Change Management: The Art of Doing Things Differently for Good Reason
The other day I met with a client to hear about the progress her nonprofit has been making on implementing a fundraising roadmap that my firm had previously prepared. Successful execution of this plan to achieve their desired results required the organization to adjust some fundamentals in culture and practice, and I was eager to learn how things were going.
Over the course of our conversation, I was reminded again of how difficult it is, especially for established nonprofits, to alter organizational habits. Even with the best of intentions, it’s often easier to maintain the status quo. What’s that saying about the definition of insanity—doing the same thing again and again, and expecting a different outcome?
There are all kinds of reasons for organizations to seek change—for instance, your external environment has shifted and demands a response; a longstanding funder has revised its giving guidelines and your organization no longer qualifies; the constituency your organization serves insists on change; and on and on. Change is constant and inevitable, as the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously instructed, so it’s better to plan for it than resist.
Let’s be honest, though—even after engaging your stakeholders in an inclusive process that collectively envisions your future, instituting change is hard. Some of the recommendations we made to our client, while acknowledged as spot-on, required doing things differently in substantial ways. (And admittedly, there were a few recommendations they rejected as infeasible.) Concerned about effecting too much change too quickly, our client has initially focused on expanding her team and improving some structural processes that will eventually lead towards more holistic transformation.
So how can you ensure that the institutional planning you’ve invested in actually bears fruit? Here’s some field-tested advice gleaned from my own experiences of guiding cultural nonprofits through the process of change over the past three decades:
Distribute leadership throughout your organization. Give people the resources they need to do their work well, delegate departmental agency for decision-making, and allow others to lead within the framework of the agreed-upon plan. Management scholar and advisor Roger Martin calls this “retail” (versus “wholesale”) management, which helps to cultivate a sense of shared responsibility and accountability instead of preserving an outdated, top-down authority. If you’re the leader, this also means accepting that colleagues will likely do things differently from you and being comfortable with other approaches and methods.
Align systems and incentives with desired outcomes. If your plan calls for interdepartmental collaboration, yet rewards continue to flow to independent operators and siloed programs, then change is nigh impossible. Reinforce and call attention to the preferred, cooperative performance to demonstrate that the routinized status quo is a thing of the past.
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Don’t assume that everyone has the same level of understanding of your plan’s content. Be consistent in messaging, regularly convey the common ground expressed in your plan, and focus on its intended results. You will know that these efforts have taken root when various stakeholders begin relating in their own words all the good that change makes possible.
Play the long game. Like our client, institute change incrementally. Start where there are the fewest impediments and the most consensus, and build from there. Maybe that means hiring a new staff member or acquiring and learning new software to improve the systems that make change possible. Maybe that also means saying no to a program or relationship that’s no longer favorable in order to say yes to something else. Proceed at a pace that’s tolerable to your internal and external communities while also producing results.
Embrace the discomfort. Change can be messy, non-linear, and cause people to feel unsure about what lies ahead. New people, new practices, and new ways of thinking can be disorienting, even threatening, for some colleagues, particularly those who have long tenures and hold institutional memory. Acknowledge their uncertainties and encourage candid conversation about what may be lost in favor of what is to be gained. Create “psychological safety”, give people space and time to adjust, and allow for disagreement while working towards common goals.
Revisit the plan and adapt, as needed. Periodically review your plan (e.g., on a quarterly basis) to determine if you’re on track and if anything needs to be amended. Remaining flexible is key here, as is being attuned to shifting environmental conditions. Be open to how new circumstances or new information may influence earlier perspectives and reshape directions.
Celebrate achievements as they come. This is straight from management guru John Kotter. Don’t wait until the plan concludes to recognize accomplishments. Reflect in the moment on the positive results of instituting change and credit those who have made it happen. Such public acknowledgment underscores the positive impact of change and sets the stage for what comes next.
Organizational growth occurs when space is created for the kind of cumulative change that leads to transformation. What have you found that works to effect lasting change at your organization? And conversely, what have you found that doesn’t work?
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