Change is NOT Change Management

by | Oct 26, 2021 | Change Management

 

 

Today, there is a growing community of for-profit and non-profit organizations who want to increase their impact and become more socially and environmentally responsible. This involves balancing the needs of the business, its people and the community to use the business as a force for good.

 

 

This transformation requires changes to their business practices, procedures and thinking about all aspects of their business. B Corps, which are businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, strive to do better and commit to making positive changes at every level of their organization. 

 

 

Any organizational change—be it introducing a new product to the market, or undergoing the transformation required to become a Certified B Corp—requires good change management.

 

 

Change and change management can seem interchangeable, but there are important differences between the two. It’s important to understand these differences if you want to successfully implement and sustain behavioural change.

 

 

What’s The Difference Between Change and Change Management?

 

 

There’s a common misunderstanding of what change and change management really are.

 

 

Change management is the process of evaluating, planning and using tools and tactics to guide organizations, teams and individuals through change.

 

 

Ultimately, it’s a roadmap to a new destination. Change management focuses on process.

 

 

Change is adopting the desired goals and outcomes that organizations are aiming for. This involves having people accept, adapt and adopt new practices, procedures and behaviours. Change is all about choice and focuses on people.

 

 

Using change management techniques can help guide people, but to change with purpose—which is the cornerstone of the B Corp movement— you need to focus on the people over the process. This can seem a little intimidating at first, but the impact of change management is very worth it.

 

 

How Can Change Management Help?

 

 

Understanding that change is related to people means understanding that emotions and expectations need to be addressed in order to successfully enable change. 

 

 

All things being equal, if people are connected to the organization’s purpose, there will likely be a greater network of support for the change. In addition, when an individual is attached to an organization’s purpose, they will likely be more open to changes.

 

 

Skilled change management consultants have expertise in translating business objectives into people terms. They do this by applying change management methodologies, processes and tools to help connect people with their organization’s purpose and its vision for the future, as well as help them to understand their role in the process.

 

 

Light Trail Consulting provides change management expertise for clients using the ACMP Standard for Change Management as a roadmap to change. There are five key stops on this journey: 

 

 

  1. Evaluating the change(s)
  2. Creating your strategy
  3. Developing plans
  4. Engaging with your people
  5. Ensuring that your change is sustainable

 

 

The Change Process

 

 

Change is never easy; people may feel a loss of control when “the way things have always been done” is shaken up. This is normal—everyone goes through an emotional roller coaster ride in response to challenges to their control, comfort, and skills.

 

 

How individuals adapt and manage change is driven by their own experiences. Understanding why we react to change helps us navigate through uncertainty towards clarity, connection and confidence in new ways of working. 

 

 

At Light Trail Consulting, we help people and teams navigate their own change journey. This helps people move from an emotional state to being ready, willing and able to adopt new behaviours. 

 

 

We use the Scott and Jaffe Change Model to help organizations improve their change capability. For organizational leaders, this change model helps enable the different conversations you will need to have to effectively manage ongoing changes within your business. Learn more about our work.

 

 

Change With Purpose

 

 

Ultimately, change is about people and aligning them around a purpose. It’s a mindset; a way of looking at change through a different lens. You can connect your people to your organization’s purpose by using the Inform → Involve → Inspire Approach.

 

 

The Inform → Involve → Inspire Approach

 

 

 

 

INFORM: If people don’t have the facts, they will invent their own version of the change story. Communicating with staff and stakeholders prevents a mismatch of expectations. This is a key step to staff clarity and alignment, and transparency and trust are key.

 

 

INVOLVE: This creates a connection to the organization for staff and stakeholders. More engagement in the change equals more ideas and more support. Purpose is the glue here.

 

 

INSPIRE: Creating buy-in through a common purpose leads to commitment—which is different from and much stronger than compliance—to changes. Engaged staff strive to do their best for organizations.

 

 

It’s not necessarily about doing different things; it’s about thinking and doing things differently. Need help implementing a change in an organization, or interested in learning more about becoming a certified B Corp? Contact Light Trail Consulting and let us know how we can help.