I’ve found myself talking about change a lot this week. Some are exciting changes, some of are hard and some are imposed on us by others. When we’re looking at change I’m always conscious that we all respond differently to change – it’s like marmite, some of us love it and some of us hate it.
By chance, an email I received included this quote, which got me thinking –
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” ―Charles Darwin
Local government is going through one of the biggest periods of change ever – budgets, AI, climate, the push for transformation, to pick out just a few, meaning that change is something we inevitably have to deal with, whether we like it or not.
So if it’s inevitable and we know that some people find it hard, it’s important to consider how we bring people along with us on the journey. Research shows that a project is seven times more likely to succeed if we apply change management principles.
A simple model I was taught is ADKAR –
- Awareness – of the need to change, think about how you communicate the reason for the change.
- Desire – to participate and support the change, how do you get across to those you want to participate what’s in it for them.
- Knowledge – on how to change, what will we be doing differently.
- Ability – to implement the required skills and behaviours, the training and development needed by those involved.
- Reinforcement – to sustain the change, an environment that supports delivery and celebrating the achievement.
Projects that fail often skip stages 1) and 2). So if you are making a change think about how you can create awareness of the reason for the change and a real desire from those involved to make it happen.
If you’d like to help shape some of our change don’t forget that you can contribute to our budget survey here Budget survey | Argyll and Bute Council
And if you’d like to be involved in positively changing the lives of young people MCR pathways are looking for more volunteers to spare an hour a week to help a young person. You can find out more information here – Can you spare an hour a week to help a young person? – My Council Works
Have a lovely weekend
Pippa
Pippa Milne
Chief Executive
