Humane System Change

Great Work by Design™ is a human-centered, work systems approach to change leadership.

We see change leadership as distinct from change management.

Change management focuses on processes, tools and techniques to implement initiatives within budget, on time and with minimal disruption.  In change management, employees are often seen as impediments, often leading to hiring consultants to help leaders overcome resistance to change.

This is because in the old change management approach, employees feel like the changes are happening to them – or being done to them.  They aren’t involved in shaping the changes, and the changes don’t necessarily reflect their priorities. Change management relies on employee compliance instead of employee creativity.

Change leadership builds capacity.  It develops work system structures as well as the human capabilities required to effectively lead sustainable, health-promoting change.  Employees are engaged in shaping the changes, which are done at a slower pace, through iterative, participatory processes.

Humane and health-promoting change initiatives might be slower in the beginning stages, but they build momentum and lead to effective and sustainable implementation phases.

Organizational change requires us to let go of old ways of thinking so we can invent new, health-promoting ways of working together. This process takes focus, time, planning and resources. Expertise.

That’s where we come in.

We won’t tell you what to do, or leave you with a list of recommendations to cascade through your organization.  Instead, we work with your leaders as your leaders work with your people over months, until the changes take root.

Multiple processes run simultaneously (see the example timeline below):

• Leadership Coaching
• Healthy Work Educational Programs
• Project Communications
• Change Initiative Planning
• Project Assessment Planning
• Initiative & Assessment Implementation

Change takes time to take root.  We work with you through the transitions.

Great Work by Design™ projects are a minimum of six months long. Fees start at $100,000 (less than the cost of one executive search).

Contact Katherine Sanders, PhD from Sanders Consulting or Karen Konrath, ACC from Transitions Coaching to learn more.