I make a very clear distinction between change management and transformation.
If something in your company or organisation doesn’t bring the expected results, what do you do?
Usually, unfortunately, someone high up has identified the solution to the problems with the best of intentions, and the organization looks for a solution (often a change manager) to get the teams to accept it. This often leads to doing what was done before, but in a different form.
Employees who have been with an organization for a long time know that changes are cyclical, and have already experienced similar ones. Who, with a bit of experience, hasn’t gone through the centralization/decentralization cycle in 4-5 years?
Transformation, on the other hand, means changing our corporate culture, our way of doing things, crossing an irreversible threshold, a point of no return. And that requires awareness, a change in habits, learning – in short, time and management practice. A real change, a real transformation, upsets habits, generates discomfort and needs to be accompanied 😉
Breaking out of the “more of the same” cycle is liberating, and above all, can be measured in terms of performance, commitment and well-being! What about you? Do you see cycles repeating in your company?