Mindshift Solutions

Effective Change Management Design Principles: Moving Past the Whac-a-Mole Approach

28/03/2024

When it comes to managing change, there’s a common tendency to use familiar solutions for all kinds of problems. This is like playing Whac-a-Mole with transformation efforts – you are dealing with different situations and contexts but respond in a familiar fashion to stop challenges popping up.

Many organizations try to tackle different changes and contexts using the same methods. They follow a standard way of doing things without really thinking about whether it’s the right approach for each situation. Off course, we’re not saying we should ignore good practices or tools. We just need to use them more thoughtfully. That’s where change management design principles come in.

Change management design principles are basic rules that guide how we handle change in organizations. They help us understand how to approach, plan, carry out, and keep up with change initiatives. Alignment with important stakeholders at the beginning of your initiative on change design principles will prove to very beneficial. Let’s explain them, by giving to 2 examples:

Digitalization program example

Digitalization program A design principle: Building organizational change and learning skills
The change management approach focusses on:
- Setup of a double learning system
- Joint problem assessment with members of the organization and leaders
- Create space for trial and error
- The organization sees the program as a possibility to increase organizational learning
Digitalization program B design principle: Minimizing negative economic effects
The change management approach focusses on:
- Strong visible leadership
- Clear support mechanisms
- Minimal room for trial and error
- Change management is limited to the program scope.

Restructuring program example

Restructuring program A design principle: Inclusivity
The change management approach focusses on:
- the change life cycle assumes paramount importance in determining the initiative’s pace
- All stakeholders are actively involved
- Decisions are made collaboratively
Restructuring program B design principle: Speed
The change management approach focusses on:
- the program life cycle assumes paramount importance in determining the initiative’s pace
- Stakeholder involvement is decided based on a cost-benefit analysis
- Decisions may be centralized

Conclusion

These examples show how different design principles shape how we approach change. By choosing the right principles for each situation, organizations can make changes that matter and last.

Important things to consider when picking principles:

What kind of solution are we dealing with? Is it simple, complicated, or complex?
Is the change coming from the top down because of a problem, or from the bottom up as an opportunity?
How much does the change fit with the organization’s culture and values?
How well can the organization handle change based on past experiences?
What resistance might we face, and how can we deal with it?
Is the change something physical, like rearranging an office, or more about how people behave?

This isn’t everything to think about, but it’s a good starting point for change managers to create their design principles. By doing this, they can make change happen in a smarter, more effective way, instead of just reacting to problems as they pop up.