From apprenticeships and qualifications to professional development and employability skills. Supporting learners, partners, and centres with tools to deliver, assess, and grow.
Join a professional community committed to excellence in management and leadership. Access exclusive resources, and recognition pathways including Chartered Manager.
Connect, celebrate, and lead with CMI’s vibrant community. From events and awards to networks and campaigns, get involved and help shape the future of management.
Stay informed with expert insights, thought leadership, and the latest in management. From in-depth features to practical guidance, explore the ideas shaping today’s workplace.
Learn about CMI’s mission, values, and impact. From our Royal Charter to governance, careers, and sustainability commitments, discover who we are and what drives us.
20 September 2018 -
In a widely-shared article, a leading management author has called on leaders to reconsider the way they action change management. According to the latest insights of Robert H Schaffer, managers should focus on creating change at all times.
“As an increasing number of people take on the role and mindset of the change management professional, [and] instead of striving to make innovation and improvement routine, they naturally encourage the treatment of change as something special,” writes Schaffer.
“What needs to change is that thinking. Leaders should view change not as an occasional disruptor, but as the very essence of the management job. Setting tough goals, establishing processes to reach them, carrying out those processes and carefully learning from them – these steps should characterise the unending daily life of the organisation at every level.”
Read more: the five greatest examples of change management in business history
In order to achieve such a revolution in working practices, Schaffer insists managers should focus on what needs to be accomplished within their organisations every day.
“Have teams carve out some sub-goals they will aim to achieve in a few months,” Schaffer advises. “They should be asked to test innovative steps they think will make a difference and to learn from the process.
“Maintaining a short timeframe for these experiments permits the rapid testing of many modest innovations. The emphasis should be on executing specific changes – with each success followed by a new round of more ambitious goals to tackle.”
Schaffer points out that if managers do not seek continual improvement, and instead see change as an extraordinary event, their organisations will struggle to keep pace with the volatility of the modern world.
The CMI offers a range of support and toolkits to help your organisation through change programmes.
Image: Shutterstock
› The persistence of presenteeism and other nuanced nonsense
› A new age of vulnerability: why inclusive leadership matters more than ever
› Ask yourself: "How do I make my employees feel?"
› Finance and the Diversity Dividend
For more information or to request interviews, contact CMI's Press Team on 020 7421 2705 or email press.office@managers.org.uk
› The 5 Greatest Examples of Change Management in Business History
› Four companies that failed spectacularly, and the lessons of their premature demise
› 6 companies that get employee engagement – and what they do right
› 4 Signs That Racism May Be An Issue In Your Workplace
› How to build an Effective Team: focus on just 3 things