Change Management

At a recent Dean's retreat, we had a magnificent discussion on Change Management which included a free write of our ideas on change management. Below is what wrote. Some of it may seem redundant with my agility article—but I wanted to maintain the integrity of the Free write. Here it is (with minor—and sometimes major--clean up and explanation):

“If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.”
--Mario Andretti

Historically, I have been an agent of change. I am a radical in all things who tried to get to a priori issues to determine what's an assumption and what is reality—when I find the assumptions I have to challenge them even though that often means taking apart a given structure. In my career I have always gone against the norm which reflects my academic training. In founding the Institute for Technological Scholarship, one of the primary motivations was to effect change in the campus culture. When I became a Fellow of the Fyre Institute the focus was on manifesting change in Higher education so leadership strategy was brought together with the change agent.

The essence of dealing with change is in may ways consensus building and good timing. I am a hard core follower of Kotter (John P. Kotter Leading Change and now Our Iceberg is Melting)and the 8 steps of change, and I believe in both agility and openness as leadership practices. My goal as an effective leader is to make myself a safety net, invisible, and unnecessary all at the same time. To achieve that I have to ensure that success and safety are guaranteed to individuals who attempt change and experiment. I also have to make cultural changes where everyone has to feel participatory based on Wergin's (Wergin and Bensimon Departments That Work) four values: people have to feel the changes reinforce or at least protect their autonomy, that it builds a sense of community, that it is efficacious, and there has to be recognition for it.

In order to achieve agility one must have total faith and confidence in their team as well as have the ability to let go—a difficult challenge in itself. One must also have transparency, consensus management, open dialogue communication is critical, a vision narrative, a branding strategy and be able to provide rich, rapid feedback if things go astray. People should have roles not jobs, and there has to be a participatory system in which safety of ideas exists with the possibility of imagining the future Think tanks. Communities of practice as McDermott (Wenger McDermot, and Snyder—only McDermott stuck in my mind in the free write—Cultivating Communities of Practice) highlights. Once more safety and security as well as appropriate priorities.

Openness is also important. The individual is a postmodern subject created by their influences and always evolving and changing so their place is determined by changing roles as opposed to a fixed job description, and once more that must entail safety. A workplace must be fun and positive making the change always seem good, and their must be an effective social network (in the sociological sense) which is participatory and one of belonging.

The full details on the books referenced in this entry can be found on my Squidoo Lens at: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/esc_grad_dean