Change Management Strategies & Long Distance Running

With two good friends after the race

I recently completed my first 25K race (15.8 mi), which was quite the experience! Though I'm glad I did it, the race was long and difficult. Of the thousands who started, many runners did not finish. Some got injured; others simply gave up. I even saw an ambulance...not an encouraging sight!


So, what does this have to do with Change Management strategies?

As I trained for several months, I thought of some similarities or lessons about long distance running and embarking in a large organizational change initiative, particularly those aimed at culture change. I’ll explore these lessons in separate posts over the next several weeks.

These lessons are not meant to describe all there is to running or to describe all in effective change management. They are only intended to highlight individual aspects of complex organizational change that leaders and change agents should consider as they embark on such a transition.

1. Preparation—probably the most important aspect but often shortchanged for the sake of expediency.
2. Commitment—successful completion requires doing, not just talking about it.
3. Flexibility—flexibility is critical to endurance and managing pain and the urge to stop.
4. Milestones—breaking the effort into phases with specific milestones can make the process much more manageable.
5. Focus—managing competing priorities and initiatives can help maintain the necessary focus, particularly over a long transition.
6. Energy—required not only to start but also to continue, complete, and sustain the effort.
7. Pace—burning yourself out too soon can make the difference between failure and finishing.
8. Pain—managing pain is a critical component to a successful completion AND to a healthy recovery.
9. Support mechanisms—important to sustainability and ultimately completion.

There is more to both endurance running and organizational change management. I will focus and elaborate on these similarities over the next few posts.


Stay tuned...