Challenges of Change

Who and why?

Change is inevitable, but that doesn’t always make it palatable. From small shifts to large cultural upheavals, few like it. This course acknowledges what we all know: that change and the pace of change is quickening. 

The problems faced by organisations and individuals undergoing change are usually multi-faceted and can include erosion of confidence and self-worth, emotional stress and demotivation associated with a loss of control, and fatigue associated with prolonged or continued amendments in a working environment. It is a practical course aimed at ensuring the delegate is personally prepared both as an employee and as a manager to deal with change and its implementation and consequences.

Course overview

It is a challenge for any manager to find their own way of personally coping with change while at the same time helping others who are being affected and may be experiencing difficulty. The course introduces a range of change management principles and techniques, including planning and implementation. A framework is established to consider phases within change circumstances. The role and responsibilities of a manager during change is analysed and a five step plan to manage change examined within the context of the transition curve.

The course considers why there is resistance to change and how to implement it based on the need to assist people with coping mechanisms. There is an emphasis on effective and emotionally intelligent communication which takes into account the difficulty some people experience in letting go of the old and embracing the new. At the centre of the course is the need for a delegate to be prepared to make decisions.

Key learning points

By the end of the course delegates will be able to:

• Recognise organisational capacity to impose and manage change
• Appreciate the planning, delivery and management issues of change
• Identify and react to stakeholders and understand how different personalities react to change
• Operate a Commitment Escalator
• Understand basic theories of expectation and motivation
• Deal with demotivation during change and develop their personal resilience
• Utilise six “thinking hats” for decision analysis
• Apply creativity and problem solving linear techniques
• Use tools, techniques and models to understand, introduce and monitor change interventions
• Develop empathy and understand the emotional implications