Leading though Change program busts myth that there’s only one way to manage change

By Ian Prinsloo and Karen Dawson

If you are looking for a safe, intellectual exploration of how to lead change, this is not the program for you.

The Leading through Change program at The Banff Centre challenges the myth that there is any single process, model, or theory that will allow leaders to control change, and suggests that developing multiple skills and strategies to cope with change may be more valuable.

According to Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe (2001) in Managing the Unexpected, “One of the greatest challenges any business organization faces is dealing with the unexpected.” This is no surprise to anybody who performs any role within any organization, in any sector. Responding to unforeseen circumstances in global markets, a crisis, or a shift in community values can be challenging and confusing. Especially, we believe, for those leaders handed the responsibility of implementing the change.

And, as a Fast Company magazine (May 2005) cover screamed in bold, black font: CHANGE OR DIE! If we are not prepared to respond to whatever is happening around us (or to us) warns the author, we face at best obsolescence, at worst extinction.

The Fast Company article goes on to share research that revealed even when faced with imminent death due to serious heart problems, only one in nine people actually change their behaviour. So what is an organizational leader to do when tasked with leading a change, knowing that even when faced with death, many of us refuse to shift our attitudes or change our ways?

Organizational leaders are hungry for answers to change dilemmas and challenges – and the leading business schools around the world are eager to respond. A recent survey of the promotional material of Harvard, Wharton School of Business, Rotman, Queens (among others) reveals several programs that claim to solve leaders’ change challenges. These programs claim to make change initiatives more manageable with a variety of models, theories, and insight.

At The Banff Centre we asked ourselves a question: If the best and the brightest are offering multiple programs aimed at supporting leaders to lead and manage change effectively, why are people still seeking more support? What is missing in these other programs that prompts leaders to ask The Banff Centre for something different?

Our response is a brand new program, Leading through Change. Busting the myth that any one model, theory, or tool will guarantee a successful change initiative, this program asks participants to immerse themselves in the murkiness and complexity of their own lived change experiences. Through heightened awareness of their own emotional and psychological response to change, the program will support the development of the skills to reflect, rehearse, and perform “through” change – rather than manage or control it.

Ian Prinsloo and Karen Dawson are faculty on the Leading through Change program at The Banff Centre.