Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Change Management
Change Management
Contents
Change Management Why are Change Management skills so important at MMU? Key Considerations for Managing Change Change and Transition Managers Self Assessment Questionnaire Tools and Resources 3 4
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Change Management
There are many different types of change and different approaches to managing change. Finding an approach that suits you and your situation goes to the heart of being an effective and professional manager in the education sector (HEFCE, 2003). However, whilst recognising each change situation will be unique, there are still a number of common themes that will help ensure that the change process stands the greatest chance of success.
Change process
Change usually involves three overlapping aspects: people, processes and culture as shown in Figure 1.
CULTURE
PEOPLE
PROCESS
Figure 1 Often, the emphasis is upon the processes. However, in order to properly embed a change, a manager needs to balance all three of these aspects.
Change is not the same as transition. Change is situational: the new site, the new structure, the new team, the new role, the new procedure. Transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Remember that change is external and transition is internal. William Bridges (1991)
Bridges says that transitions can be described in three stages:
The ending
When we acknowledge that there are things we need to let go of When we recognise that we have lost something Example: changing your job. Even when it is your choice, there are still some losses such as losing close working friends Unless people can make a real ending, they will be unable to make a successful beginning.
The beginning
When the new way feels comfortable, right and the only way Example: having a baby. After a few months in the neutral zone of turmoil, you come to a stage when you cannot imagine life without your new baby People transition through change at different speeds and are impacted by the same change in different ways. As a manager, understanding how your team members react to change and planning how you will manage this will give any changes you are introducing the best chance of success. 6
Utilising feedback and dealing with resistance I actively engage staff when I am bringing about a change I listen attentively to others and am open to new ideas I am able to control my emotions when dealing with colleagues I respond positively to other colleagues points I will compromise where appropriate I am not afraid to confront my colleagues when necessary I am assertive Providing support I am able to find out how colleagues feel I understand that others react to change differently and have strategies to support them I continue to learn from my colleagues I am able to communicate optimism to colleagues in the face of difficulties I can help colleagues find solutions to problems Motivating others I give colleagues room to try things out even if it means mistakes are made I encourage colleagues to use their initiative I avoid being over directive or bossy I am good at delegating appropriately to colleagues I provide constructive and well focused feedback I am able to stand back and not over-organise others I am genuinely interested in colleagues ideas and views I am able to raise my colleagues self-esteem through genuine praise Cross department/team awareness I look for and share examples of good practice/success I consider the repercussions of any changes I am bringing about on my team and other departments
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Other Resourses
MMUs Change intranet page (which is kept up-to-date with changes occurring across the University): http://www.mmu.ac.uk/change