What I’ve Learned About Organizational Change
Who can believe the end of the semester is here already? Certainly not me! With each subsequent class in the program, the time seems to fly more quickly. This semester especially was a blur for me, probably because I was out for a couple of weeks following the birth of my son, and that kind of broke up the semester a little bit.
At the start of the semester, my focus was clearly on worrying how I would get through the Capstone class. Change Strategies was just a chore to be endured. I wasn’t sure how much I was really going to get out of it, or if I was even interested in getting anything out of it. (End of the program blues?)
I’m so glad my attitude about the class didn’t stay that way. Surprisingly, writing the Org Change Intervention Analysis paper was actually one of the more enjoyable experiences I’ve had in the program. I found I had so much to analyze and discuss because of the changes taking place within my own organization. The paper flowed freely and richly, and honestly, I had to rein it in at the end or I would have kept going much longer!
I’ve mentioned in class for some time now (probably enough times that people are sick of hearing about it) that my agency has been in the midst of a modernization initiative. The planned changes are so far-reaching and significant that they will revolutionize the way the entire agency does business on a day-to-day basis. While the planning for this change effort began several years ago, the actual implementation is currently in full swing. Because of this, as I read through the Burke chapters, they resonated with me in a way I hadn’t expected. Everything I read about I could relate to because I was experiencing it or seeing it in my agency. Looking at the Burke-Litwin model was like looking at a blueprint of my organization – I could trace the effects of change through each dimension.
In addition to the insight I got out of the Burke text, we explored three valuable change strategies this semester – Future Search, Open Space Technology and Appreciative Inquiry. I was part of the group that facilitated the Future Search Conference, the brainchild of our old friend Weisbord. The biggest challenge for our group was taking the three-day conference and carving it up to fit into a class period without losing the flavor of the methodology. This meant being a little bit creative in order to shave some time. We made sure we hit on the major themes of the conference – exploring past, present and future in order to construct an action plan for change. I think our facilitation was successful at giving our classmates a good representation of the model, and I hope we illustrated the activities in a way that made everyone feel confident enough to try it within their own organizational contexts.
The Open Space Technology facilitation gave us a second strategy to implement within our organizations. I can imagine how well this would work with large groups where participants would generate a multitude of session ideas and hold lively conversations around the topic at hand. I particularly appreciate the way the flexibility and openness I of the method allows for the participation and ownership of the attendees. For the facilitator though, it’s often hard to follow Weisbord’s advice and “Don’t Do Something; Just Stand There”! This hands off approach of letting participants hash it out has a lot of potential for incredible organizational growth.
The third strategy, Appreciative Inquiry, was in some ways the hardest for me to stomach. I felt so uncomfortable with the idea of rattling off the things I do well, which tells me I need to do it more! As it turned out though, I really liked the idea of using a positive spin to propel change. Building on the strengths of an organization in order to improve and move ahead makes so much sense.
I returned to work this week to find that so much had changed while I was gone. It made me realize just how much I needed this Change Strategies class. Instead of panicking that my world was changing around me, I thought about the skills in my pocket for creating, implementing and supporting change. I feel confident that I can and will use many of the techniques we explored in this class in the coming days.
