Types of Change in Organizations

Source: L. Ackerman Anderson, Being First Inc.

Developing a change strategy that will fit the type and scope of change that you are working on, is key to leading successful change. There are three types of change. Development Change Improvement of what is; new state is a prescribed enhancement of the old state.

Transitional Change
Transition State

New State

Design and implementation of a new state; requires dismantling of the old state and management of the transition process; managed timetable.

Transformational Change
Success Plateau Growth Chaos Wake Up Calls Re-emergence through visioning and learning

Birth

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Death Mindset forced to shift

Old state and worldview are forced to die. New state is unknown. It emerges from visioning, trial and error and learning. New state requires fundamental shift in mindset, organizing principles, behaviour and/or culture, designed to support new business directions. Critical mass of organization must operate from new mindset and behaviour for transformation to succeed.

Identifying the Type of Change

Worksheet Use the following worksheet to determine the primary type of Change you are leading. Remember to think about the overall change, not just the pieces within it. If you answer yes to two or more questions for any one type of change, then that is likely your primary type of change. If you answer yes to two or more questions for more than one type of change, then review each of the questions you answered yes to and determine which questions pertain more to the overall outcome desired, or represent greater complexity of change. That will be your primary type of change. Once you have determined the primary type of your overall change, do the same exercise for each initiative within the overall change. Use this information as you create your change strategy. Make sure that the leaders of the organization and the leaders of the change have a clear and common understanding of the types of change and the implications for their leadership style and change plans.

Developmental Change Questions: 1. Does your change effort require primarily an improvement of your existing way of operating without radically changing it? Yes _____ No _____ 2. Will skill or knowledge training, performance improvement strategies and communications suffice as approaches to carrying out this change? Yes _____ No _____ Will your current culture and mindset produce the outcomes needed from this change? Yes _____ No _____

3.

Transitional Change Questions: 1. Does your change effort require you to dismantle your old/existing way of operating and replace it with something known but different? Yes _____ No _____ 2. Are you currently able to design a definitive picture of the new state as your goal for implementation? Yes _____ No _____ Is this change realistically able to occur within a pre-determined timetable? Yes _____ No _____

3.

Transformational Change Questions: 1. Does your organization/program/service need to begin its change process before its destination is fully understood and defined? Yes _____ No _____ 2. Is the scope of this change so significant that it requires the organizations culture and peoples behaviour and mindsets to fundamentally shift in order to successfully implement the changes and achieve the new state? Yes _____ No _____ Does the change require the organizations/program/service structure, operations, products, services or technology to change radically to meet the new needs of customers? Yes _____ No _____

3.

Conclusions: 1. Which of the three types of change is the primary type of your overall effort? 2. What are the types of change for each of the initiatives within this overall change effort?