Change professionals at the organizational level tend to apply a wide-angle lens to change. While their change methodologies are generally based on an understanding of the human response to change, they are framed from an organizational perspective.
Those who approach change at the individual level–coaches, mentors, therapists–see change through a different lens. Whether the change is driven by the individual they are working with, or by change in his or her organization, or it is a social change…these professionals look at the change through a macro-lens, a lens that says, All change is personal.
Is it possible for organizational change practitioners and their leadership to look at change in this way as well? I believe it is. I am not suggesting that the more traditional perspective of change be discarded. Rather, I think that an additional perspective can be added; the addition of an “all change is personal” perspective to organizational change will–I believe–substantively improve the overall track record of change success in organizations.
I have now begun to explore this topic in a new series being written for Change Management Review. The first of the articles published is titled, not surprisingly, All Change is Personal.
As additional articles are published in Change Management Review, I will post announcements of them here as well.
Do you believe “all change is personal?” Do you believe that it is possible for organizational change practitioners and their leaders to add that lens to the work that they do? Why or why not? comment below.