The Hidden Gem of Change — Participate in Designing the Future

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there is no shortage of books, articles, methodologies, techniques, and advice for managing change – whether an organization’s or your own.  

You’ve probably heard of at least one of these:  

• Lewin's change management model 

• The McKinsey 7-S model 

• Kotter's change management theory 

• ADKAR change management model 

• Kübler-Ross change management framework 

• …and more 

There are dozens of TED talks that are directly about change management or change leadership.  And there are over 10,000 books listed on Amazon related to “change management.”  Given that change is a constant and increasing in frequency and impact, it’s in all our best interests to stay current about change management. 

The constant element in change

I offer the following as what I’ve noticed to be a constant element in change management thinking – the best single thing any of us can do to adapt to change is: participate in designing the future.

Why do we look forward to our next house, new car, or getting married, or a great new job? Because we’ve actively imagined the end goal is and what it will feel like to be at that point, then planned and took the steps necessary to get there.

The best single thing any of us can do to adapt to change is: participate in designing the future.

We invest personal time and attention in building the future

This is what helps propels us all forward into something new and exciting, even though we may be very connected to where we are personally at present. As humans we move towards or become what is uppermost in our minds, so actively imagining and progressing towards a positive, exciting future is very important for all of us.

What about when a change is thrust up on us? People who are adept at dealing with unexpected change also respond by re-envisioning a future with themselves in it and taking steps to move in that direction.

So, how does this apply to change in the workplace?

Take advantage of every opportunity you can to participate in any conversation, committee or initiative that is envisioning, designing, or planning to move your organization forward at any strategic or tactical level.

Share your expertise, perspectives, and experience to move the thinking and action forward. Remember that “if you don’t play, it’s sometimes hard to have a say.”

Remember that “if you don’t play, it’s sometimes hard to have a say.”

Otherwise, the alternative is doing nothing, hoping for the best, and often finding out what’s happening long past the point of being able to contribute. Then, you’re dealing with the resulting lack of influence and personal stress.

I attended a major computer conference in Boston in 1992, and keynote speaker Bill Gates was asked if he was concerned about competition from IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Lotus Development Corporation, and other mature, venerable technology companies. In response he said he was less worried about companies with long legacies and “feet stuck in cement” than a disruptive innovator that surprises competitors with something unexpected. Netscape web browser was developed in 1993 and released in 1994, taking the industry by storm and becoming the darling of the fledgling internet. It took years and a significant financial investment for Microsoft to catch up.

The way we “roll” at Gravity Union

Inviting clients to participate is a fundamental element of Gravity Union’s people-focused engagement approach.  At each step, the client is involved in identifying priority requirements, designing, and prototyping the solution, scheduling implementation, and reflecting on lessons learned.

For example, in a typical rollout of Microsoft 365 collaboration apps with a client, we work with individual departments and teams to design both SharePoint and Microsoft Teams so that document libraries and site content are accessible through both Teams and SharePoint.

To do this, we follow a process for designing the Information Architecture carefully for each department. Each department typically structures and processes content differently – which you can usually see when you look at the existing systems like network drives. Folders, hierarchy and naming conventions will vary between groups.

We collaboratively work with teams and departments on a SharePoint and Teams design that combines document libraries, metadata and a site structure that maps to how they collaborate and work together.

We aim to do this in an agile methodology, where we design and then build the key components, get feedback, add to the design and build, and keep iterating from there. What is deployed is a collaborative design built with end-users, and it’s likely in a different place from when we started:

Gravity Union’s collaborative agile approach that embraces change. Learn more from our webinar: Running a Lean and Agile Microsoft 365 project 

We find that some departments use the opportunity of moving to Microsoft 365 to re-evaluate their processes, remove redundancies and be more organized going forward. Migration to Microsoft 365 is a great opportunity to assess what is required for employees to work effectively and remove areas which cause friction. We improve the readiness to adopt change by including people directly on the teams every step of the way.

This approach, coupled with training and knowledge sharing by Gravity Union’s experts, ensures that change is embraced, and that our clients are well equipped to autonomously sustain and build on the result after the project is over.

So, don’t get caught with your foot stuck in cement. Participate in designing your future. You and all your colleagues will be better for it.

Join us in designing the future – reach out for advice or help with technology change.