Excellence to Eminence

Resources

Managing Change

Content provided by Anne Massaro

Even when it’s positive, change can be stressful because it often causes us to think or act differently. People can be resistant to change because they take comfort in the status quo, don’t see the benefits of change, or don’t believe they have the capacity or ability to change the way they work.

Change can be better managed by understanding objections and how to overcome resistance, clarifying individual’s role in the change, and open, transparent communication. When there is clarity around the purpose, benefits, and impact of a change, you can increase openness.

Click on the links below for tools and suggestions about managing change personally, and within your group. Scholarly publications offer tips on how to manage change, and presentations help put Ohio State’s culture transformation into context.  

Activities and Tools

• This presentation can help you talk with your team about how to prepare for and navigate change.
• Engage your team to help enable a change. Present the change you're seeking, and ask the team to read this excerpt from Chip and Dan Heath’s book, Switch. Ask them come to a meeting with ideas to shape the environment in a way that will facilitate the change.
• These Tools for Change can help you plan for success when preparing to implement a change.
• Use this activity to help people understand the benefit of remaining curious during change.
• Use these meeting starters to reinforce these concepts.
• Introducing Our Culture Transformation: Use this information to talk about why we're making the changes we are.
• Reinforcing Our Values: Use this information to talk about the behaviors, our values, that will help individuals and groups successfully manage change.
• Blue Chips: Use this tool to help align your work with the goals of your unit/college, and increase transparency between employees and supervisors.

Articles, Books, and Research

• Ford, J. and Ford, L. Stop Blaming Resistance to Change and Start Using It, 2010. Organizational Dynamics.
  Jeffrey D. Ford, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Management at the Fisher College of Business
• Bridges, W. and Bridges, S. Managing Transitions, 2009.  Da Capo Lifelong Books.
• Eckel, P., Green, M., Hill, B. and Mallon, W. Taking Charge of Change: A Primer for Colleges and Universities, 1999. American Council on Education.
• Kegan, R. and Lahey, L. On Change III: The Real Reason People Won't Change, 2001. Harvard Business Review.
• Kotter, J. Leading Change, 1996.
• Kotter, J. The Heart of Change, 2002.
• Maxwell, J. Thinking for a Change, 2003.
• Quinn, R. Deep Change, 1996.