I saw a communication at work this week that suggested change is not just about adapting to new technology in our increasingly digital world. It is more about changing ways of thinking and acting and behaving. I think this is exactly right.
Effecting any change can be challenging – I suspect there is an inherent inertia in all of us that resists doing things differently. Even if as a manager you go on an inspiring leadership course, putting the new ideas and changes into practice with your team back in the office (real or virtual) is a completely different matter.
As I mentioned on this blog a couple of years ago, I had this experience after attending a thought-provoking Harvard Business School course on managing professional firms. The professors taught through case studies exploring the strengths and weaknesses of professional practice and suggesting how to improve in many areas. I went back to the office of my then firm in London with an almost religious zeal to put what I had learnt into practice.
But it was really hard. Nobody else seemed to get why we needed to change. I realise now that sustain change is not just about inspiring leaders. The manager can direct but the whole team has to go there. We sent three people from my firm to Boston – we should have sent twenty or more of our leading partners if we really wanted to change.
You can then take the key decision makers who can together mould the firm to change. See this London Business School article which suggests Build a group of people around you – an alliance, a coalition – who share your beliefs and your passion for what you’re trying to make happen.
Doing this with any organisation is difficult. In the world of professional business it is even harder because everybody has their own view and perspective on how to run their particular practice. See for example this articleHow to bring about change in law firms which says Bringing about change in a law firm remains extraordinarily difficult, and the more fundamental the change, the greater the difficulty.
This McKinsey podcast on How to implement and sustain organizational change explores this topic with an implementation expert commenting The concept is, I have now taken a group of people or an organization and fundamentally changed the way that they think about doing their work or whatever processes that are now put into place and am building their skills and capabilities along the way.
This excellent article from Strategy& (the global strategy consulting team at PWC) on how to make and sustain change comments Few organizations have escaped the need for major change in the past decade as new technologies and global crises have reshaped entire industriesand says Change is, at its core, a people process. It maintains that Two-thirds of transformation programs fall short of their objectives, because they do not capture hearts and minds.
As Leo Tolstoy sagely said Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Maybe we should all follow the advice of Mahatma GhandiBe the change that you wish to see in the world.
Effecting any change can be challenging – I suspect there is an inherent inertia in all of us that resists doing things differently. Even if as a manager you go on an inspiring leadership course, putting the new ideas and changes into practice with your team back in the office (real or virtual) is a completely different matter.
As I mentioned on this blog a couple of years ago, I had this experience after attending a thought-provoking Harvard Business School course on managing professional firms. The professors taught through case studies exploring the strengths and weaknesses of professional practice and suggesting how to improve in many areas. I went back to the office of my then firm in London with an almost religious zeal to put what I had learnt into practice.
But it was really hard. Nobody else seemed to get why we needed to change. I realise now that sustain change is not just about inspiring leaders. The manager can direct but the whole team has to go there. We sent three people from my firm to Boston – we should have sent twenty or more of our leading partners if we really wanted to change.
You can then take the key decision makers who can together mould the firm to change. See this London Business School article which suggests Build a group of people around you – an alliance, a coalition – who share your beliefs and your passion for what you’re trying to make happen.
Doing this with any organisation is difficult. In the world of professional business it is even harder because everybody has their own view and perspective on how to run their particular practice. See for example this articleHow to bring about change in law firms which says Bringing about change in a law firm remains extraordinarily difficult, and the more fundamental the change, the greater the difficulty.
This McKinsey podcast on How to implement and sustain organizational change explores this topic with an implementation expert commenting The concept is, I have now taken a group of people or an organization and fundamentally changed the way that they think about doing their work or whatever processes that are now put into place and am building their skills and capabilities along the way.
This excellent article from Strategy& (the global strategy consulting team at PWC) on how to make and sustain change comments Few organizations have escaped the need for major change in the past decade as new technologies and global crises have reshaped entire industriesand says Change is, at its core, a people process. It maintains that Two-thirds of transformation programs fall short of their objectives, because they do not capture hearts and minds.
As Leo Tolstoy sagely said Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Maybe we should all follow the advice of Mahatma GhandiBe the change that you wish to see in the world.
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