What is Change Management? [2024]

what is the first feeling that comes to mind when I mention the word change it may trigger anxiety and memories of badly handled initiatives that left people disappointed unhappy and frustrated but it doesn't have to be this way there are a few principles and models that underpin any successful change Journey I'm going to tell you the story of NASA to show you how these principles and models work in practice imagine it's 2003 and you're working at Nasa earlier that year space shuttle Columbia crashed killing all seven crew members the Columbia accident investigation board which was

investigating the accident just delivered a damning verdict they said that NASA was not a learning organization because it had failed to learn from past mistakes which caused the accident the challenge was clear NASA had to transform from an organization that repeated its mistakes to one that learned from them prioritized safety and continuously improves its practices NASA had to change and believe me everyone at Nasa was on board to make that happen over time NASA transformed from an organization where errors were repeated and safety was compromised into one that embraced continuous improvements adopted a safety first

culture and truly embodied the essence of a learning organization NASA did not simply change it became a resilient organization that constantly adapted learned and evolved this is a great story of change Management's Tom rides [Music] my name is Eric Van zopan and in this HR deep dive you'll learn all about change management what it is why change often fills you'll learn about the psychology of change the difference between plans and unplanned change and you'll learn about three change management models that will help you be more successful in understanding change and in implementing change initiatives in

your organization but before we get started remember to smash that like button subscribe and activate the notification Bell let's Dive In change management is like a roadmap that helps a business adapt to new situations whether it's changing how people need to work the technology that people work with or even the deeply held beliefs and behaviors in the organization for NASA it was a shift from a know-it-all organization to a learnable organization that change was not only about values but also about processes and Technologies because in a learnable organization there will be a lot of experimentation

sharing of new learnings continuous feedback more collaboration between departments and so on that's why we call change management a systemic approach it impacts the entire system of the organization and successful changes about aligning the right leverage across the organization to work together to watch a new future State this is what is referred to as transformation especially today a lot of organizations are in the midst of transformation whether this is due to new technologies such as AI expanding into new markets growing the business digitally or launching a new product all these initiatives require the organization to

be able to change in fact the easier it is for organizations to change change the better they will be able to serve the ever-changing needs of their customers successful change management is therefore key in being successful and sustainable as an organization change is not easy did you know that about 70 of change projects fail on top of that 38 percent of change projects are over budget and 55 percent are not delivered on time this happens because change is hard and often misunderstood there's a thousand reasons why people struggle to change we are creatures of habits

and building new habits takes time and conscious effort change requires constant communication and feedback mechanisms to check if people really understand the message and you need to give a very good reason to change in the first place otherwise it simply won't happen let's take a look at the psychology of change to better understand how individual people change before we look at models of organizational change change is often met with resistance not because people are inherently averse to change but because it often triggers deeply rooted fears and insecurities people are hardwired to seek safety and stability

people tend to focus on what they might lose rather than on what they will gain this is a strong human tendency known as loss aversion and it is why people like to stick with what's familiar even when change could actually improve their situation people also want to avoid risk the fact is that the uncertainty of change feels risky making change even more difficult a useful model to understand the psychology of change is the Kubler-Ross change curve change is divided into different stages starting with denial followed by frustration and depression where change is met with anger

and fear before people accept the changes start to experiment with the change as they get more comfortable with the change they commit to it and integrate it into their day-to-day lives people need to go through all four phases when undergoing change and will react differently depending on the phase that they are currently in this model also helps you understand how to manage change from an organizational perspective for each phase people have different needs when in denial you want to communicate and inform when people start to resist the change you want to watch listen and support

once folks start to accept change and explore the new States you need to give them time to explore and test before celebrating their success as they move on to the new normal and integrate the change into their day-to-day activities by understanding the change curve we better understand the psychology of change and we can better predict and address resistance to change individual responses to change vary and are influenced by personality past experiences perceived impact and available support So managing change means understanding these factors and creating an environment that involves people into the process by addressing the

fears providing support and communicating the benefits of change these people-focused approach will increase the odds of successful transformation let's take a look at two more change management models and see what we can learn from them about managing change perhaps the best known change model is the could Lewin model lewins model has three stages unfreeze change and refreeze just like ice requires energy to unfreeze and then re-freeze loons model assumes that change requires a force to disrupt the status quo the unfreeze stage involves challenging and overcoming existing mindsets and attitudes it's all about preparing the organization

or the individual for the upcoming change the change stage is where the actual transformation happens new behaviors practices and processes are introduced and adopted the final V3 stage is all about solidifying the new changes and ensuring they become the new Norm this stage is called institutionalization and is crucial for success and to prevent falling back into the old ways lewin's model highlights that change isn't a quick fix but a systematic process however the drawback of the model is that it simplifies a very complex process it's practically impossible to fit our multi-year NASA change process into

this simple model and this model does not take into account that sayings do not always go according to plan either before we go to the second change management model I have a favor to ask you 83 of the people watching our videos have not yet subscribed to our Channel if you're still watching you're interested in organizational development and change management so do me a favor and subscribe to our Channel thank you Scottish 8-step change model is more complex than lewin's model culture's model is used by many organizations around the world and for most HR professionals

this is the first Change Model that you'll learn about understanding the model will help you implement change in your organization or even in your own personal life Cotter proposed that for any change to happen we first need to establish a sense of urgency which is needed to get people moving this is called The Burning platform for change in our NASA case study this was very clear there was a horrible accident that was caused by a lack of learning in the organization next you build a large coalition to support the change people often don't like changing

their routines so you need supporters to push change through next you'll develop a long-term vision for change communicate the vision and remove any obstacles in the way of change part of the approach is planning for short-term wins these short-term wins will lift people's spirits up and help change stick by reinforcing the right behaviors finally and just like in lewin's model change needs to be embedded into the organization and this is often where recognition and reward plays a key role Cutter's model is a whole lot more complex so it better represents the complexity of change however

there's a problem with qatar's model as well and this is what I never learned in University when I first learn about this model Cotter assumed that the world is ordered and that there's always a clear cause and effect relationship between things that's why he proposes that you develop a vision for change and then spend years executing that Vision that's why Cotter works well for incremental planned change it won't work as well for unplanned change for example imagine you work in a multinational organized dealing with an unexpected cyber security breach would you go for cottage eight-step

process you probably wouldn't because it is slow and methodical while the situation calls for Urgent action and no delays Cottage model doesn't work when the crisis requires immediate action and Swift decision making that brings us to the final topic which is Plants versus unplanned change unplanned change happens unexpectedly immediately after the Challenger space shuttle crash NASA had to respond to unplanned change this involves mobilizing emergency response securing the debris of the shuttle and grounding any remaining space shuttles after that initial unplanned response was over NASA moved on to plans change plan changes initiated by the

organization in NASA's case they had to become a learning organization and this journey took years to complete and involves many different plans steps and stages it required a careful examination of existing procedures retraining of staff and a cultural shift to watch encouraging curiosity openness and knowledge sharing importantly it also involves significant leadership commitments to see this change through this level of change does not happen overnight it demands persistence and resilience from every employee even though this video focuses mostly on plans change the same principles underpin unplanned change you need a response a systemic approach towards

the future and leaders that create an urgency for change to occur so there you have it you now understand organizational change better using three change management models change is complex and requires experience careful planning and skillful execution that's why so many change initiatives feel a NASA case study is an example of effective change management From the Ashes of tragedy NASA was able to transform itself into a learning organization modeled on continuous improvements and the prioritization of safety this would not have been possible without implementing the fundamental principles of change management in this video you've learned

that change is complex but that there are clear best practices when it comes to managing change for plans change you can apply lewins and cottage models and for unplanned change you can apply some of the same principles even though your starting point to contain the crisis will be slightly different you also learned that people may resist change and that in order to get them to change you need to communicate listen support give them time and celebrate wins that's where you come in whether you are a leader manager or HR professional Your Role is to guide

support and Inspire your team during periods of change these models provide a roadmap but the journey itself is always unique requiring a personal touch and an openness to learning and adapting along the way that's it for this HR Deep dive into change management before you go smash that like button subscribe to our Channel and activate the notification Bell to stay up to date with our latest content and if you're interested in learning more about change management check out the aihr organizational development certificate program here you'll learn more about how to manage change in an organization

you'll find the link in the description of this video enjoy and I'll see you in another HR Deep dive bye foreign