Organizational Change needs a new perspective!
The mental model has to change from:
-A checklist of biases to design around -A simple split between fast and slow thinking -A nudge here and there -Only focusing on individual change -Comms/Training as the default
Your challenges have evolved, and so should the way you approach them.
What I would like to point out to you about organizational change.. you have to be open to a new perspective, one that recognizes that the old approach alone l is not going to be enough for the realities of today.
You have to explore and be curious about how other disciplines contribute to change and use those to create tools where needed and in the right context.
You need tools that help you understand (to name a few):
-What drives and blocks behavior
-How group dynamics and unwritten rules shape what people actually do
-How culture forms, spreads, and shapes change
-How people make decisions under pressure and uncertainty
-How systems, incentives, and feedback loops influence adoption
-How to design interventions around how people really work, not how a project plan assumes they work
From my experience, and from working with very talented and smart people, in both government and fortune 500 companies, there is no way you can drive organizational change with the old ways of working.
It’s understanding the context, the norms, beliefs, the incentives, policies, environment and so much more.
Change requires looking at the whole system, not just the people inside it. This is what we help our clients do… we bring these disciplines together so organizations can diagnose what’s really getting in the way, design interventions that address those barriers.
I am not writing this to overwhelm you, but to help prepare you… because you can do this, you can contribute to change…you just have to be open and know that the times require a different approach.
What are the main challenges you face when driving change in your organization?