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BGI
Organizational change management—what does it mean? As one who appreciates language, I like to break down words and look at how their individual meanings affect how we perceive it. When I think organizational change management I think there is an inherent assumption that change must be “managed.” At least in our culture when projects are managed, they are typically done so with a top-down approach. Although there has been significant progress in terms of including a more complete set of stakeholders when developing identifying issues and developing questions, solutions, processes, etc.
The second thing that comes to mind when I think “manage” is that there is a perceived limit in which change should be contained. At what point do we put a halt to change? Do we, say, only tolerate a delta of 30% when transitioning from one process to another? When I set out to start Menrva Labs, I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, but I allowed as many ideas and iterations to pass for it to become everything it could be. The idea of change is included in the name—labs infers that we are always trying something new. Some things will succeed and others will fail. However, we cannot be afraid to try something as long as it contributes to promoting organizational change by increasing social awareness.
At the inception of the idea, the name was actually Global Mind Frame. I, however, found the term “frame” to be too limiting and looked for ways to express the more open nature of the vision. Maybe we should instead say organizational change. Is that sufficient? I don’t know. I think it’s closer to what we hope to accomplish, but still not an accurate reflection of the work and deliberateness in which we must approach such an undertaking. This past Monday I taught my first personal branding workshops. The first was a class through Goodwill.The second was the first in a series I started. Those two classes offered me the most rewarding experiences I have had in a very long time. Not because of the feeling of “helping” or “giving back.” In fact, I feel that the use of those terms is largely detrimental in that they typically come from a place of perceived superiority.
These classes were rewarding because I felt a “oneness” with the people I was working with. I’ve found that we spend so much time trying to communicate how we are different from each other, preserving a building a sense of self, that we don’t stop to realize the oneness to which we exist. I don’t mean oneness to mean sameness. When I say oneness, I mean the connectedness we between each other, to nature, to the world. This oneness acknowledges and respects the differences as well as the similarities. Traditional organizational change theory looks at people as a means to an end. As with profits, we tend to look at the change as the goal rather than the outcome. In strong organizations with strong people and a strong mission, profit is never the goal, but rather an outcome.
I feel the same should be true in change management. The change should not be the goal, but a result of strengthening the people, technology, and structures within it to align more closely with a shared vision. By treating people as the ends, investing in them in ways to make them the most creative, skilled, and happy individuals they can be, we create a culture that facilitates the change unlimited in scope.
The Assignment
This quarter at BGI, we have been asked to maintain a blog on a specific topic. At first, I thought, “I’ll just write about marketing or personal branding. After all, I write about these topics all the time, I’m putting together workshops about them, I’m working on a book, and I hope to convert these efforts into revenue generating activities sooner rather than later.” However, after thinking a little more deeply, I found two major flaws in that thinking:
The Flaws In My Thinking
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First, I used the term just to describe something I’d be writing about. Although I am passionate about real marketing and personal branding, and will continue writing, blogging, and speaking about them, I found that I was looking at this as task—as an exercise—instead of it as an opportunity to play and experiment in other areas.
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Secondly, I need to expand the scope of my abilities and knowledge. It’s great to have intimate knowledge in specific areas, but it’s also good to be able to converse around a wide range of topics. One of the things I like doing most is learning from other people’s experiences. Broadening that scope of topics of which I’m aware is prerequisite to being able to continue growing from others.
My New Blogging Topic
So, what am I going to be blogging about? I’ve landed on change creation/management. When people ask me what I do, I typically say something along the lines of business, marketing, and communications strategy. Sounds good…but what does it mean? I think change creation/management more completely captures my essence and what I do. When I worked with Albagli Zaliasnik & Cia in Santiago, Chile, I did more than develop their marketing strategy. I worked with partners, administrative assistants, attorneys, and clients to develop organizational goals and plans to realize those goals. Together we created a cultural shift: communication became more transparent, business grew internationally, and employees became more involved.
It’s What I Do
I’ve been thinking about how to describe what I’d like to do when I exit this MBA program. Working with people as individuals and as part of an organization both appeal to me. When it comes down to it, I want to work with people to empower them to be the change they want to see—in themselves, in their organizations, in their communities. Whatever you label that work, whether it be life coaching, executive coaching, or whatever, it’s about creating and managing change.
What’s Next?
Now that I know what I want to blog about it’s time to learn about the topic so I can share information we find valuable. Thank you for taking interest and following. Expect book reviews, videos, infographics, how-to’s, personal experiences, and the experience of others. I hope you engage along the way. Until next time…peace.
Other Stuff On The Web
If you want to read blog posts only related to change creation/management (the posts required for class), this is the URL for that. http://michaelbmaine.com/home/category/bgi
If you are interested in knowing what’s going on with Menrva Labs, upcoming events, and everything else I’m blogging about, just come to the homepage at http://michaelbmaine.com.