The Art of Change Leadership

Chapter 3Hack the Status Quo: Change Manager or Change Leader?

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

—Winston Churchill

There are numerous definitions of change management; there are broad and varied interpretations of the two words. The BNET Business Dictionary version is quite good: “The coordination of a structured period of transition from situation A to situation B in order to achieve lasting change within an organization.”

Wikipedia's version is: “Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. The current definition of Change Management includes both organizational change management processes and individual change management models, which together are used to manage the people side of change.”

Although change management has been a focus for organizations for over 20 years, it seems there is still a challenge to effect lasting change for most companies and the people within the companies. Why?

Because as much as we can bring a systematic process to create change, the one variable that requires the most focus and the most time is helping individuals become more change adept. Change creates different responses from different people for a variety of reasons. Simply applying a change management process that involves tactical and project management skills will not produce long-lasting change in a culture. The people within the organization need to ...