Creating Awareness

Section 1: Module Introduction

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Creating Awareness

Section 1: Module Introduction

Module Objectives

In this module you will learn how you can create awareness for the change that you want to implement.

We will also talk about what the dynamics of change are and some typical change patterns that you will see as
you begin your implementation.

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Creating Awareness

The Change Model—Creating Awareness

The first step in implementing a change is creating awareness. When implementing a change initiative, you have
to make people realize that the current way of doing things may be comfortable, but it is not necessarily the most
optimal way of doing things. Recognizing that there are multiple ways that you can do this is important.

This can be done either by simply listening to affected people in the organization, or putting them through the new
change concept or experience. This is only the first step in creating awareness, but it helps ensure that people will
strive for something better.

From a project perspective, creating awareness makes people aware of the fact that we can perform tasks in a
more effective, profitable way. “Effective” however could mean something different to everyone.

So it’s important that you understand your audience and communicate to them specifically while considering their
perspective.

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Creating Awareness

Understanding Change

Let’s look at an example and see how this works. The sport of high jumping has been in the Olympics for a long
time, and early on everyone became accustomed to one particular way of attempting the high jump—going over
the bar facedown as shown. Historically, no one had challenged the approach or thought there might be a better
way. However, in 1968 at the Mexico Summer Olympics, an athlete named Dick Fosbury, reinvented the high
jump.

He literally turned high jump on its head by jumping over the bar face up. And interestingly enough, he won the
gold medal in Mexico that year. Fosbury’s accomplishment reflects the first step in the change model: he made
people aware that there was a new way of attempting the high jump.

Obviously a lot of people questioned him and believed that this was not the correct way to high jump. He
continued using this form however and was very successful. Once people started seeing his consistent success,
everyone else started copying his “Fosbury Flop.” as it was appropriately named. Soon his style became the
standard, and now everyone attempts the high jump this way.

This is a great example of how a future state in a previous time has now become a current state. Who knows,
maybe the time will come when somebody invents a new way of high jumping. It is important to note that this
change only happened because he made people aware of the fact that this can be done in a better way and that
there are obvious benefits of doing so, a gold medal.

All successful companies go through phases where a specific event helps transition over to a new way of doing
things which then becomes the standard. Change is inevitable and executing it is a key to the success and
longevity of any organization.

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Creating Awareness

Understanding Change and Instability

Introduction of a new factor or a new variable creates a ripple in the current environment. This type of instability is
the pre-requisite for developing a future state. Instability is forced because that new factor did not previously exist
and its presence changes the entire equation.

This instability leads to the transition period where everyone is trying to adapt to the new environment, new
changes in structures are being implemented.

During periods of instability, Sensitivity and flexibility typically increase because everyone is trying to be more
aware and trying to adapt to the new situation. This is called adaptive behavior. So if this period of transition is
managed well, it can effectively lead to a smooth implementation of the required change.

Long periods of instability however are obviously not recommended because systems and processes can not
continuously remain in a transition stage. By managing the transition period well, you can make people more
aware of the need for a specific change, help them to see the value of a new way of doing things, and create a
platform for a quick and effective implementation.

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Creating Awareness

Module Review

In this module we learned about:

 The dynamics of change and how change comes about.

 How to create awareness for a change initiative.
 How changes creates instability.
 And how managing change effectively can lead to stability.

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