Change Management Evolved

The world has been going through massive and dramatic transformations that have been felt in all aspects of our daily lives. Our homes, our relationships, our health, and our safety have all been affected. One of the places that has been most impacted is our work. The workforce and nature of work have been slowly evolving for a long time. Technology, expectations of the labour market, environmental sustainability, and automation are just a few examples of the changes we have been dealing with on a steady progression. However, since 2020, things have been pushed from slow and steady to rushed and imminent. The need to handle change has always been important, but now it is likely the only way some of us will survive.

In more than 25 years of approaching change management the same way, organizations are only seeing successful organizational change 34 per cent of the time. We are not looking at the full picture when we are approaching change. Our narrow view is costing us time, money, stress, and productivity. This is largely because we are not placing enough focus and effort on changing the most critical part of any organization’s transformation: the people. We have become very effective in revising our technology, our process, our procedure, and our paperwork. But we do not look at the broader picture that addresses the psychology of change that needs to happen to effectively bring people along with the same success.

In this session, we will identify how and why the old approaches to change management are failing us, and presenter W. Coby Milne will provide a simple, yet powerful, way to improve how we approach managing change. This will largely be done through a storytelling approach to make the information practical and relatable. We will also look to engage conversations and input from participants and use many real-life examples to ensure that all information is practical and meaningful to everyone in attendance.

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence—it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” – Peter Drucker