Change Management Strategies: Know Yourself!

Knowing yourself, your limitations, weaknesses and strengths provides an advantage when considering the ability to share and use information effectively. The same is true with an organization made up of people. Knowing the culture of the organization is an indicator of corporate personality. Collectively, the organization's personality dictates how it will adapt to a change in its environment. Once determined, the correct change management path can be prescribed and information sharing can propel the business value of uncovered knowledge beyond expectations. The synergy experienced by a free flow of relevant information has great impact on your organization's ability to leverage its information assets.

An organization's culture environment is comprised of several dimensions. Some of this dimensionality will have a more direct influence than the others on any substantive change. These dimensions are Organizational Integration, Learning Culture and Organization Temperament. When taken into account along with the demographics of an organization, an effective change management plan and messaging can be developed that will assist in an organization in moving forward with change, rather than being stuck in the chaos of miscommunication and uncertainty. We will examine Organizational Integration and look at the others in future posts.

Three dimensions reflect the level of integration within organization. These dimensions are 1. Level of interaction with others. The term ‘others’ refers to both other organizations and groups within Organization as well as co-workers. 2. Level of process awareness. This dimension examines the level of understanding each respondent believes to have regarding other work areas functions, processes, objectives, goals and whether these items are discussed freely and regularly. 3. Management Involvement. This dimension refers to the interaction and effectiveness of those employees who hold a management position at the organization.

Level of interaction with others
Overall, the majority of the respondents believed that they understand which other functional areas are involved in their processes. This dimension examines whether co-workers know the other functional areas involved in their work processes; whether they only understand the work goals and objectives of other functional areas. More importantly do these cohorts understand to a very strong degree the problems and difficulties of co-workers and visa verse. This dimension allow explores work processes inhibited by "siloed" functional areas and organizational hierarchies.

Level of process awareness
Overall, do co-workers or those employed in the same organization, but in different groups have an awareness of other's business processes and of the interactions with their own processes. Can they communicate with co-workers in other groups about process issues that affect both parties? Also, do other co-workers understand each other's functional area’s goals and objectives. Within their own departments, can action and work plans can be discussed freely and openly to a large degree and can they change a work process that is not working effectively.

Management Involvement
Overall, is management involvement supportive of the work efforts? Lack of management communication inhibits work processes. The organization must carefully communicate its vision, core capabilities and key success factors to the employee population. Leadership priorities can inhibited work success when pet projects and other initiatives run counter to the objectives of the organization. Management's responsibility is to set the vision, guide the organization and ensure qualified resources are available to achieve the mission.