Change Management Podcast - David Rosenbaum and the Australian Institute of Management Business School

David Rosenbaum being interviewed by Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director, Australian Institute of Management Business School

1st AIM Business School Podcast series

  

Change management is one of those issues that resonates with just about every organisation, irrespective of industry sector, and irrespective of the organisation's positioning. It is one of those challenges that has been in existence for decades and the extent to which organisations continue to be challenged by it, is recognition of its complexity. In truth there is no simple answer, nor is there a prescriptive approach that guides successful organisational change.

In my own PhD research into change management in the Australian nonprofit sector, I have identified a number of factors which are considered ingredients in successful change, and findings from this research has now been published internationally.

In the first of AIM Business School's podcast series, Professor Elizabeth More, National Academic Director of the Australian Institute of Management Business School interviews me to discuss this very broad topic, both in my capacity as a consultant in change, a researcher and author on change, and as National Unit Coordinator for the Australian Institute of Management MBA Program in the Unit entitled Strategic Organisational Change.

You can access this podcast by clicking on the following URL link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-797298966/david-rosenbaum-change-management

Please feel free to contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP on 0411-744-911 or at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to discuss change management in your organisation or to obtain further information about the Strategic Organisational Change Unit at the Australian Institute of Management Business School.

Managing Successful Change - How recommendations from my own PhD research can best be integrated into your NFPs change program

Change management is one of those topics that has been at the forefront of organisational discussions for over 70 years, as a topic that has engaged practitioners and academics alike, all attempting to better understand it so that successful organisational change can become the norm, as distinct to the apparent high failure rates that have been evidenced over the decades. Yet throughout this period, little or no research has been undertaken in change management from a purely nonprofit perspective.

Whilst some argue that this may  not be necessary be! cause organisational characteristics are alike across the sectors, others, including myself, argue that change must be considered from those that are involved in it, rather than purely the organisational perspective. The point here of course is that personnel characteristics within the nonprofit sector are quite different, and in some respects unique, hence the need to consider change management research within this sector, being an important addition to the broader research on change.

My research was undertaken at a Sydney-based nonprofit hospital undergoing major change with regards the design and implementation of an electronic patient management system. The full details of this study have now been published in the Journal of Management and Organization and form the central paper of my soon to be completed PhD. Whilst the full paper, entitled "A Longitudinal Qualitative Case Study of Change in Nonprofits - Suggesting a New Approach to the ma! nagement of Change" can be accessed on-line through Cambridge University Press (http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.6) the key recommendations, as presented in the paper, which may be of interest to those within the sector were as follows:

1. There is a need to formally include reflection time and reflective practices for all change participants in the planning, execution, and concluding stages of change, understanding that those experiencing change react to a wide range of emotions leading up to the change, during the execution phase, as well as in the post-change phase, and throughout this period, need to not only absorb the practicalities of the change and what this may mean for their own positions, but to also be able to verbalise their thoughts and discuss these in an open and supportive environment with colleagues, including internal change agents and management.
2. There is a need for the organisation to openly reflect on both the success and failure of past change experiences as a fundamental component of the planning stages of change, reinforcing trust and confidence in management with regards their ability to plan for, and execute change successfully.
3. There is a need for management to maintain an adequate focus on the individuals experiencing the change rather than an organisational focus as a primary (and often sole) consideration, creating an organisation-wide view as to management's interest in the welfare of change recipients throughout the change process and reinforcing an inclusive approach to the challenge of change within the organisation.
4. Finally there is an expectation that timing considerations are appropriately identified in the change-planning process, with specific reference to communication and change-recipient engagement processes, underpin! ning a strong correlation between the level of change preparation and readiness, with actual change execution.

Change is now pervasive within the nonprofit sector, with much of it being quite transformational with regards the design and implementation of new business models that really do challenge the core of many of these organisations. They also present very real challenges for staff, who are now being expected to absorb more commercial elements in their long-standing dealings with their clients. The culture of many of these organisations is being challenged.

OPTIMUM NFP has been actively engaged in assisting organisations design and implement change strategies, using processes that add substantial value to the change outcomes.

Contact David Rosenbaum of OPTIMUM NFP at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or 0411-744-911 for a no-obligation discussion on how these findings can be best integrated to changes planned for your own organisation.
 

Developing Your Leaders and Up-Skilling Your Staff

OPTIMUM NFP announces the launch of its 3rd highly acclaimed and accredited "Action Learning Question Cross-Organisational Cohort" program commencing in early July 2016.

Nonprofit organisations juggle many competing priorities, especially in the current market, with each having an impact on their future. One of these stands out for those organisations who see themselves having a long-term vision, and that being the effort and budget needed to develop leadership and generally up-skilling their staff.

In a leading article in the January 2014 edition of McKinsey Quarterly entitled "Why leadership-development programs fail", 4 reasons as to why such programs rarely achieve what they set out to achieve were identified. These were:

1. These programs overlooked organisational context. As was highlighted in the article, "Too many training initiatives we come across rest on the assumption that one size fits all and that the same group of skills or style of leadership is appropriate regardless of strategy, organisational culture, or CEO mandate." The article went further by suggesting that "Focusing on context means equipping leaders with a small number of competencies (two or three) that will make a significant difference to performance ... We have found that when a company cuts through the noise to identify a small number of leadership capabilities essential for success in its business - such as high quality decision making or stronger coaching skills - it achieves far better outcomes."
2. These programs failed to incorporate reflection as part of the real workplace. As was highlighted in the article, "The answer sounds straight forward: tie leadership development to real on-the-job projects that have a business impact and improve learning." The article went further by suggesting that "The ability to push training participants to reflect, while also giving them real work experiences to apply new approaches and hone their skills, is a valuable combination ..." 
3. These programs underestimated the need to change existing mind-sets. The article suggested that "Becoming a more effective leader often requires changing behaviour. But although most companies recognise that this also means adjusting underlying mindsets, too often these organisations are reluctant to address the root causes of why leaders act the way they do." It further suggested that"Identifying some of the deepest, below the surface thoughts, feelings, assumptions, and beliefs is usually a precondition of behavioural change - one too often shirked in development programs."
4. These programs often failed to measure real results. The article suggested that "We frequently find that companies pay lip service to the importance of developing leadership skills but have no evidence to quantify the value of their investment." The article suggests that evaluation should be focused at both the individual level as well as at the organisational outcomes, indicating that "...monitor the business impact, especially when training is tied to breakthrough projects." 

OPTIMUM NFP and Action Learning International's Action Learning Question Program ("ALQ") has been developed to specifically address the issue of cost-effective leadership and staff development for nonprofit organisations. Context has been identified through the use of organisation specific challenges which need to be addressed and resolved during the course of the program, supported by the introduction of skill and leadership attributes necessary for such resolution. Reflection has been included as a distinct and iterative activity through both formal and informal processes, supporting skills and leadership development. Mind-Sets are challenged through the co-consulting processes of the ALQ, and Results are identified and evaluated though the final reporting processes derived from the ALQ.

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International launched the Action Learning Question program ("ALQ") in the nonprofit sector in mid 2014. The ALQ program has been running successfully in the UK for over 15 years, across nonprofit, commercial and public sector organisations. In the latter alone, over 200 participants have successfully completed the program over the last 3+ years. In Australia, the ALQ is being delivered as both an in-house program as well as a public program. The latter are known as Cross-Oragnisational Cohorts ("COCH"). The ALQ program, in both formats, responds directly to the challenges and opportunities discussed above and fully supports a more evaluative framework for assessing the effectiveness of organisational learning and development.

The first COCH completed in November 2015, whilst the second program is currently underway and is due for completion in early June 2016. The program has been recognised by the Australian Institute of Management Business School who, after rigorous review of content, structure and delivery methods, has accredited the program as 1 Unit (elective) towards its highly acclaimed 12-Unit Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree.
The feedback from the first COCH was excellent and exceeded the expectations of those that attended. The second program is heading in the same direction with participants currently very enthusiastic about the process. A third program will be launched shortly for commencement in July 2016. Places for these programs are limited to ensure the best outcome for attendees.

Whilst registration forms will be available shortly on the OPTIMUM NFP website, you can register your preliminary interest by contacting David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or you can contact David Rosenbaum on 0411-744-911 to discuss the program in more detail to determine its applicability to you and your organisation. The flexible design and format of the program enables interstate participants to involve themselves in Sydney-based cohorts.

Visit the OPTIMUM NFP website at www.optimumnfp.com.au and click on the "ALQ Workshops" tab to read the testimonials from the first program and to obtain information as to the structure and process of the COCH generally.

Research Article - Change Management in Nonprofits

Pleased to announce that key findings from my PhD research have now been published. The article entitled "A longitudinal qualitative case study of change in nonprofits: Suggesting a new approach to the management of change" is available on-line at the Journal of Management & Organisation, a Cambridge University Press publication. Contact David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to express your interest in obtaining access.

Aligning Learning and Development with Organisational Strategic Priorities

Much information exists in the public domain regarding the trends in learning that are impacting organisations of all sizes and in all sectors, not to mention the challenges that these bring to tertiary institutions as well, in terms of both course design and delivery. The massive explosion in technology, both from an application as well as from an enabler perspective are impacting the ways in which people engage within learning and education and respond to the varied opportunities that have now arisen. This represents challenges for organisations not engaged in the process and for those individuals who do not wish to take responsibility for their own learning. On the other hand, it represents opportunities for those organisations seeking a better return on their training investment dollars, and those individuals who recognise the benefit of active engagement with the training and development process.

The UK's Open University's Institute of Educational Technology has identified a number of trends and opportunities in the world of learning, which when considered in the context of measuring organisational outcomes for training and development, provide some potential opportunities for work-based learning programs. Two of the key ones that organisations across all sectors can consider are:

• Focusing on 'double-loop learning' where learners focus not just on what they are learning and exploring and working out how to solve the problem at hand but also, through a reflection process, they consider how they can become more effective in the process, enabling application of the current problem solving process to future problems. This has organisational implications insofar as such a learning process can be the foundations for knowledge-sharing across the broader organisation.
• First-hand experiences can be amongst the most powerful learning experiences and can be applied to both individual learning as well as organisation-wide learning. In the case of the former, processes and procedures need to be put in place to maximise the individual impact, and the ability, time and context for reflection to underpin this value. From an organisational perspective, story-led materials that are tailored to, and form the base of, organisational learning, ensure that work-based experiences are shared across a wider platform, placing story-telling as a key organisational tool that can deliver learning that fits the requirements of the organisation by maximising engagement.

Whilst learning and development opportunities have been identified through such sources as the UK's Open University's Institute of Educational Technology, recognition of the possible gaps in organisational learning and development were discussed in a recent edition of MITSloan Management Review, where the focus of recent research in a number of commercial organisations pointed to the need to develop corporate learning and development programs that link directly to the organisation's strategic priorities. Key outcomes of that research resulted from the research question of "How can corporate learning programs more effectively develop leadership talent?" The findings pointed to 3 key issues which were:

1. there was a need to align the learning agenda with the CEO's strategic agenda
2. there was a need to create governance mechanisms that linked learning to the rest of the business, and
3. there was a need to direct capability-building efforts too those that mattered most to the organisation.

Viewed in this manner, the research pointed to the importance of focussing less on how learning is delivered and more on linking content and structure with the organisation's strategic imperatives.

One thing is clear from the above discussion. Past methods of evaluating the effectiveness of learning and development expenditure within organisations can no longer rely on an outdated performance measure of staff attendances at 'off-the-shelf' or standardised 'training packages' delivered outside the organisational context, divorced from the organisational reality. Given the way people learn and the tools that exist to support learning, mean the lack of understanding of the true organisational and individual value-add of such training, can no longer be justified, especially in the non-profit sector where financial resources remain challenged.

OPTIMUM NFP in conjunction with Action Learning International launched the Action Learning Question program ("ALQ") in the nonprofit sector in mid 2014. The ALQ program has been running successfully in the UK for over 15 years, across nonprofit, commercial and public sector organisations. In the latter alone, over 200 participants have successfully completed the program over the last 3+ years. In Australia, the ALQ is being delivered as both an in-house program as well as a public program. The latter are known as Cross-Oragnisational Cohorts ("COCH"). The ALQ program, in both formats, responds directly to the challenges and opportunities discussed above and fully supports a more evaluative framework for assessing the effectiveness of organisational learning and development.

The first COCH completed in November 2015, whilst the second program is currently underway and is due for completion in early June 2016. The program has been recognised by the Australian Institute of Management Business School who, after rigorous review of content, structure and delivery methods, has accredited the program as 1 Unit (elective) towards its highly acclaimed 12-Unit Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree.
The feedback from the first COCH was excellent and exceeded the expectations of those that attended. The second program is heading in the same direction with participants currently very enthusiastic about the process. A third program will be launched shortly for commencement in July 2016. Places for these programs are limited to ensure the best outcome for attendees.

Whilst registration forms will be available shortly on the OPTIMUM NFP website, you can register your preliminary interest by contacting David Rosenbaum at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au or you can contact David Rosenbaum on 0411-744-911 to discuss the program in more detail to determine its applicability to you and your organisation.

Visit the OPTIMUM NFP website at www.optimumnfp.com.au and click on the "ALQ Workshops" tab to read the testimonials from the first program and to obtain information as to the structure and process of the COCH generally.

Support Mechanisms for CEOs - Why are they important?

The challenges for nonprofit CEOs and equivalent positions is immense and even more so in the current environment of economic uncertainty, political instability (especially in an election year), organisational change, and, in the context of nonprofit disability service providers, the changing nature of their business models in response to the movement away from a supply-driven market to one that is responsive to the demands of consumers in the form of the NDIS.

This scenario places heavy burdens on the CEO and equivalent positions as they face these challenges whilst maintaining ongoing service levels, addressing organisational sustainability, and dealing with boards that may not be necessarily skilled in identifying or addressing the strategic challenges that need to be understood and faced.

In August 2013, Forbes Leadership polled 200 CEOs and board directors and noted a range of collective concerns which were reflected as themes from the survey. These included:

• the need to get help with handling conflicts
• the need to further develop talent within their organisations
• the need to establish improved motivational skills amongst their executive teams

Whilst these were seen as major challenges within these organisations and ones that needed to be addressed by the CEO, there is ongoing recognition amongst organisational leadership, that active CEO groups could greatly impact the effectiveness of CEOs as they address these and many other related challenges including responding to such questions as:

• as your organisation grows, how do you maintain an inspiration to innovate and not dampen enthusiasm amongst your managers and staff?
• how do you encourage creative thinking in your organisation to foster growth and development?
• how do you promulgate your organisation's mission, vision and core values?
• how do you ensure that vision is being correctly interpreted in your organisation?
• how do you achieve organisational alignment through all levels of the organisation?
• how do you ensure your own growth and development?

CEO groups can be effective in improving the overall effectiveness of CEOs, ensuring improved organisational and personal outcomes, and this is why:

1. There is always more than one way of looking at a problem or a challenge. Obtaining broader input is necessary to ensure that you overcome any myopic tendencies.
2. A small supportive group can develop into a community of trust which can underpin an "off-the-record" type of engagement, allowing you to speak your mind freely without fear of repercussion.
3. Diversity within such groups ensures that input into your challenge is based on perspectives that you may not have or even able to see at given points of time.
4. The role of the CEO has often been described as a lonely one for various reasons. There can be an understandable tendency to be somewhat isolationists in your thinking. This can be balanced by the recognition in seeing your group as a small but safe 'community'.

OPTIMUM NFP recently launched its CEO Roundtable in response to the individual challenges associated with being a CEO and in the context of the organisational implications associated with the CEO performance. The CEO Roundtable ("CEOR") has been designed exclusively for CEOs of nonprofit organisations as a professional learning forum to support ongoing development of CEOs through a facilitated discussion and peer support process. The CEOR supports CEOs by:

1. being a sounding board
2. sharing experiences and challenges whilst collaboratively searching for solutions
3. challenging your thinking purely for the purposes of getting better organisational and personal outcomes, and
4. benchmarking your own performance through personal and group reflection

The CEOR is based around 4 foundational pillars:

1. FACILITATION  - it is professionally facilitated with a structured agenda that combines free-flowing discussion within focused attention to agreed pertinent issues
2. CONFIDENTIALITY - meetings take place in a confidential and emotionally safe environment enabling easy exchange of ideas
3. EXPERTISE - guest speakers with required specialist expertise will be invited as appropriate and as agreed to by the group
4. NETWORKS - fostering and supporting new and existing professional networks 

CEORs are being introduced in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. For further information regarding the CEO Roundtable, visit the OPTIMUM NFP website at www.optimumnfp.com.au and click the tab entitled "CEO Roundtable" which provides further information as well as an online registration process. Alternatively, you can contact David Rosenbaum on 0411-744-911 or at drosenbaum@optimumnfp.com.au to make further inquiries.

The Business of Nonprofits

Much has been written about appropriate business models in nonprofit organisations. In what many are calling a paradigm shift in this sector, from a 'non-profit' mindset to a more 'business-like" mindset, there is evidence that the sands are shifting quite rapidly in a sector that has traditionally seen itself in a different light to that of a business. 

Additionally much has been written and spoken about the comparative positioning within a social-good perspective and whether this shift is in fact good, or is it actually undermining the sector and detracting from the social focus that should be at the heart of this sector's approach - the age old "Mission / Margin" argument. 

Whichever side of these arguments you sit, there is a number of realities that cannot be ignored, with these realities not really responding to the social considerations of the nonprofit sector, but the realities of markets, economics, and government policy. In essence, these realities are:

1. Economic circumstances in Australia are challenging and despite what politicians may tell us, the reality is that as Australia shifts from a mining economy to other forms, fallout will occur and consumers and businesses alike are being cautious. This caution challenges the ability of nonprofit organisations to increase funding from philanthropic sources.
2. Governments are facing many years of ongoing deficits irrespective of their political persuasion. Nonprofits that really heavily, or in fact entirely on government sources for their funding are facing the greatest risk to their sustainability and therefore their existence.
3. Government policy, again irrespective of political persuasion, is tending to prioritise their funding in this sector to larger service providers and relying on these server providers to interact with smaller organisations to deliver services at the ground level. This is a shift in governments' own business models and leaves smaller and possibly medium-sixes nonprofits at the mercy of larger nonprofits. This will, over time, force a degree of rationalisation into the sector. I make no value judgement as to the positives and negatives of such an approach, but merely state the obvious - it is happening.

An interesting article recently appeared in the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (Volume 44, No.2 April 2015, pas.205-222) entitled "Being Nonprofit-Like in a Market Economy: Understanding the Mission-Market Tension in nonprofit Organising" written by Matthew Sanders, Assistant professor, Communication Studies, Utah State University. It makes for interesting reading as it trawls through various arguments associated with both sides of this debate. What is unique about this article is that it focuses on the role of communication in potentially bridging the apparent competing aspects in this debate.

In essence however, market and political realities are what they are and nonprofit organisations will not be able to address these in isolation. What they may be able to do is to better understand how they can work within this apparent conflict of ideas to build better organisaiotns and to design and deliver their services accordingly. Don't fight it - work within it!