The Necessary Skills to Navigate Change

Navigating and managing change is key to a collaborative’s journey, but it’s also one of the most challenging as each partner’s relationship, personal history, and ability to participate in change can vary. Differences in how partners navigate change, if not recognized and explored, can make it difficult for the collaborative to  achieve meaningful progress towards shared goals.

How does one lead and navigate through these varying responses to change? In this new podcast episode, we explore this question and more with Dr. Nicole Caridad Ralston and Ileana Ortiz from the racial equity consulting firm Beloved Community.

They have created a curriculum on navigating change, and we discuss the variety of skills needed to both lead and support change efforts, including:

• Why self-awareness is a critical part of working through change, including understanding one’s own history with and gut reaction to change
• How to work through change while centering anti-racism and anti-oppression
• Why it’s important to understand that change is both “head work” and “heart work”
• Why capacity building can be necessary to support your team or collaborative to work through change

Resources and Footnotes

• Full transcript for this episode available at collectiveimpactforum.org
• Beloved Community
• Barbara Trautlein – Change Intelligence
• White Supremacy Culture
• Another CIF episode featuring Beloved Community: How Community Leads the Way with Participatory Action Research (PAR)

From Dr. Nicole Caridad Ralston, here are some reflection questions for a change management process:

• How will you free up time and energy to focus on the change process? Where can you delegate projects or shift/share power?
• Who are the key people who can work with you to facilitate the change process?
• Who are the key influencers who need to embrace the vision and/or be included in the discussion and planning process?
• What permissions need to be secured? From whom?
• Who are the people/groups most affected by the proposed changes? What impact will each face?
• What can you do to help people embrace the change?
• How will you strengthen relationships during the change process?

From Dr. Nicole Caridad Ralston, here are more commonly used change management frameworks:

Lewin's Change Management Model:
Main Principles: Lewin's model, based on the Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze stages, emphasizes the importance of addressing psychological resistance to change. The unfreeze stage aims to create awareness and challenge existing mindsets. The change stage introduces new behaviors, and the refreeze stage solidifies the new norm.

McKinsey 7-S Model:
Main Principles: The 7-S Model focuses on the interconnection of seven elements: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff. Alignment across these elements is essential for successful change.

ADKAR:
Main Principles: ADKAR focuses on individual change adoption through stages: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. It recognizes the psychological journey individuals undergo during change.

Bridges Transition Model:
Main Principles: The Bridges Model emphasizes managing emotional transitions during change through stages: Endings, Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings.

Kotter's 8-Step Model:
Main Principles: Kotter's model outl