Hopes for ‘Eradication’ Of Change Resistance as Continued Efforts of Management of Change Gain a New Foothold

During a recent management forum that focused on the concept of management of change, I gathered some information that seems worthwhile sharing. One couldn’t agree more with Mary Waceke, a globally active member of the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP). She eloquently demystified the concept of change to an attentive audience some of whom have seemingly been taking the concept for granted.

Ideally, full exploitation of resources and opportunities available to us in the 21^st century may never be complete until we are able to embrace efficient management of change. The same is not an event but a continuous process that aims to continually improve operational efficiency as well as innovation.

These ideals gave rise to the formation of Association of Change Management Professionals which is headquartered in America.  It has been conducting research and holding conferences globally. In Africa, it has had a base in South Africa where the last 4 conferences on African soil have taken place. But, as we contemplate ongoing developments, it may be important to bring to light some interesting perspectives.

In reality, the only thing that is permanent in our lives is change. Whether in business or our personal lives, something is changing at every single moment. If not the weather and other geographical factors, technology as well as social cultural stratum amongst others are changing anyway, tupende tusipende (whether we like it or not). All these changes present both threats and opportunities to our lives.

In business particularly, the forces of change which include the customer and supplier amongst others continue fomenting  instability through their constant activities of shifting royalty, terms and tastes for instance.  Whichever way they behave however, “the customer is king; he is the reason for the very existence of business,” as the total quality management adage insinuates. That is irrespective of the agony that this “king” may end up putting us into. Nevertheless, the situation remains the same whatever our perspectives.

So, in light of the need for winning and retaining “the King,” management of change becomes inescapable. This is so especially in a vibrant and unpredictable business environment that is now continually inundated by the global dynamics as well. Ironically, we are perceived as a change resistance people, the hue and cry about constantly embracing change notwithstanding.

Further, we are generally averse to taking risks, which is closely related to innovation and management of change. That resistance and averseness may probably not be pronounced, but could generally be portrayed through such tendencies as procrastination, complacency and fear of change. These situations are without doubt great inhibitions to progress and may therefore not be viewed as beneficial to our lives. Why?

As the world continues changing dramatically, nothing can be more destabilizing than practicing what is known as reactive management. It involves waiting for change to happen and only responding after feeling the impact of the change.  And by the time of responding to the change, all the opportunities may have been blown away by the wind, only leaving a trail of imminent threats. The failure or delay in responding to this change is what is also regarded as change resistance. But, can anybody be blamed for the change resistant scenario that is so prevalent?

Most certainly not; but, why? By our very nature, we are wired towards being change resistant. In common with the Orientals, Africans belong to what is known as collective societies. They adopt the ‘we’ concept. It is about communal interests. It is about adherence to norms and strongly held believes that control behavior of the different members of the society. People tend to be in harmony with one another. They do what everybody else is doing such that if one errors, so do all the others. That forms the fabric of socialism which, has largely been overtaken by powerful forces.

These forces derive their might from individualism which eventually yields capitalism.  It is about “the I” concept which is largely driven by competition for resources and opportunities.  That is obviously traceable to our brothers and sisters in the west.

Meanwhile, the science of management of change recognizes the individual as the unit of measure of change in the 21st century.  To what extent has the individual changed in attitudes, skills, knowledge and therefore habits? The change cascades to teams of individuals and eventually to whole organizations.

The good news is that the next conference of the ACMP, Africa Chapter, will take place at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi – October 2013. And just like the unit of measuring change is the individual, it is not surprising that credit for the happening of this conference goes to none other than Mary Waceke.

Hopefully, management of change and probable ‘eradication’ of change resistance will become a contagious phenomenon, after the happening of the ACMP conference. And why not?  The market place demands continually improving value from individuals. Regarding organizations, those that don’t continually embrace change need to know that their competitors are on the run. Evidently, change resistance may have no advantage whatsoever.