Why all management is change management

Recent literature on leadership has made it seem as though change management is a specialty practice, but in an op-ed for Harvard Business Review, Robert Schaffer, EdD, argues all management is change management.

Dr. Schaffer, founder of Schaffer Consulting, says the idea of change management contextualizes everyday leadership in a misleading way. Change management conjures up ideas of a specific subset of management skills, but really leaders are forced to deal with change everyday.

If an organization views change as an aberration, it can be easy for leaders to fear it and grow wary of confronting it. However, Dr. Schaffer argues that if an organization creates an expectation for change, leaders will regard it as a part of their everyday routine.

Dr. Schaffer suggests avoiding brainstorming big changes for long periods of time and instead "focus on some important goals that are not being accomplished. Have teams carve out some sub-goals they will aim to achieve in a few months. They should be asked to test innovative steps they think will make a difference and to learn from the process."

 

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