Andrew White, Senior Fellow in Management Practice at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, explains the basics of change management for us
Disruption is the new normal. As the world becomes more unstable, what used to be once-in-a-generation events now feel like they are happening every year.
Change management background
Consider what has happened in the last five years alone. We have experienced Brexit, the COVID pandemic and lockdowns, the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, extreme weather events caused by the climate emergency, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and inflation, the onset of generative AI and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
These events have shaken up the world and, by extension, the business world. Ultimately, constant disruption has fundamentally changed our organisations and how they are run. It’s challenging to think of an industry that has not faced any disruption in the past half-decade.
What all this means is that business models, even in the short term, are under threat. More so than before, older companies need to transform, and new ones need to be innovative. Leaders who fail to recognise and adapt to this new reality will fail.
What is change management?
This is where change management – defined by the Association for Project Management (APM) as the “overarching approach taken in an organisation to move from the current to a future desirable state using a coordinated and structured approach in collaboration with stakeholders” – can add value. This may come in the form of new projects, programmes and portfolios, with the APM regarding change management as the beginning of a wider transformation process.
In his 1986 book Images of Organization, Gareth Morgan described certain companies as organisms that adapt to their environments. Given the sheer pace of advancements and scale of turbulence we are experiencing in today’s world, I would argue all organisations need to think of themselves as organisms. Change management can be a part of this by establishing a culture of constant evolution, as opposed to standalone projects that occur once every two years, which is what many of us were used to in more stable times.
Transformations that prioritise human emotions
But how do we approach this? Last year, I released research into organisational transformations with colleagues from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and EY. A database of more than 2,000 interviews with leaders and employees found that transformations that prioritise human emotions are 2.6 times more likely to succeed.
Granted, transformation – the process of making significant changes to an organisation, such as its business model, workforce, or customer experience – differs from change management. However, I believe the principles for overseeing change management are the same.
Change management challenges
This comes back to a basic human instinct: we don’t like change, even if history has proved we are very good at it. In the workplace, the very mention of change typically throws many of us into a state of fear: how will this impact my role? Will it still be viable in the future?
Therefore, leaders need to lean into these fears to transcend the challenges that change management can pose. There are four basic – but critical – steps to achieving this.
The first is a leader’s own self-transformation. This requires honesty. What are their biases? Are they truly listening to people? When overseeing organisational change in uncertain times, a leader who can manage their own emotions and fears associated with change will only be more effective at managing the emotions and fears of their employees.
The second is to establish a compelling vision for the organisation. This goes back to the most fundamental questions. Why does it exist? Who is it serving? When a company can answer those questions, it makes the practical aspects of change – i.e. the new projects and programmes – a smoother process as it provides a clear framework for buy-in across the organisation.
Third, leaders need to embrace others’ opinions and empower their workforce. Regarding change, “doing with” is more effective than “doing to”. All my research has suggested that when this happens – within the guardrails of clear expectations to ensure a consistent approach – it delivers results.
The fourth step is where the rubber hits the road: aligning KPIs and allocating resources to different projects. But this can only be effective when the first three steps have been made. Ultimately, a leader’s job is to harness human energy. When done well, most people find that highly motivating. It makes work an interesting place to go to. And any organisation with an engaged and empowered workforce will be more resilient regarding change – and future-proofing its business model.
