Change: The People Factor

Change is just part and parcel of business these days. No organisation, no matter in what industry or sector it operates, can rest on its laurels and take its foot off the gas.

Often when it comes to change initiatives, all of the attention is on the structures, processes and tools.

The trouble is that while this is important to take care of, it is really people who make change happen.

Sometimes organisations assume that because people are highly skilled in a particular field that they will somehow just know how to make change.

When I worked in the NHS I was surrounded by highly talented people. The flipside was however that many of them had no specific experiences to draw on from outside their own area of expertise or training on how to deal with major scale change.

As a result many initiatives fell by the wayside, not because of lack of effort but often because people had never been equipped to deal with major scale change.

So if you are serious about delivering major scale change, don’t just pay attention to the tools and processes. Focus on equipping and enabling people to make the change a reality.

The Bottom Line: Remember that people in organisations are really a huge asset. The question is, do you want to maximise the return on the investment you make in your people assets?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. He invites you to take advantage of his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

About the Author Duncan Brodie

Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.

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12 comments
Doug Mather says 3 May 2011

Duncan, excellent point well made.

I continues to be amazed at how large organisations in particular continue to think that it’s all about the process and that if they get that right, that’s all that really matters.

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