Change is so loaded with energy you can almost smell the flame.
What will you, along with your change practitioner need to do to start, contain, fuel and manage that fire?
Start-
Change can begin spontaneously from hidden sparks of energy, It can be the result of an external environmental influence, like a lightning bolt in nature. Or it can be a perfectly built campfire ready for a match to begin the controlled burn. Be aware of how change can, will and could start in your organization and take the steps to have resources and process to deal with the different catalysts for energy.
Contain-
The fire begins and there is very often little time for precise control. That is the nature of organizational change since it involves individuals seasoned and not (in our case seasoning does not necessarily mean the wood will burn bright). Laying down appropriate borders though can ring the fire with protection. In an organization that may be separating the functional tasks needed to build to the end state as project streams.
Fuel-
My personal favorite. When we have our backyard s’more fests friends are surprised at how easy it is for me to light the match and quickly have a perfect campfire. Easy it is not for it requires a balance of quick combustion (paper), something to carry and hold the flame (kindling), larger pieces to sustain the heat and energy and oxygen (which the fire can quickly suck away and extinguish). Change in an organization requires an idea, a senior champion, middle of the organization empathy and management skills and money and resources directed appropriately.
Manage-
Once the fire is lit, contained and fed when needed there is often a little time to sit back and enjoy the power and beauty of the coals and flame. Well contained and with available fuel the fire can be extended, increased or if necessary squelched. In the organization phases of the change process can run as separate fires of their own to be joined with or passed on to the next. As long as the agents strategic and implementary understand the end state and the connections in time and place that must occur the fire can be managed.
What does the energy behind change look like in your organization?
Is anyone tending the fire?