I am involved in many discussions and forums and am seeing a pattern for those calling themselves change management consultants (or some version of change agents including project managers). There is a group (small it seems) that is very flexible, has a perspective about the change process, but adapts to client situations. There is a second group that sticks to a single approach and swears by it.
First I find it interesting that someone helping to guide change would be an evangelist for ANY approach unless it is their own or is complicated enough to draw out extra time (= more $). How can you guide change when inflexible?
Second those who hold dear to single models or approaches seem (this may be a generalization I admit- anecdotal) to be internal, have a background in psychology or are consultants who work in the middle of the organization implementing. Those three categories of change agents, I am guessing, feel more comfortable when the parameters of the box they are working in make sense.
The transformational box is big and wide though. As a senior executive be careful using these types of consultants for big change. Why? They are going to approach change much like your internal project managers. Why put a duplicate layer over that work?
Back to our two groups in the discussions. Group one is flexible. They think broad and cross functionally. They know the power of structure, process and status quo. They know sticking to one approach often simply reinforces the culture and skeleton of the current organization. They will use multiple and different models when it comes time to implement. They realize the early stages of the change process, heavy with strategy and connection, do not fit well into a model.
Of course I am in the flexible camp. I am strongly against certain approaches and models (this post comes from a discussion around a Kubler-Ross mentality) only because I have seen the results of their use. The intense immovable “change agents” will say that is because the right person was not managing the model. I have seen poor effect from junior, senior, good and bad consultants.
