Change Management

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change. - Charles Darwin

Change is an inevitable part of the lifecycle of an individual and an organization. What connects everyone is the common need to continuously change and transform. To effectively lead change, it is important to recognize that it is not the "change" itself that needs managing, but the people involved in it. Change can also be viewed as a process:

Any change process moves from a current state, through a transition state, and ultimately to a future state. There are specific deliverables that link the process together and are required to deliver the expected benefits of the change effort.

“Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch” is a well known axiom that refers to the importance of cultural acceptance of change. According to various independent research studies, between 60% - 90% of change initiatives fail because leaders tend to focus on high-quality technical solutions and not on developing a strategy for improving the acceptance of their proposed solution. As indicated by the equation below, the effectiveness (E) of a solution depends on a combination of its quality (Q) and more importantly, its acceptance (A).

CTI’s approach to change management includes a set of assessment tools, strategies, and actions designed to understand stakeholders, identify resistance, and increase acceptance of improvement actions. Other important outcomes from a successful change initiative include improvements in:

  • Collaboration, teamwork, and group synergy
  • Interpersonal communication and understanding
  • Conflict resolution and negotiation
  • Group creativity

CTI helps its partners successfully accelerate their change initiative through an array of innovative change management services that are focused on the “A” side of the above equation.

1. Consulting/Coaching

  • Change Readiness Assessment
  • Change Acceleration Coaching
  • Transformation Strategy Mapping

2. Workshops

  • The Art of Change and Transformation™ (On-line Course Coming Soon)
  • The Art of Leading Change
  • Terrain Based Strategy™

3. Certifications

  • Change Agent
  • Master Change Agent
  • Change Management for Physicians

Change Agent Certification

Jack Welch (Former CEO of GE), in his book Winning, said: “By my estimate, real change agents comprise less than 10% of all business people. These are the true believers who champion change, know how to make it happen, and love every second of the process.”

Jack Welch discussed some characteristics of a Change Agent:

  • Change agents usually make themselves known.
  • Very often, they invent change initiative on their own or ask to lead them.
  • Invariably, they are curious and forward looking. They ask a lot of questions that start with the phrase: “Why don’t we..?”
  • They have courage – certain fearlessness about the unknown.

The objective of the certification is to develop a change agent that has the ability to develop a Transformation Strategy Map.

A Transformation Strategy Map includes:

  • Identifying stakeholders and their vision of the desired state.
  • Identifying acceptance and resistance levels and developing a strategy that is appropriate for the terrain.
  • Developing a shared need among stakeholders.
  • Developing a strategy and action plan for transitioning from current to desired state.
  • Coaching champions and other change agents on their role to effectively lead and facilitate change.
  • Developing the competency and skills for practicing The Art of Change and Transformation™ methodology.

Examples of potential change agents:

  • Anyone within an organization who is responsible for implementation of change initiatives
  • Executives and managers who lead change initiatives
  • Project managers
  • HR managers

The prerequisite for the Change Agent certification is attending the workshop “The Art of Change and Transformation™.”