(From Kotter International) -- John Kotter—Harvard Business professor, leadership guru, and winner of the 2008 ASTD Lifetime Achievement Award—and his colleagues at Kotter International have launched a competition to help organizations accelerate change and grow sustainably in a tough economic environment. They’re calling it the Seize Your Big Opportunity contest.

Kotter International is calling on people from all types of organizations—businesses, public institutions, agencies, non-profits, and foundations—to visit their website and share the big ideas they have to make their places of work more innovative, more effective, and more competitive. They’ll select those organizations that have put forth the most compelling vision for change as winners and will treat each of their executive teams to a free day-long session with Kotter International change leadership practitioners to help further define the organization’s goals for change and map out a strategy to achieve them.

Learn more and nominate your company today.

For more information on change management, check out 10 Steps to Successful Change Management.

Tags: John Kotter, change management, managing change, leading change, change leadership, Seize Your Big Opportunity

Categories: News

Note: This is an excerpt of a blog originally posted by Ilyse Veron on The Public Manager website.

Welcome. As The Public Manager’s new editor, I figured I should introduce myself.  I wish I had a cute song and a guitar melody to offer. But I don’t. 

Frankly, the Public Manager isn’t about me – a fortysomething  journalist turned entrepreneur and working Mom -  though we share an interest in good government. The Public Manager is about you – public sector leaders of today and tomorrow. 

The Public Manager is focused on “Leadership That Works” because we are committed to being more than your educational quarterly.  We want to enable you to develop a proud, professional community. We want to give you tools to leverage resources, multiply your leadership capacity and innovate. When you have a free minute, or need a break, we invite you to hang out with us on GovLoop.com/GovLearning. 

You know as well as we do that the workplace is continuously changing. And we will continue to consider management challenges involving people, budgets and learning. But we know increasingly as technology keeps us mobile, work won’t always center on a place, it centers around a cause or goal – that thing you do to make a difference.

Many years ago I learned as an undergrad at Yale that public servants are actually great leaders, and public service was one of the nation’s highest callings. Though I’m a pragmatist, I’m also a believer in the Yale School of Management mantra:  “Good management can and should promote the greater good.“

I began my career at the Brookings Institution focused on managing public health concerns, but mostly I’ve been in media. The CQ Weekly, one of my first Washington employers, reported I and this publication are “On the Move” circulating “ways federal government professionals can better do their jobs.”

Read more from Ilyse Veron at The Public Manager

Tags: Ilyse Veron, good government, govlearning, government learning, workplace learning, change management, ASPA, American Society for Public Administration, 21st century government, National Academy of Public Administration, Alan Balutis, David Broder, CQ weekly

Categories: Government

Written by: Maureen Bridget Rabotin, CGEC, author of Culture Savvy

In The Change Book, authors Tricia Emerson and Mary Stewart bring to the surface the underlying currents of culture that, if not understood, bring conflict to communication and resistance to change initiatives.

Culture is the result of implicitly learned values, beliefs and assumptions that teach us how to behave – “how we do things around here.” By revealing the intricate elements of culture, Emerson and Stewart do an excellent job of simply stating that when taken into consideration, culture becomes the added value not the detrimental difference. Just as with positive psychology, change initiatives need to not only look at what is not working but what we want to do differently while being attuned to what makes the system stable - the cultural foundations in place.
 
Through repeated and reinforced behaviors, subcultures are adhered to in exchange for recognition and rewards. Being alert to these cultural influences keeps us focused and aligned. In turn, new consistent behaviors replace the old and no longer true ones as organizations seek to succeed in today’s gyroscopic world of globalization. The Change Book underlines the importance of being culture savvy.

This blog is cross-posted on The Change Book blog.

Tags: change book, change management, Tricia Emerson, Mary Stewart, Maureen Rabotin, culture savvy, diversity, cultural awareness

Categories: Books

By Elaine Beich

When I interviewed John Kotter for a chapter on Leading Change in the ASTD Leadership Handbook, I asked him what competency was most important for a leader when it comes to implementing change. He said it was a “sense of urgency” and noted that the rate of change is increasing everywhere for everyone, and that rate of change is volatile.

The Change Book supports Kotter’s premise and delivers practical ideas for leaders. It is short, concise, practical, and something a leader can grab, read, and act on.

It hits the highpoints like the importance of sponsorship and how establishing metrics around any change initiative are vital to success. The authors note that leadership alone is insufficient to affecting real and lasting change and they give helpful hints on making sure you have the right team in place to implement the vision.

This blog is crossposted on The Change Book blog.

Tags: change management, leadership, elaine biech, john kotter

Categories: e-Laine

(From Fast Company) -- In every corner of the world, people have been shocked and riveted by the velocity of societal upheaval spreading across North Africa and the Middle East. As someone who has lived in the Middle East and is intimately aware of the long-standing suffering of people living under oppressive regimes, the societal force that has been unleashed has left me astounded. Powerful images of mothers and fathers, sons and daughters refusing to accept another day of brutality, oppression, and hopelessness for themselves and the next generation show us that change--even in the most restrictive environments--is possible. It teaches us that when people are united, empowered, and truly inspired to make a difference, nothing is impossible. It proves to us that the human desire for freedom, for personal expression and fulfillment, for having integrity is more powerful than the seemingly impenetrable status quo.

With an eye to the events unfolding in Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and other North African and Middle Eastern nations, business leaders now have a very real point of reference--a contemporary demonstration of what can happen when a large population is truly galvanized and united around a cause. Too often, companies think about change within the workplace on an incremental basis. Rarely does anyone entertain the possibility of widespread adoption of a value, an idea or aspiration that can literally shift a corporate culture in a very condensed period of time.

Read more.

Tags: change management, workplace change, North Africa, corporate culture

Categories: News

Change is hard, but learning more about it doesn’t have to be boring. ASTD's newest title, The Change Book, helps you get smart on change management without the pain. It also happens to be one of the most unique LOOKING books we've every published. When I first saw it I thought of The Very Hungry Catepillar, which if you think about it, is a book about change too.

The Change Book, addresses framing your change, leadership, resistance, culture, communication and more. Flip it open to any page - literally -  and you’ll find powerful, concise and easy advice from battle-tested practitioners. Authors Tricia Emerson and Mary Stewart make learning about change fun while asking important questions and providing sage advice.

• Why aren’t your communication efforts working? The book addresses common pitfalls, like waiting too long, delivering “bad” news and hitting people with the wrong kinds of information.
• How many people should you involve in your new effort? There’s advice on engaging the masses and there are real stories of organizations who harnessed the power of their people.
• What should you do about those who resist? Do you have to turn all of them into supporters? Read about finding the people in your “sweet spot” and focusing on them. 
• How will you keep people excited and engaged? The book offers tips for getting buy-in and maintaining momentum.

Each short chapter holds a nugget of wisdom on subjects like these. A great resource for seasoned change management professionals or the newly initiated, The Change Book provides tips, tools and bits of wisdom from those who have been there, helping to transform some of the most widely recognized organizations in the country.

Tags: change, change management, communication, employee engagement, ASTD, learning and development

Categories: ASTD in the News | Books | International | Membership

(From changeboard) -- Businesses can't afford to operate as 'usual' as the landscape continues to dramatically change; organisations need to ensure that the talent activities stay relevant and targeted in a way that will support growth.

In order to attract and retain talent a business needs, an alignment between talent management and business strategy is crucial. If a business is going through changes, for example, then a clear idea of where it's headed, accompanied with the talent needed to successfully get it there is essential to success.

An example of the changes that have been witnessed so far is during the economic downturn; employers found themselves in a unique position - the tables had turned and ‘high potential’ employees were no longer regarded as king. The surplus of people in the market, due in part to redundancies, lack of new jobs and unwillingness to move, pushed turnover down meaning employers had the pick of a talented bunch. But now confidence is returning to the market and some employees are starting to look for alternative employment, while others no longer feel bound by the recessionary gloom that once dominated their fear of changing jobs.

Organisations that haven’t taken their talent for granted and continued to work hard to engage and develop the right people in the right way during the recession, will be reaping the benefits. Individuals are far more likely to stay with an organisation where they feel valued and appreciated and where they see suitable development/career opportunities that reflect the effort and dedication they have put in and match their ambitions. Organisations that aligned talent management with their business strategy and communicated it to staff effectively, will also benefit from a workforce that knows where they stand and is engaged in the future of the company.

Read more.

Tags: change management, talent management, economic recovery, talent strategy, alignment

Categories: News

The global economic and financial landscape is rapidly evolving, forcing organizations to consider changes in many areas in order to stay competitive or simply survive in their industry. Managing any change is often a great challenge for successful organizations and their leaders.

To address that challenge, Greensboro-based Discovery Learning®, Inc. has introduced Change Readiness Gauge™, a new, innovative assessment tool for organizations to measure the ability to accept and implement change effectively.

“This tool offers an opportunity for organizations to uncover where they might have strengths regarding change or where there are weaknesses,” said Chris Musselwhite, president and CEO of Discovery Learning. “Whether it’s new leadership change, new product offerings or unexpected events or a crisis, developing readiness for change may be the single most important factor in the long-term sustainability of an organization.”

The Change Readiness Gauge (CRG) is an online assessment tool of 40 survey questions and can be used in a variety of organization and team situations, large or small. The tool addresses change that is planned and change that arrives unexpectedly. It also factors in the capacity for change and systems and structures that support change within the organization.

“Any type of change for employees can be difficult for a variety of reasons. The goal of this assessment is to look towards the future and start to think differently about building capacity for change and making that part of the DNA of an organization,” said Musselwhite. “From there, organizations will get better resources, better leaders and better results.”

Learn more.

Tags: change management, economic recovery, innovation

Categories: News

Provo, UT (Vocus/PRWEB ) July 29, 2009 -- New research by the authors of the New York Times bestselling book and corporate training program of the same title, ''Influencer: The Power to Change Anything,'' has received the Richard Beckhard Memorial Prize from ''MIT Sloan Management Review'' for the most outstanding article on planned change and organizational development of the year.

The article titled ''How to Have Influence,'' was originally published in the Fall 2008 edition of ''MIT Sloan Management Review'' and features research from VitalSmarts, a corporate training company, that shows leaders who combine four to six unique sources of influence are ten times more successful at producing profound and sustainable change.

The research combined three studies and involved focus groups and surveys with more than 2000 executives, managers and individuals.

Read more.

Tags: business news, change management, awards

Categories: News

(From ecademy.com) Making tough decisions, implementing change, and telling people that this is the way it is - really isn't the same as getting them motivated to accept how things are and to work well.

As Michael Hammer - former Business Process Re-engineering guru of the last recession - now says: "The human side [of change] is much harder than the technology side and the process side. It's the overwhelming issue."

Daniel Goleman ["Primal Leadership"] has eloquently articulated the principle of a style of leadership that resonates with people - that speaks from the heart and offers a measure of re-assurance and certainty of conviction about the direction in which they are being led.

But how you do you translate that into action? How do you actually motivate people? What are the keys?

Read the entire article.

Tags: economy, recession, workplace, change management

Categories: The Economy