Research, design, develop, and implement a project plan to affect change in an organization
Artifacts
The following document depicts our Organizational Committee’s (OC) Theory of Change (ToC) to make our compassion campaign a reality. I have outlined several important steps to take in creating, designing and implementing a compassion campaign: change-e-portfolio
Change course, week eight collaboration post:
Rationale
At the end of our Change course, we were to write a paper on how we planned to affect change through our Capstone Project. The paper includes the strategy we used, tools we created and used for communication with stakeholders, some pitfalls we experienced, and a follow-up strategy. This artifact demonstrates my ability to create, test and develop and implement a working plan for change through my project of a compassion campaign. Looking back, when I started my project, I wish I had a better understanding of the following change concepts:
- Cognition and behavior go together; what people know and think affects their actions
- Most behavior changes require new knowledge, however knowledge alone isn’t sufficient
- A person’s social environment has a large impact on his/her behavior
This video from Jason Clarke (2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPhM8lxibSUis another resource I wish I had digested sooner, prior to the planning stages of my Capstone project. It provides a clear understanding of why people resist change and gives you a tool for presenting change in a manner that will decrease resistance. Having this understanding prior would have changed the way I approached my call to action, focusing on perceived benefits and being more aware and sensitive to perceived barriers (such as fear, tradition, misconceptions, readiness for change, perceived power to change, potential perceived risk). All of these factors dictate a person’s behavior in response to “something different.”
For the second artifact, my discussion post for collaboration week eight of the Change course, we were asked how we planned to begin to gain skills for intentionally influencing others with particular thought our Capstone project. We had to utilize the theories covered in the course and highlight those specific ones that that made the most impact on us in how we approach change in life and in organization. I chose to focus on ToC theory, Appreciative Inquiry, Design Thinking, understanding the psychology behind why people resist change, and learning to present change to others in a positive manner, as I mentioned above. One must see the need for change, perhaps that others do not see, know what change needs to be made and know how to implement it (understanding people’s cognitive responses). For example, realizing the importance of people’s need for a sense of personal agency or autonomy, is essential for motivation. Using these tools/theories and knowing where to start, how to implement, and how to evaluate are the fundamental pieces to implementing change.
Change
Professionally-I now have a better grasp on why people resist change. I have some insight into the human mind and why it behaves the way it does when change is introduced. This knowledge is powerful because it gives me the ability to design ToCs around these factors of resistance, thus increasing the chance of the best possible outcome.
Personally- I can draw upon program resources such as the ones I mentioned above, to bring about durable changes in my personal and work environments. I can also use it to plan for continued implementation through times of change. It will help me to refine and combine perspectives with other resources and community partners to help particular issues are addressed, and to build an organization capable of carrying out meaningful work.
In me as a person- I am now able to identify and recognize change drivers and have a clear understanding of the dynamics of a change process (need, innovation, failure, and conflict). Being able to plan for anticipated change is empowering, yet simply being able to realize, or make the connection between the cause and possible effects internal and external factors may have on me increases my peace of mind. I am also knowledgeable enough to share my knowledge of change management with others.
References:
Clarke, J. (2010, December 21). Embracing Change. Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPhM8lxibSU .
Shannon Corpuz 