The Academy of Changeability

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This is the place where reflect on our own capacity to change.

Members: 5
Latest Activity: May 20, 2010

In the next 12 years, people will experience as much change as the people in the last 240 years did. (Alana Karran)

What defines the ability of individuals, teams and organizations to change and go for a better future of personal and economical growth, joy and futurity? After 30 years of organizational development and change management, the Academy of Changeability remains a black box. We haven't really understood what it takes for a complex to change.

What we know is that organizations - like any complex system resist change. Mind you, it is not the individual but the entire system that resists change. We even know what are the inherent features of a system that leads to this resistance. Watch a short slide show on the issue of complexity in organizations here.

When you go into an organization, ask people about their changeability. Most will say that they are open for change but the others around them aren't. So - what does it actually take for people to go on the journey, overcome their fears and make smart plans for a change? In our view, it is a combination of many things, among them

their leaders walk the talk,
their individual concerns, purposes and circumstances are acknowledged and respected,
there is a wake up call which shows the urgency of the required change,
there is room for passion and responsibility,
risk taking is awarded, and
the future is painted in front of everybody as it unfolds.

Questions for Deeper Exploration

What are our strengths and weaknesses in a process of change?
What do we need now?
What do we need to let die?
Who are our champions and how can they lead us?

Agora

What Tools Would You Use in the Academy?

Please add tools, practices, links, articles etc. for expanding our readiness to change.

Started by Holger Nauheimer Mar 17, 2010.

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Comment by Shawn Cunningham on March 26, 2010 at 7:14am: Hi,
I must start by explaining that I mostly work with change in societies, and not in organisations.

I think that sometimes people don't resist change, they just postpone giving it attention. For instance, I am busy pursuing several goals now simultaneously. A change process might require me to give more attention to a specific kind of behaviour, so I basically procrastinate in my response. So I often notice that people simply "forget" or "delay" to change their behaviour. There are positive incentives for people to behave this way, as a delay might result in someone else adapting their behaviour successfully, this providing a good example that can be copied.

From an evolutionary perspective this is completely understandable to wait for a successful adaptation that can then be imitated. As change facilitators we have to find these "leaders" and amplify their adaptation in order to stimulate the followers to follow suit!

Comment by Steven Grindlay on March 25, 2010 at 6:15pm: It seems to me that in trying to Identify what skills and resources we need to effectively engage in, facilitate and champion sustainable change, the first essential step is to conduct an audit or inventory of our attitudes and beliefs, not only about change itself but also our closely held values about ourselves as individuals and collectively as organisations. Then we'll have a better idea of what we need to acquire and what we need to leave behind.

I shall go and ask questions far and wide and see if there are'nt some handy tools laying about or if needs be cobble something together.

I'll be back.