Change management: Why it's important.

So, you were tasked to spearhead a new program/introduce a new system at your workplace or even you want to change systems/ routines in your house. These are some aspects of change that we can face in our day-to-day life. Change as an action verb involves altering even rendering differently, this is according to OED and this is where the importance of managing change comes in. 

Change management is a systematic and structured process of developing and implementing strategies and interventions for organizations transitioning from current state to a desired state. This is according to Wang, Greg & Sun, Judy. (2012).Its importance is that it ensures a structured approach is embraced and that changes are implemented thoroughly and smoothly resulting in the desired impact. UC Berkeley's change management toolkit notes that; Change can be bucketed into two main categories: Incremental and Transformational. Incremental change is easier to implement successfully, often based on the current state in order to improve the existing way of doing our work. It typically involves fewer changes and affects a small number of people. On the other hand, Transformational change is more difficult to implement. 

The process of change management (Coursera, 2023)  involves effective strategy, planning, and management. As the person tasked with the transition it's crucial that you have excellent problem solving skills, team work, project management, leadership and a love for challenges just to name a few. The actual strategy for implementing change has been broken down into five steps: preparing for change, creating a vision, implementation, embedding and solidification of the changes, and finally, reviewing and adjusting where necessary. 

Change Management Strategy

In navigating transitions, change management is beneficial in several ways. It empowers us to understand the role of human dynamics in change initiatives, emphasizing their impact on the outcome and offering strategies to leverage this understanding for the best results. Additionally, a well-crafted change management strategy acts as a navigational tool, providing a structured path to help us stay committed and focused amid the complexities and turbulence of change. Finally, change management concepts and approaches facilitate the development of essential relationships, which are instrumental in optimizing the effectiveness of change efforts, fostering collaboration, and ensuring the successful implementation of transformative initiatives.

A structured approach is necessary in navigating change. To mitigate the challenges and disruptive nature of change, it is important to follow a well-defined change management process. This can minimize the negative impacts of change and maximize the chances of success.

Components of Change Management

Any change introduced is bound to be met by curiosity, caution and even resistance. This is expected and as a change manager it's critical that you set realistic expectations. The theory of diffusion of innovation states that the rate at which change is adopted varies depending on the individual or organization's adopter category. It further suggests that factors that can influence the rate at which change is adopted, include: The perceived benefits of the change; How well the change fits with existing systems and practices; The difficulty of understanding and using the change; The ability to experiment with the change before fully adopting it; The visibility of the change and the results of others who have adopted it. Hence in the process of implementing and adapting to change, expect to have: Innovators and early adopters who are open to change and will easily adopt; Early majority and late majority who will be cautious but adapt more slowly; and finally, Laggards the least likely to adapt to change.