Managing Organizational Change Part 1: Defining the Problem

With nothing as ubiquitous as change in our society and world, this blog starts our four-part series on effectively identifying and managing change in your organization.

Effective organizational change – defined as the actions in which a company or business alters a major component of its organization such as the culture, underlying technologies, operating infrastructure, or internal processes – requires a concerted effort by everyone in the organization, led by the leadership team. Not a minor tweak of your everyday operations, organizational change alters a major component of how you operate or even what services you provide.

Unfortunately, few organization manage change well, as evidenced by the fact that only about half of nonprofits celebrate their 20th anniversary. Many of these failures come because the staff and board failed to effectively identify the need to change and navigate the organization through it. We see that in our work. Organizations whose founders fail to effectively pass the torch to the next generation or a board so stuck in the past that they cannot see the need to embrace something as seemingly commonplace as social media or e-newsletters. Some of this comes from a desire not to lose power or control or a fear of conflict that will invariably result when implementing a change.

But the pain of the alternative – ceasing to exist – pales in comparison to facing your fears and embracing change. And, if done right, you will come out on the other end as a stronger, more effective organization.

Because of the critical need for nonprofit organizations to effectively identify when they need to make large-scale changes and the challenges involved, this four-part series will walk you through the important steps to identify and manage organizational change. Understanding the steps is fairly simple; implementing them is not.

Before you do anything, you need to identify the problem – if a problem even exists. Change for the sake of change does not strengthen an organization; change to avoid or prevent a very real problem does. This requires that you clearly and accurately identify and articulate the problem(s) facing your organization or sector.

How do you identify problems? You should start with a good strategic planning process that creates strategic thinkers across your organization – board, leadership staff, managers, front-line staff. The SWOT analysis – if done openly and honestly – will identify both internal and external variables that can have a positive or negative influence on your organization. Not intended as a one-shot approach in which you complete the SWOT and let it collect dust until the next planning session in 5 years, everyone within your organization should constantly scan their internal and external environment for indicators of change. Doing so creates a learning organization that stays on top of the need for change.

Once you identify a possible problem, you need to examine all aspects of it to truly understand it and its potential impacts on your organization. Using data, discussion, and debate, clearly review if the identified problem actually exists – once you pull the data you may find that someone’s perception of the problem does not match reality – and whether you have identified a cause or an effect. Often a perceived problem is actually a symptom of something else. Once you articulate the larger problem, you can effectively manage it. Again, you need openness and honesty. A head in the sand will not serve your organization well in the long run.

When examining a problem, you want to engage all your stakeholders. Front-line employees will have a different view of the problem than inhabitants of the c-suite will; getting them engaged will help you more clearly and effectively identify true problems and their root causes. This requires that you have a culture that encourages and rewards open and honest communication, even – and especially – when sharing “bad” news. Giving your staff the time, resources, and headspace to reflect on their work and the broader environment will further encourage them to identify and discuss potential problems openly and informedly. Similarly, when people have a role in identifying a problem and the solution, they will more likely work to implement them.

Our next blog post will delve deeper into problem identification by discussing two different types of problems that your organization might face and the critical necessity of correctly categorizing yours.