An article published in the April 16, 2013 Harvard Business Review was titled, “Change Management Needs to Change.” It stated that change management has been a recognized discipline for over 50 years, yet despite the tools, training and books about the topic, most studies indicate a significant failure rate for organizational change projects.
That doesn’t mean, however, that change is not possible. It just has to be looked at under a different lens, and many times, it helps to have help to guide an entity, either an individual, an organization, or corporation, through change. There are some great texts about change too, and some that pull their research from the field of education. One of those texts is “The Six Secrets of Change” by Michael Fullen. Why is education an appropriate field to begin to think differently about change? Because education is all about change. After all, when a student exits a classroom, his or her mind is just a bit different than it was when the student entered the classroom. If learning has occurred, then something in the students’ mind has changed. Teachers, therefore, are agents of change, and foster change every day.
Then why don’t we want to change, and even fear it, especially when we know it’s inevitable?
The problem isn’t necessarily with change. Groups which protest certain political and civic actions have been known to be very vocal about their desire for change. Their chants echo in our minds: “What do we want? CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW!” Yet, when change does indeed happen, perhaps it’s not the change that’s been hoped for.
So what is change? Consulting the dictionary, Oxford Dictionaries defines it as, “The act or instance of making or becoming different.” The online resource also notes that it is a Scrabble® word worth 12 points.
The succinct definition has two words which are both keys to realizing the difficulties with change: “instance” and “different.” Change is thought of as a one-time event (instance, or, as someone once said, “All of a sudden, things changed.”), and because “instance” or “instant” has a connotation of “surprise,” change is considered not just to be different, but many times, unexpected. A third connotation of change is “big.” Whenever someone speaks about change, headlines proclaim, “Big changes are on the horizon!” Why? Because little changes happen all the time, and aren’t newsworthy. One’s body changes every day, but if we aren’t cognizant of those changes by tracking them on a regular basis, then change goes unnoticed, until one day we look in the mirror and think, “What happenend?” Headlines that associate “big” with “change” has reinforced the social mindset that all changes are big, something to be feared, and may strike when we least expect them.
Change, however, doesn’t have to be “big.” A small change is still a change, and that small change can – and WILL – lead to a series of other changes, since change doesn’t happen just once, and change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Even a small change can greatly affect other things connected to what has changed. Watch the movie, “The Butterfly Effect” for a lesson in the systemic nature of change.
Perhaps, then, it may be helpful to change how we think about change.
Rather than “different,” let’s think of it as a progression toward a goal, or a “distinctive” position. Differentiation is all about emphasizing one’s unique and distinctive qualities, whether that be as an individual or as a corporate entity.
Rather than “instant,” let’s think of it as a “process,” or a “transition,” from one stage of existence to the next. Transitions are planned, so that the process can be a smooth one. “Growth” is another idea that comes to mind, since, as it’s been said, “To change is to grow.”
Rather than “macro,” let’s think “micro.” “Little wins” is a common theme of change management. Perhaps a shift, or an adjustment. If you have a child in a competitive marching band program, ask them about the phrase, “Check and adjust.” It’s how their field performances are rehearsed, creating an almost innate sense of “muscle memory” within the performance unit on the field.
Life is change. As the waters of the Jordan River flow through the Sea of Galilee, it brings life where fish swim and provides refreshment for the surrounding towns and villages. The river ends in the Dead Sea, where nothing flows out, and nothing life-giving lives in its salty, stagnant waters…that are now disappearing.
“To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
– St. John Henry Newman