No matter the context, our interconnected political, economic, and social systems are constantly in flux and demanding change in our personal and professional environments. According to Biech (2007), “the external environment is assumed to be in a state of continual flux” (chapter 3, para. 4). As we have learned throughout this program, our increased use and reliance on technology are central to the rapid pace of change. Leading in any organization involves change management, regardless of whether you are a leader in title, or a leader by the values that drive your behaviour. At the heart of the change, no matter the context, individuals or collectives that believe in the vision are making it happen (Beich, 2007; Weiner, 2009; Sander, 2015, 0:32).
The infographic (Figure #1) synthesizes my thoughts about leading change in a digital learning environment. It also reflects my personal experience through change projects in the nonprofit sector and includes what stood out for me from our readings, Voices recordings, and an interview with my business partner. The road is inspired by Elaine Biech’s notion that change is both a non-linear journey and a destination (Biech, 2007, chapter 1, para. 2). The sun symbolizes Peter Senge’s “spirit of the enterprise” (Sander, 2015, 2:15) or the organizational culture of trust, growth and learning that supports the unpredictable nature of change, referenced by Chad Flynn, Dean of Trades and Technology at Medicine Hat College, related to their experiences pivoting to online learning during COVID (Royal Roads University, n.d.-a; Beich, 2007). Finally, the arrows represent the need for ongoing communication and feedback loops to support the iterative process of trial and error (Royal Roads, n.d.-a; Royal Roads, n.d.-b; Royal Roads, n.d.-c). When leaders, by title or by choice, commit to weaving a culture of change throughout the fabric of an organization, it creates the resiliency needed to change.
Our readings have provided us with numerous change management approaches to explore, each with their own philosophical and theoretical underpinnings. While Al-Habbad and Kotnour (2015) argue that finding alignment between change type and method is critical to achieving successful change outcomes, Biech’s proposed generic CHANGE model can support all types of change, inclusive of “structural, process, cultural, mergers and acquisitions, growth, downsizing, cost cutting, and others” (2007, chapter 5, para. 1). From Lewin’s simple and timeless Unfreeze model to Miller’s argument in favour of a semi-incremental approach, or Ackoff’s focus on systematic thinking and Sink’s contributions related to evaluation strategies and techniques (Al-Haddad and Kotnour, 2015), both my experience and our resources all seem to indicate that change needs careful planning and leadership. According to the Voices interview, Boyce’s experience championing change in healthcare indicates that a well-executed change management plan has been central to their success pivoting to online service delivery (Royal Roads, n.d.-b). Finding the right model of change can provide a valuable framework to support the process of getting from current state to future state. I believe an integrated approach could support the complex nature of organizational change.
From my personal experience as an agent of change in support of a five-year organizational change plan that included over 10 individual projects, we leveraged different models and strategies that supported both the project and team needs. As an example, we relied on the Procsi ADKAR model of change to support the overall integration of health, education and housing programs, while the IDEAS framework supported the development of our intake process and evaluation framework. The ADKAR model supports an individual’s process through the barriers they may face in times of change (Prosci, n.d.; Royal Roads, n.d.-b), while the IDEAS framework helps organizations through the innovation, development, and scaling of new programs for better outcomes (Ideas, n.d.).
A final thought about the concept of failure was inspired by my interview with a past colleague. I’d like to push back a little on the statistic that 30% of change fails (Al-Haddad and Kotnour, 2015). If we take a growth mindset, we learn more from failures than we do from successes. I would be curious to know how we are defining a failed change. My interview with Joanna P., former Child Development Center Manager, reminded me that within our 5-year organizational change project, we had many failures (personal communication, February 15, 2025). We endured at times heated discussions and differences of opinions. We established data capture systems and feedback loops. We learned to ‘fail fast’ and embraced the iterative process of change. At one time, we adopted the approach to look most closely at the population groups that we failed to engage. It’s only within failures that we find what could work. You won’t know until you take the calculated risk and try. We learned to see failure as a step in the journey to success. This could be embedded in a culture of growth and learning.
In closing, after considering collective thought and experience, I believe that change is inevitable, complex, exciting, full of risk and opportunity, and both fun and hard. Leadership in change is about a shared vision we authentically believe in and work to support, creating, contributing and following a well thought out plan, being kind and supportive to those around us, growing and learning, communicating and engaging in creative problem solving, having fun and celebrating along the way.
Resources:
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: A model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2013-0215
Biech, E. (2007). Thriving through change: A leader’s practical guide to change mastery. Association for Talent Development.
Ideas (n.d.). Framework Overview. https://ideas.developingchild.harvard.edu/overview/
Prosci. (n.d.). The Prosci ADKAR model. https://www.prosci.com/methodology/adkar
Royal Roads University. (n.d.-a). Voices of Leadership. Retrieved from https://malat-coursesite.royalroads.ca/lrnt525/files/2022/02/Chad-Transcript_Matched-to-audio-clips.pdf
Royal Roads University. (n.d.-b). Voices of Leadership. Retrieved from https://malat-coursesite.royalroads.ca/lrnt525/files/2022/01/Christy-Transcript_matched-with-audio.pdf
Royal Roads University. (n.d.-c). Voices of Leadership. Retrieved from https://malat-coursesite.royalroads.ca/lrnt525/files/2022/01/Sandra-Transcript.pdf
Sander, R. (2015, June 4). What makes a great leader? by Peter Senge, Author of The Fifth Discipline [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aYaj2-GZqk
Sander, R. (2015, June 9). What are the first 4 disciplines of a learning organization? Peter Senge [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wvJRL0a1Cg
Weiner, B. J. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science, 4(67). https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-67