In the Race for Change: Know When to Go at It Alone or Not

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Enterprise Transformation

In the Race for Change: Know When to Go at It Alone or Not

Niki St PierreJuly 15, 20205 min read
In the Race for Change: Know When to Go at It Alone or Not

Adaptability is the hallmark of modern business, with change being a significant investment signaling a commitment to progress. As we pivot from past challenges, understanding when to harness internal capabilities and when to engage external expertise becomes paramount.

Two Determining Factors

1. Magnitude of Change

How deeply will the change affect your operations? The extent to which it impacts processes, technology, and behavior dictates its magnitude on the change continuum. Understanding the spectrum of change helps leaders navigate the complexity of transformation.

2. History of Change Success

Your organization's track record in implementing change is a predictive gauge of future performance. Organizations with a strong history of successful change management can often leverage those established principles internally.

Deciphering the Change Continuum

Change Continuum
routinetransformative
Routine ChangeMore ChangeMajor ChangeTransformative Change
OWNER

Division head or small business owner

IT / CIO, CHRO and impacted functional Division Heads

Functional Division Head(s) with CIO and CHRO

C-Level + BU Leaders

SCOPE

Turnover in staff, promotion, new talent, market expansion. Simple process changes like upgrades and enhancements.

Transactional data standardization within a business unit, back-end data and systems consolidation.

Enterprise alignment, next-level evolution, modernization, and optimization of enterprise.

Re-organization to better align people, purpose, systems, and structure to the prevailing environment.

Contingency planning and implementing new work protocols.

Re-invent value proposition.

Need for change driven by strategic objectives, market dynamics, stakeholder value – ROI.

Development of new business models and/or radically new ways of working.

KPIs / MEASUREMENT

Same KPIs, may include project budget and schedule

Same KPIs, may include project budget and schedule

KPIs derived from Business Case and industry benchmarks

All-inclusive KPIs derived from Business Case and industry benchmarks

Figure 2: Change Continuum Grid  ·  © NSP & Company, nspandco.com

Routine Change: Generally managed internally, such as staff turnover or minor system updates.

More Change: If you have a history of successful change management, use those established principles. Otherwise, consider external support.

Major Change: High-stakes changes may necessitate expert advice, even for change-savvy organizations.

Transformative Change: Given their scope, these changes typically require comprehensive, expert-led strategies.

Leading Through Change

Leading through change means asking the right questions: What level of impact are you aiming for? What is the envisioned change journey? How confident are you in your role as a change leader?

In the dynamic race for change, knowing when to utilize collective wisdom can be the key to unlocking transformational growth.

Ready to build change momentum in your organization?