Managing change

PRINCIPLES

When people and organisations are engaged in change, several patterns have been observed repeatedly, and some have developed into major themes, or basic principles, according to Hall & Hord (2015). For those authors, these principles are no longer debatable points, for they summarise predictable aspects of change. Acknowledging that these principles are foundational to the way of thinking about change. Understanding them should help agents of change in predicting key aspects of change efforts.

First, “change is learning”, as stressed above (cf. p.7). Second, “change is a process, not an event”. Change is a process through which people and organisations move as they gradually learn, come to understand, and become skilled and competent in the use of the new patterns. There are very few shortcuts. The press to make change quickly means that there is limited time to learn and understand the newly introduced path. The strategic plan for change will look very different depending on whether it is assumed that change is a process or an event. If the assumption is that change is a process, then the plan for change will be strategic in nature. It will allow at least three to five years for full implementation and will budget the resources needed to support formal learning. Third, “the school is the primary organisational unit for change”, as written above (cf.p.8). Fourth, “organisations adopt change, individuals implement change” (cf. p.9). So, this CMT emphasises the need to focus on people and carrying about them. Lastly, it is necessary to keep the “focus”. Multiple change efforts require multiple resources, and multiple amounts of attention and energy with multiple actions, to utilise formative and summative evaluations of the efforts to assure successful implementation. These elements require consistent, enduring, and uninterrupted attention to the goals and intended results of each change initiative. Along the way it is very important to keep the focus on the primary goal to be achieved.

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