How do you lead change at your institution?
Key Takeaways
- Communicating why change is needed improves efficiencies
- Lowering the barriers to change increases its success
- Change is most successful when its intentional
David A. Armstrong, J.D., President, St. Thomas University
People don't like change. You have to really educate people on the why, on the why change is needed. What we've tried to do is explain to our employees that if we become better, in their policies and their procedures and their processes, and we use technology better, they're going to be able to be more effective.
Kevin Quinn, President, Aquinas College
When you change the way that somebody goes about the routine parts of their job, you have to be attentive to the fact that that's jarring. It's uncomfortable for people.
Change is hard. Change is hard, and it's necessary. And the extent to which that you can lower the barriers for making real change, the better off you're going to be.
Lillian Schumacher, President, Tiffin University
You really have to create a sense of urgency for change. And you have to find your champions to be able to really help with that change process.
You have to communicate that change, and you have to communicate it over and over and over again. And you want to minimise the resistors of change as much as you possibly can.
The way I've found it to be most successful is to not change for the sake of change. It has to be intentional. And that vision for why the change is necessary has to happen.
