Facilitating Change

Change in the workplace is probably the single most difficult situation to deal with from an administrative point of view. I have found that The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization by Peter Senge to be an indispensable resource when it comes to evaluating change procedures and the facilitation of positive group dynamics. I have come to use the following five steps outlined below as a guideline during any change process and also as rule of thumb when evaluating almost any process, policy or procedure. Senge lays out the following five broad stroke guidelines, summarized here (21-42):

1. Personal Mastery: Professional development, personal pride, a mastery of our environment and belief structures that mirrors the reality of the situation. Creating that environment for each person in the organization is the goal here. It will most probably not be met with 100% success, but the participation at any percent of that goal will facilitate the situation greatly.

2. Mental Models: Our vision of the world. Our beliefs systems that create the mental models, if they are in conflict with reality then we perceive the world as through a glass darkly, a distorted vision that shapes our reactions to it. Visualization of these models and self-reflection on them as they compare to the world is essential in order to proceed to the next step. Create a mental picture of the change for each person to share.

3. Shared Vision: Find those beliefs shared by others to create a cohesive whole. These beliefs become the needs or wants of the individual. The Shared Visions becomes the shared needs and wants of the group. The overall need for the change has to be reflected in the needs of the individuals. Finding out what people need will help to begin the creation of a shared vision.

4. Team Learning: No one left behind. Use the diversity of the group to create the team dynamic. However if there is one person whose philosophy always tends towards the negative, towards the worst-case scenario; you will have to be careful not too allow that person too much reign otherwise it may impact the whole team. The lowest common denominator principle must be avoided at all costs for any change to really succeed. But the wisdom of knowing the pitfalls must be must be understood; "Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus and the right people in the right seats and then figure out where to drive

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