Stephen Billing’s Blog

How managers can initiate change without capital investment

In 2009, how can you create organisational change without a huge financial investment?

The key is for managers to understand the concept of interdependence in which we move away from the notion of the self as autonomous individual. Instead we have an organisation, and indeed a society, of interdependent people whose individiual selves are consitituted through their interaction with each other. In this way of thinking, individual change cannot then be separated from change in the groups to which the individual belongs. Likewise, organisational change cannot be separated from change in the individuals themselves

This means that managers in organisations must understand that they cannot change their organisations while remaining the same as an individual. Through the process of going through organisational change, managers as individuals will change, as will those that work for them.

The interactions between managers and their staff will change, and this will constitute change in those individuals, as well as change in the organisation.

So the first step for the manager seeking to create change in their organisation is to reflect on the interactions in which the manager is participating, and consider how those interactions themselves might change. The key to the change you are seeking lies undoubtedly in what is not discussable in your teams – you can bet it will be being discussed informally. For example, whether or not staff bring up their good ideas at meetings, or ask questions to make sure they understand what is going on in your organisation.

A good question to ask yourself  as the manager is "What are we talking about in our teams, and what are we not talking about?"  If it would be helpful, ask a trusted member of the team, or your own manager. Use the insight you gain from this to start talking with your whole team about what was formerly undiscussable. While this might not be easy, you will see amazing results. And it won’t cost you a single dollar of capital expenditure.