Experience with Change
Working through this course provided me with a new perspective of change; instead of
dreading it, I understand now that there are different techniques that can make it more manageable.
As a former employee of an animal vaccination clinic, change was constant as new rules and
regulations about vaccines from the county and state had to be implemented, and different
veterinarians also had their personal vaccination preferences that would shift at times. As an example,
some veterinarians would change their personal requirements regarding certain dog breeds needing to
be a certain age and weight before being vaccinated because they were genetically susceptible to
respiratory problems that the vaccines could interfere with. Also, if there was a regional outbreak of a
certain disease, the state or county would require us to update our protocols and processes. So, there
were multiple layers of change being influenced by external and internal stakeholders all the time.
However, the most significant change process was when the company pushed operations to become
more automated and reliant on technology. The transition was poorly managed since there was
insufficient training on how to use the new software on the tablets and managers could not offer
support since they were overworked with other tasks, so it took weeks of independent trial and error.
Based on what I learned from this course, I feel that employing one of the change management
models, like the ADKAR process, could have created a smoother experience since it dedicates time to
learning and development. Communication and teamwork skills, along with greater technical
competence would have been helpful capabilities to develop and utilize throughout the change process
that I experienced.
Overall, the greatest change management skill that I will take away from this course and apply to my
personal and professional life is identifying key stakeholders. Whether it is in a personal or
professional setting, understanding the feelings, ideas, and interests of the people around you is the
key to several other actions, like effective communication and collaboration. As someone that is
aiming to work in the environmental side of business, my experience so far has been defined by
change because sustainability is all about being a part of a transition that is implementing “green”
modifications to operations. So moving forward, I believe being able to specifically identify key
stakeholders in this process would allow me to gather a more diverse yet relevant set of ideas for
sustainable development.
I have been in several positions where I experienced change and was responsible for managing the
change. The most recent situation is still in progress. I currently work for a workforce development
organization that utilizes state and federal grant money to send qualified individuals to training. The
project I was previously on has entirely run out of funds, six months before any new funds are
expected. Instead of firing or laying off all employees working with that program, my organization has
moved us to a different project that has just received 1 million dollars in funds. This change can cause
several issues if everyone is not appropriately trained in the eligibility requirements of the new project.
Fortunately, I and several of my coworkers worked on that project last year. We have facilitated a
series of in-person and virtual training to get everyone up to speed. This has saved jobs and assisted
the individuals that the non-profit organization serves quicker. z
Based on the change management skills covered in this course, I could have used a slightly
different approach. My team should have gradually trained all of our coworkers in the processes of the
new project. This would have been more beneficial than waiting months for funding that has not
arrived. Because of this wasted time, all employees involved had to go through 3 consecutive all-day
crash courses while still managing their daily duties. Also, while waiting for the funds, several of my
coworkers got nervous about their positions and found new jobs. I believe some of this could have
been avoided if the team had been assured of their job stability and gradually trained on the details of
the new project.
One change management skill was most relevant to my professional life. It all comes down to
organization. Suppose my team had created a clear change management plan that included new
employee roles, goals of the project, and other key factors; it would have made the change process
much smoother. I will ensure that I am looking ahead and implementing training before it is urgently
needed. Overall, I have learned a lot in this course and am excited to apply it in my future positions.
This course has been highly interesting to me because one of my primary life outlooks is that comfort
is a slow death. Change is not only unavoidable but it is necessary for building resilience and fostering
progress.
Since completing my introductory post, I have started a new position as director of development &
construction for a senior living organization. In doing so, I have been presented with the opportunity
to initiate and manage change. Specifically, in how my organization has historically managed their
construction projects. Being new not only to my company, but to the senior living realm all together, I
was able to bring on board my lessons learned in the field and adapt my methods to match my new
environment (less mud and boots, more finesse and tact). In my effort to do so, I have been met with
certain resistance.
The lessons learned during this course have allowed me to take a step back and evaluate the best
method for bringing my change efforts to fruition. Lewin's methodology has been helpful in my
instance since I have had to unfreeze and evaluate the way projects have been historically managed
and attempt to change and refreeze certain processes.
Some of the key outcomes I will focus on moving forward include identifying critical stakeholders,
being specific in my messaging and setting clear timelines/milestones for change efforts.
Over the past few years, part of my job is to identify process errors and correct it. Some of these
changes are quick and easy, where I just have to add a new step in the process. Then there are some
that are almost a complete revamp of the process. With those changes, it required a little more
planning and teamwork.
A lot of the techniques I learned in the class were things I was already doing. I would always try to
communicate the plan with the team, get their inputs, and follow up on the change. z One thing I think
it critical in the change process is communication. z I’ve seen it numerous times where a plan will fail
because the leader of that plan does not communicate. In most cases the plan is good, but because
people don’t know the goals or their roles, then it usually ends up failing.
Wow, there are many examples that are coming to mind, but the most recent example would be the
reorg we experienced at our offices lately. My department was recently realigned from IT to Business.
We were aligned to new leaders, had new deliverables and new performance goals.
Yes and No. Yes, because if I would have had this class prior I could have provided my team and
leadership team with better support. However, as this change was mid-flight during this course, I was
able to share the Kotter's Change Management framework that has been adopted by our department.
Within weeks of leadership being more transparent, bringing back employees surveys, recognizing
employees and sharing short-term wins, we have significantly seen a positive influence on our
employees engagement.
Yes, as mentioned above I am a big fan of Kotter's Change Management framework and will keep this
information with me for however long it is applicable. I found the steps to be really easy to follow and
with the amount of change I've seen in my organization over the past 10 years I am for sure going to
use this framework again.
While I haven’t had to manage a change as grand as an entire organization, I have had a part in
managing change within my department. Part of the change was developing a training protocol
whereas, in the past, the training was simply tribal knowledge. While I lead most of the training and
documentation, I gathered a team of other subject matter experts to gain their valuable input. One of
the most effective skills I developed was keeping a cool head while dealing with some large
personalities. I think this is in line with the leadership and change management skills that I have
learned are the most important throughout this course. Respect and clear communication go a long
way in being effective during a change initiative. Active listening is also extremely important when
managing change to identify gaps and understand how to improve any issues. When actively listening
to people’s concerns, others feel more valued.
Personal Experience with Change
I experienced unplanned changes when one of my department's qualitative research project directors
resigned. I was chosen to step into her place rather quickly. The change required learning how to work
with new team members and experiencing different topics of projects. We predominately work on
healthcare and pharmaceutical projects, but this team also takes on consumer packaged goods (CPG)
and other non-healthcare services. Having experience in the pharma sector prepared me for the
change, as those projects are large-scale and highly detailed, making it easier to move to smaller-scale
projects. In retrospect, I am incredibly grateful to have made the change. I get to work on various
types of projects with a highly positive, supportive, and encouraging team.
Future Leadership Behaviors
As I transition into a leadership role, taking on greater responsibilities and guiding others on my team,
I plan to use leadership behaviors to support employee engagement. Primarily, I will acknowledge and
praise my team members for their hard work and accomplishments. According to Blues Perspective,
praise from a boss or leader can boost motivation, satisfaction, productivity, and engagement (2021).
Aside from professional satisfaction, praise also increases personal well-being. Instilling a positive,
supportive, and healthy work environment will be my top priority as a leader. Employees who work
for companies that promote a positive work environment have 33% increased happiness, take fewer
long-term sick days, show increased creativity and productivity, and are less likely to resign (Change
Recruitment Group, n.d.).
Fourth Industrial Revolution Impact
The current fourth industrial revolution is the time in which technological advancements have become
the forefront of our world and its evolution. In a world where technology is ever-present and
necessary, our day-to-day work is inevitably impacted by it. We mustn't lose sight of the value of
human connection in our digital world. Praise, recognition, and rewards should be prioritized.
According to Moore, servant leadership should be practiced during this fourth industrial revolution era
(2019). Specifically, authoritative management will be a concept of the past, and leadership with team
collaboration and supporting achievements will be the focus.
I have been in a few positions where I have experienced change and one were I was responsible for
managing change. One of the positions that I experienced change is my current position where before
the change I was only in charge of the NE region of the US. Through the actions of a coworker(now
former) I was thrusted into his position as well and have to deal with the change of his absence. I have
experienced the change of now running the whole country for safety instead of just my region. Crazy
how change works huh? The time I managed changed was a few jobs ago, where I was person
involved in changing the job process for chemical refining and improving the job. I changed the whole
job to increase efficiency 5 fold and then had to express to leadership in the company that this will
work better instead of the same old way of before. It was hard to overcome the leadership and then to
push the change onto the employees that would do the process everyday. Based on the skills I have
gained from this course, I would of not approached the change any differently. I went in and got buy
in from leadership and communicated it properly. It probably was not as efficient as it could of been
but that would be the improvement. The change management skills that I have found most relevant is
the proper way to communicate to C-Suite level directors. I will be applying them moving forward as
I will be talking more and more to them.
Blues Perspective. (13, April 2021). The importance of Praising Your Employees. MI Blues
Perspectives. https://www.mibluesperspectives.com/2021/04/14/the-importance-of-praising-your-
employees/#:~:text=Genuine%20recognition%20rewards%20efforts%20along,Encouraging%20empl
oyees%20to%20praise%20teammates
Change Recruitment Group. (n.d.) Benefits of Creating a Positive Work Environment.
https://www.changerecruitmentgroup.com/knowledge-centre/7-ways-to-create-a-positive-work-
environment#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20Creating%20a%20Positive%20Work%20Environment&text
=Increases%20employee%20happiness%20by%20as,in%20some%20cases%20by%2058%25.
Moore, G. (3, January 2019). 3 ways to be a good leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. World
Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-needs-
new-forms-of-leadership/
