapters, and despite trying to organize it under the FEE and LIPS categories, the chapter has a disorganized “feel” to it. The chapter might be useful for true novices, however, as an initial introduction to change management and teaching tool given the short, easy‐to‐understand segments. Novices would not understand how these change management tips relate to the field as a whole, however, as material is not referenced.

In Chapter 4, “Implementation: successfully managing the change project”, the important topic of project management is explored. Given how few books in this field attempt to cover change, transitions and project management, I was impressed both with the ease of readability of this section as well as the depth of the authors' understanding of this important aspect of successful change management. All too often we read the “classics” and do not realize, until we experience first‐hand a few projects that have stumbled due to a lack of effective project planning, that we are missing a major aspect of effective change management; middle managers using this book as an introduction to change management may be more inclined to do further reading about PM, seek out additional mentors with PM skills, and receive PM training as they would understand it's essential role in effective change management.

In addition to new change leaders and middle managers, this book would be a helpful resource for specialists in organization development, project management, human resources and other related disciplines responsible for facilitating change teams at the forming stage and throughout the project lifecycle; the self‐assessments and tips on how to apply the material throughout the book provide excellent suggestions for facilitators of retreats, project meetings and post‐change debriefs. This book is written in such a way that the reader can think creatively and innovatively as to how to cover core change concepts and encourage self‐reflection. Furthermore, I have a personal affinity for books that allow the reader to gain new insights and make new connections to existing knowledge each time it is read, and I believe this book will do just that.