Change Management: Beyond the Process

As part of my executive development, I had the luxury of learning from a master teacher in change management, Dr. David Herold, over the weekend. He is author of "Change the Way You Lead Change" and has an extensive academic and consulting career developing others on this subject.

His lessons reminded me that whether operating as a consultant or inside facilitator we need to be aware that we often reach quickly for the tools/toolkit and a specific process to execute it. To paraphrase, we hear of a 'problem' or 'set of problems' expressed in the business, and we feel inclined or expected to fix it. Working quickly may not reward you in the end. It is worthwhile to step back and take an expanded view of the organizational, competitive and marketplace landscapes. Taking an expanded and more robust approach helps get us closer to working on the right problems (versus the expressed ones) and involving the right people (customers, other external sources, insider champions, change agents, etc). In an interesting note, David said this does not guarantee success but it can raise the batting average.