We believe there is a direct link between change management and strategic planning, though they are two different sides of a coin. While strategic planning is all about thinking and planning what needs to be done to get from a current to a desired future state, change management is about leading and managing that effort from inception to execution. This is no simple feat for many reasons.

While strategic planning involves a rational assessment of the landscape or context, the market, emerging trends, changing expectations, capabilities, etc., change management is about understanding people: specifically, people in organizations with diverse experiences, knowledge, emotions and dreams.

In today’s climate of constant change, leaders need to be effective change leaders able to balance two seemingly opposite poles:

Leaders effecting change need to clarify the vision, discerning what needs to change and what remains the same.

Too much change, the organization is weakened. It will likely not adapt but will hunker down to cling to what is familiar. Too little change, the organization stagnates and fails to grow.

Leaders must communicate clearly, frequently, and in different ways to ensure the fertile conditions for change are created.

They need to listen and receive feedback so that different perspectives and ideas can help shape  the vision, goals  and activities that make change most likely to succeed.

Leaders themselves need to be resilient to the natural resistance to change from those who cannot see the need for change or disagree with the way change is being implemented.

Change may be easy to grasp intellectually but it also involves a psychological transition for those involved.

Change managers need to understand that change involves transitioning from something to a new beginning, often with the need to ‘unfreeze’ the current state before the new state can be embraced.

• Pacing and patience are necessary even in the case of urgently-needed change.
• Effective change management involves knowing when to shift from conceptualizing the change to setting milestones for activity that implements the change.
• Change needs rewarding, celebration and reinforcement. The leader’s job is never finished.

Blue Apricot Solutions works with organizations to support change management and the leaders of change. We help leaders understand their role and what can be expected. We offer coaching and facilitation to help the process move from inspiration to vision to concrete plan and execution. We help track the shifts and resistance without losing sight of the possible, though often unexpected consequences when the change inevitably ebbs and flows. We help with raising consciousness of what may be happening at any one time – and how to deal with the challenges and opportunities change presents.

There is no cookie cutter approach to managing or leading change; every change and each organization is different. That said, we work closely with our clients to prepare them for what is likely to happen and help them navigate the phases inherent in change and transition. We do all this while also ensuring the change sustains: the organization must continue what it does now while gearing itself for its new future. We help with making the change sustainable: encouraging risk taking, learning, growth and celebration.