The business leaders of today must understand that the road towards digital transformation is ALWAYS under construction. The reason this is true is because humans are always evolving. And if human evolve, so does their approach in various aspects of business. We are going to experience things all the time that will test us, challenge us, and change us. Change will always be the necessity of life and we have to always repair the damages or reconstruct areas in our businesses so that we can be better prepared for whatever opportunities comes our way next.
Due to the fact that our journey and position will always be under construction, it is best that we, as leaders, learn how to surrender to change. It is only when we accept change, we can focus on innovative way to upgrade our methods that made us successful thus far on road that’s always under construction. Some of our success methods prior to digital transformation may stand the test of time but we will never know until we measure it against the success rates of today.
Change Management (CM) refers to any approach to transitioning individuals using methods intended to re-direct the use of resources, business process, budget allocations, or other modes of operation that significantly reshape a company or organization. When talking about Change Management, we are talking about an approach that takes into full consideration of the entire organization and the changes that are needed. The practices and principles that are created makes CM a tool for change focused solely on the individual. Change Management analyzes with direct focus on how your organizational groups and those individuals that are connected to them are affected by the transition that will be occurring.
The Need for Change Management & Models
Change Management is a necessity, especially for global business leaders, because of the constant international integration from the exchanges of global views, innovative new products, new ideas, and the various dynamic of cultures. We are living in a time where technology is extremely evolving while constantly being innovative. These various reasons keep the environments changing in which global leaders are embedded.
We live in a generation where social media is a heavy tool use to communicate, receive news, research, and give back insight from what we personally have found. So there is no denying that digital and mobile adaptability has revolutionized environments where organizations and their business structures are established. This in itself cause for an increase need for change. What also comes with this is the increase in availability and accountability of knowledge. But this isn’t completely a good thing.
The reason why this isn’t a good thing is because too much easy accessibility to anything has to be questioned. There is an overload of information that goes out and more than half of it is false, opinionated, or just fluff. In result, leaders of organizations and businesses make horrible decisions and lead their teams, customers, and followers down the wrong path due to wrong info given from these social media and mobile outlets.
This is why it’s vital that Change Management leaders go through the rough and find the diamonds, in this case, the most accurate information. A strategic leadership approach must be clear and effective with the right information that makes transitioning into a new vision and environment effective.
Trying to figure out which model, strategy, or technique to implement during the Change Management process as a leader, you must adhere to these (4) factors
- Levels, goals, and strategies
- Measurement system
- Sequence of steps
- Implementation and organizational changes
Another model you can use when dealing with Change Management is the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle (PDAC). It’s a very simple and effective way of tackling problems, managing the transitions, and guiding others to making the right decisions. This is a method used mostly in business when focusing on improving products and processes.
Plan
· Establish objectives to deliver results that are aligned with target goal(s) and vision
Do
· In this area you work the plan that has been established, execute the process, and complete the task that was established. After all of this, you would collect the data to analyze in your “Check” and “Act” sector.
Check
· Study actual results
· Compare against expected results to recognize any differences
· Convert data into information
· Look for any deviation during the exaction of the plan and also look for any positive moves made within the execution.
Act
· When you review the info in the CHECK step and it shows that the PLAN strategy that was initiated in the DO step is an improvement to the prior standard (baseline), then that becomes the new standard (baseline) for how the organization should ACT moving forward.
Some companies that have chosen not to completely transform their businesses but evolve certain processes and operations more subtlety in a bid to succeed were:
- Apple
- Nike
- Audi
- BMW
- Burberry
ABOUT RAHGOR
Rahfeal Gordon is an international award-winning entrepreneur, global speaker, and author. For over a decade, he has been leveraging the core fundamentals that promote productivity while advising global leaders and entrepreneurs who are impacting the world and elevating humanity.