There are several recognized change approaches, models, and methodologies (e.g., Being First Change Leadership, Prosci, Kotter’s 8 steps, Appreciative Inquiry, Systems thinking, Agile, Adaptive Action) to change. Each is anchored in different theories and offer different methods and tools. However, despite their differences, most of those currently in use have a number of common elements, including:
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Recognizing the need for the change
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Preparing ourselves and others by building leadership capacity and commitment to the change
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Developing a compelling vision and strategy
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Engaging people in the design of what comes during and after the change
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Assessing the gap between how we currently operate and how we would like to operate in the future
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Engaging and supporting people throughout the change process
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Developing a comprehensive change plan in-line with our change strategy
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Adapting as we go
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Celebrating successes
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Creating a platform for future change and encouraging continuous learning
Each model offers something of value and it is often best to pull from different ones, depending on our context. This framework is meant to be methodologically agnostic and touches on each of the common elements listed above, pulling from key aspects of various approaches, models and methodologies.
Next steps
At this point we’ve developed a sense of our type of change (incremental, transitional, transformational) and realize there are a variety of theories and techniques to pull from. We can now turn our focus to our own context, the unique nature of leading change in the government.
Next: Leading change in government