The quote above is that of Henry Schacht as it was detailed in The Leader’s Change Handbook (Conger, Spreitzer, & Lawler III, 1999). Schacht was named as CEO for Lucent Technologies, a newly formed company that stemmed from the break-up of AT&T in 1995. He was thrust into “one of the most awesome change management challenges in recent times” (p. 3). His words illustrate the Tell Everyone! element of my change theory.
As described in the prior element to success in my change theory, Top Down, Bottom Up, it is imperative that the entire system—all stakeholders—have a shared vision of the desired change. This only occurs if you Tell Everyone! Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur and Schley further this point in their book The Necessary Revolution in which Senge, et al. (2008), state:
“Building critical mass for change within organizations always starts small, and oftentimes it remains small. Yet some change leaders prove to be masters at building larger networks of collaborators because they know that without this they will accomplish little. Bringing about significant changes in larger systems requires building similar networks connecting many different organizations and even different types of organizations” (p. 196).
As Senge, et al. explain, in order to successfully implement significant change within an organization, all stakeholders need to be informed and involved, even stakeholders external to the organization in some cases. This is the foundation of the Tell Everyone! element of my change theory. Change simply cannot occur the way in which the leadership envisioned it unless all stakeholders are kept informed as to the change strategies, objectives, and tactics.
This brings us to the most intriguing point of my change theory. My theory embraces the notion that change is Inevitable and Ongoing, and is therefore, cyclical in nature. It is the final element of my theory that allows change to equal growth--Continuous Learning.
As described in the prior element to success in my change theory, Top Down, Bottom Up, it is imperative that the entire system—all stakeholders—have a shared vision of the desired change. This only occurs if you Tell Everyone! Senge, Smith, Kruschwitz, Laur and Schley further this point in their book The Necessary Revolution in which Senge, et al. (2008), state:
“Building critical mass for change within organizations always starts small, and oftentimes it remains small. Yet some change leaders prove to be masters at building larger networks of collaborators because they know that without this they will accomplish little. Bringing about significant changes in larger systems requires building similar networks connecting many different organizations and even different types of organizations” (p. 196).
As Senge, et al. explain, in order to successfully implement significant change within an organization, all stakeholders need to be informed and involved, even stakeholders external to the organization in some cases. This is the foundation of the Tell Everyone! element of my change theory. Change simply cannot occur the way in which the leadership envisioned it unless all stakeholders are kept informed as to the change strategies, objectives, and tactics.
This brings us to the most intriguing point of my change theory. My theory embraces the notion that change is Inevitable and Ongoing, and is therefore, cyclical in nature. It is the final element of my theory that allows change to equal growth--Continuous Learning.