W6D1 Wald

W6Discussion 1: Organizational Change Plan/Creating Small Victories

The process of true transformational change is usually lengthy and complicated. Quick and credible short-term wins can keep momentum going for the entire change process. In addition, short-term victories create “breathing room” and allow for time to re-evaluate the feasibility of the change vision at different intervals. Managers or leaders can then make any necessary adjustments so the lasting success of the vision can be ensured.

Short-term wins need to be visible and measurable in order to be credible. This requires strong management and leadership skills. In addition, quick wins should be “collective”—everyone involved in the change process should have contributed to the win and be recognized for their contribution. These types of collective wins require strong management skills, such as team building and performance development. This week, you will explore the concept of short-term wins as you develop strategies to support and execute these types of small victories.

Now that your knowledge of Kotter’s 8 Steps for Change is solidified, it is time to look at other change scenarios that may not be as linear and take into account more of the unexpected and unplanned aspects of change. Assess the proposed change in your organization in the context of different types of change. Analyze and decide if Kotter’s approach is the best for the change that you desire to see. If not, apply a different change strategy as an alternative to Kotter.

In the change process, leadership characteristics such as vision creation, communication, and empowerment are necessities. Additionally, management skills such as budgeting and project management are needed to facilitate concrete and meaningful short-term wins that keep the change momentum going. Consider the idea that it is not enough to be just a charismatic leader or an efficient manager, but that a combination of these skillsets is necessary to lead and manage lasting change. You cannot be just a good leader or just a good manager; you have to be a combination of both in order to produce short-term wins along the path to major change.

To prepare for this Discussion:

· Review this week’s Learning Resources, especially:

· Generating Short-term Wins (synergetics.com)

· HT Whiteboard: Creating Short-Term Wins (Step 6) - Bing video

Assignment:

Post a cohesive response based on your analysis of the Learning Resources and your professional experience. Be sure to discuss the following:

· Explain your Organizational Change Plan Assignments and defend the major reason for making the change or for not making the change.

· Assume that you have been asked to develop a collective quick win that will begin to bring together the stakeholders who buy-in to the change and the stakeholders who do not. Outline what you would do as a change agent to accomplish this quick win.

· Summarize what you would consider to be the top priorities in creating a quick win.

· Compare the relationship among leadership, management, quick wins, and positive change. Evaluate how these relationships help you bring the stakeholders together.

· As a manager or leader, outline what you would do to “rally the troops” for positive change.

· Outline the steps you would need to take to help your quick win plan succeed.

· 3 – 4 paragraphs

· No plagiarism

· APA citing