Why I’m Passionate About Organisational Change

I view organisational change is an act of caring. Whilst staying the same is an act of neglect.

Change as a Problem

Many people and organisations see organisational change as inconvenience, as hard work. They see change as a threat to be avoided. They are likely to feel concern for their jobs, for their careers, for their safety and wellbeing.

Many organisations see change as a problem: According to a KPMG Study, 96 percent of companies say they’re conducting a business transformation. But just 47% of managers thought the value of their change would be sustained.

Why Organisations See Change as a Problem

For organisations change is seen as:

• A risk.
• As a cost.
• An optional extra.
• Needing an accurate forecast for the future.
• Requiring multiple reports to decide the right thing to do.
• Only allowed if signed and approved through multiple levels.
• Or something to ‘fill up’ the annual plan.

Why Staff See Organisational Change as a Problem

Whilst people in the organisation can also view change as a problem as it is:

• Hard work
• Time consuming
• Getting things wrong and making mistakes.
• Resulting in a loss of confidence.
• Damaging the rhythm and flow of work
• Emotionally exhausting.

Why Organisational Change is Seen as a Risk

All too often organisational change is not what we really what we do around here. It is a source of unpredictably uncertainty. People often feel disempowered by change and see it as a threat to their wellbeing.

I have a lot of empathy for people that don’t like organisational change. We have evolved to mostly not change unless we have to. The cost can be high. People’s experience of change can be disorientating and frustrating.

How I See Organisational Change Differently

However, I see organisational change differently:

Entropy tells us that if we don’t improve things they will inevitably fall apart. People lose skills, people lose knowledge, the world changes.

The world is constantly changing in ways we can’t predict, meaning that we have to keep responding to keep up.

Wherever, i have worked seen people or organsiations that spend their effort:

• On staying the same
• Avoiding change or variation
• Focused on the one single right way to do everything

They view changing organisations as a risk and staying the same as risk free.

This approach works for a while, but in the medium and long term these organisations always seem to go through crises. They are shocked about how this could happen to them after getting things ‘right’ for so long.

Change becomes a cliff edge, rather than a gradual process of renewal.

Why Organisational Change as an Act of Caring.

So instead I see organisational change as an act of caring:

• We do change because we care about what is happening.
• We see things are wrong, we want to make things that are better.
• We choose to make changes that end suffering, bring more joy and satisfaction into our work.
• Free us from the challenges that slow us down every way.
• We can reduce the burden of unproductive repetitive work.
• We can make changes that play to our talents and strengths.
• Change is the way we help one another.
• It is an opportunity to learn new things and gain new skills and push are boundaries of what is possible.

Through change you start to see the world a new. You see opportunities that you have never seen before.

If we care and we see things that are wrong, how can we not change.

Refusing Change is an act of Organisational Neglect.

For me the opposite of change for better, is neglect. Neglecting to look after ourselves. Neglecting to look after the changing needs of our staff and our customers. Neglecting to take up the challenge of competition from rivals for resources.

Change is something we do together to make a better teams organisations and a better world.

Staying the same is not an option, so it’s about working together to shape the world we want.

But let’s be honest the majority of people in the majority of our organisations still see change as a problem. Which is why we see so many people and organisations in crisis.

Conclusion

Organisational change is a vital act of caring that drives growth, improvement, and resilience, while neglecting change leads to stagnation and crisis. By embracing change, we can address challenges, leverage strengths, and create a better future for our organisations and communities. Ultimately, staying the same is not an option; together, we must foster a culture that values and thrives on continuous improvement.

Question:

How do you think we can enable people to see change differently?