Changing the culture of an organization is hard. The culture—the behaviors, beliefs, and basic assumptions the members of the work group use every day—is built up over time and has worked well enough to stick. Some elements of the culture, though, may be hindering some important element of future success. Leaders faced with a dysfunctional element of their work group’s culture often want to “change the culture” and reinvent the organization around their own convictions. As the parade of management fads come and go, organizations have seen initiative after initiative be proposed and later abandoned, overcome by events. Not having delivered satisfactory results, the leaders move on to myriad other things that require their attention. Too often, leaders try to change everything about a culture all at once. Culture change, done properly, must focus on changing specific behaviors and delivering better success than the old way. Many, many change initiatives fail to produce the desired outcomes in organizations, mostly because they are improperly planned and supported. As part of the Cultivating Culture framework promoted by APWA’s Leadership and Management Committee, this presentation will walk through the eight steps to properly plan and support a change initiative that’s aimed at improving an organization’s culture. Accredited Agency: Des Moines, IA, Department of Public Works
After this session, participants will be better able to:
• Identify the eight activities that reduce resistance to change.
• Formulate a plan for leading change that will best support success.
• Initiate change programs in their organizations.
Contributor/Source
Jonathan Gano-Public Works Director, Laura Kroeger-Executive Director
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Introductory
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Mastery of basic concepts associated with an area has been obtained. Focuses on understanding nuances, advanced concepts, and intricacies with implementation within knowledge area. Strong understanding of how the concept impacts other factors or areas of operations.
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