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Top Change Management Strategies from Industry Experts

Top change management has to be done well and done right. If there is an issue at any stage, the entire system crumbles. This piece covers SpeakerAgency’s tried and tested ways to do so.

Change Management
  • Release Date: 27 January 2025
  • Author: Speaker Agency
Change Management Strategy​ 690X460

It takes intentional management to strategize top change management within a company. But adapting to change is more than just words.

If you research the right strategies, you can transition successfully. Industry experts with years of experience know the secret to making the transition a breeze.

They are basically the gurus of change. However, one thing has to remain clear: It comes with some friction. Even Arnold Bennett, an English novelist, agrees because he says, “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by discomforts.

What is Top Change Management?

To answer the question, “What is change management?” here is an illustration.

When it comes to making changes in your personal life, you can simply wake up one day, decide, “This is what I’ll do,” and stick to it. But things get a lot more complicated when you’re leading a group. Suddenly, you’re managing a mix of personalities, varying levels of resilience, differing willpower, and unique self-esteem challenges.

There are a lot of variables you have to deal with.

That said, you must approach top management change strategically. This planning, implementing, and guiding your team is called top change management. It involves moving things around without disrupting the day-to-day tasks.

There might be some confusion and questions here and there, which is why it is smart to involve the entire team. Anyone in top management—from the CEO, CRO, all top managers, and stakeholders—has to be onboard.

After everyone is onboard with the same goal, create a safe space so that all employees can raise their concerns unjudged. In the following section, we’ll explore some of the models top management can use to change management strategies.

Top Change Management Examples

Suppose your healthcare company is struggling to make ends meet. You have to do all it takes to move things around because it is clear something’s wrong. Perhaps your staff isn’t trained on the latest technology, and that is causing a lag in service delivery.

Here, you might need change management strategies in nursing​ where you focus on the service rather than the sales. Knowing this helps approach change management strategies in healthcare​ and any other sector.

On that note, here are two change management strategy examples that actually happen in real life.

Apple’s Close Save Thanks to Steve Jobs

Before Steve Jobs made a comeback to Apple in 1997, the company was projecting losses. Jobs stepped in and implemented major changes. These entailed streamlining the product line, adopting innovation, and launching successful products we see on shelves today.

His bold steps made Apple what it is today. That Apple product you own, or wish to own, wouldn’t be here were it not for Job’s bold change management strategies.

IBM’s Shift to Services and Consulting

Now, this is a case of changing your model of operation. In the 1990s, IBM noticed that its hardware sales were on a downtrend. So, when CEO Louis Gerstner decided to shift from sales to consulting and services, he hit the jackpot.

This smart move reorganized the entire company, which also meant retraining employees and acquiring new businesses. Thanks to this move, IBM was able to survive.

Change Management Strategies

Models On Top Change Management

It might seem boulder to tackle the change management process, but here are a few tried and tested models that might come to your rescue.

  • McKinsey 7-S Framework: This model breaks the process into seven steps: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff.
  • ADKAR Change Management Model: This version focuses on five key elements—Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement.
  • Kotter’s 8 Steps for Leading Change: John Kotter is the mastermind behind this one, which outlines eight steps for effectively leading organizational change.
  • Nudge Theory: This one basically applies small “nudges” to make people make better decisions, like placing a poster with information about the benefits of staying hydrated near a water station.
  • Lewin’s Change Management Model: Approaching change management strategies here entails dividing the process into three ways—Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze.

Tips To Ace Change Management

Understanding the models is good; knowing how to implement them makes it great. That said, here are a few suggestions on how you can ace change management like how Jobs and Gerstner did:

Select a Structured Change Management Model

Success starts with structure, doesn’t it?

So find a model, do deep research on it, and get experts to train you on it so that you can maximize its benefits. Change management speakers are an invaluable resource that could help you in this step.

They can take you through any of the above models, plus more. For instance, when exploring models like Kotter’s 8-Step Process or the ADKAR Model, they provide a clear roadmap for change.

Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning

If your team is behind on what is happening, top-change management will never work. Start cultivating a learning culture with the little things and offer all the resources they need to keep learning. If you can, make courses, webinars, and workshops available so that employees can build that culture.

Companies that encourage ongoing skill development experience fewer disruptions during transitions. Why? Because employees feel empowered to tackle challenges head-on. Look at IBM, which invests heavily in employee training, creating a workforce ready to innovate. Continuous learning is a game-changer. Look into it.

Engage Leadership and Stakeholders in Early

Surprises are nice if we are talking about trips and flowers, but management? Not so much. So much so that you have to keep the entire top management, plus the stakeholders, in the loop. Share your vision of the change with these teams early enough to create trust from the get-go.

If anything changes, communicate. If things remain the same, also communicate. Never leave your team in the dark for prolonged periods, as this breeds ground for doubt to cook.

Implement Change in Manageable Phases

If you bite huge chunks of food, you’ll choke, right? It’s the same with top change management. To make one change, you might have to take several steps, multiple revisits, and a few modifications, and then you get the result.

Break change into manageable steps and have your best team leaders handle the rest. Even Rome wasn’t built in a day, so why would you expect to change a team of 1000 in a month?

It’s impossible.

Change Management Strategies In Healthcare

Why These Strategies Matter

To survive the harsh, fast-moving world, change is necessary. But change, especially for a huge company isn’t an overnight success, it takes time and strategy.

That is why these strategies matter.

So, find a change model, research it, and step-wise implement it. You should also encourage continuous learning within your team and take one change at a time. Include the entire team and always keep them in the loop. It makes work easier from the get-go.

SpeakerAgency can help with all the above; just contact us, and we’ll get the ball rolling.

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