If you want to guide change its good to ask of any ‘change readiness assessment’ what its predictive validity is and how this has been determined. Predictive validity is the confidence with which taking action to improve one of the variables will in fact give a pre-determined result within acceptable confidence levels. It is a standard test of good psychometric assessments and allows anyone to create appropriate and focussed solutions directions and not to leave you wondering what the results of the change readiness assessment actually tell you or to guess what you need to do to improve. Our assessments have high and peer reviewed predictive validity so you can plan with confidence.
Most change is based on a methodological approach, in fact there are now so many ‘change methods’ that considerable discipline is required to select and adapt the one which is most likely to yield results. A broader systemic approach is needed one that provides intelligent information and skills to balance between:
• The People involved;
• The Press of the situation and context of the change environment and especially the climate within which change occurs;
• The Process selected to navigate and manage the change and its pursuant change methods, tools and techniques;
• The Product of the change process.
Culture versus Climate
Different change methods suit different climates and any effective change plan must take this into account. If you want to achieve dependable reliable change you need to focus on preparing things that can be changed.
Within the larger system for change, context describes the place, environment, or situation. As such, it interacts with the various methods, people, and tasks. Context itself is often described as the culture. Within an organization, it is often referred to as organizational culture. The tradition we follow when working with our organizational assessments of climate makes a clear distinction between this concept and culture.
Culture - The values, beliefs, history, traditions, etc., reflecting the deeper foundations of the organization. What the organization values
Climate - Recurring patterns of behaviour, attitudes, and feelings that characterize life in the organization. What organization members experience.
Why climate?
- Climate is a key capability for innovation and growth. Research and practical experience show that those organisations that perform better on numerous innovation and growth metrics deliberately manage their working climates.
- Climate is a key factor in helping organisations manage change. The evidence is clear – those organisations and teams with healthier climates can handle more complex work designs, have more productive teams, and higher levels of flexibility. As a result, they also improve their bottom-line results, have shorter times to market, and higher levels of profitability.
- Climate is a key factor promoting improved business performance. Businesses that have leaders and managers who deliberately focus on creating a climate that engages its workforce have higher rates of profitability (increased revenue, stock price, and net income), productivity, and customer loyalty.
- Climate is key to well-being in the workplace. Healthier working climates have been linked to increased levels of job satisfaction, lower rates of employee turnover, decreased stress in the workplace, and increased feelings and attitudes of contentment and enthusiasm.
- Climate is scalable and can be applied to:
- Leadership development – Individuals receive their personal results and those from selected observers. It can be used as a 360 instrument since 80% of the variation in climate may be due to leadership behaviours.
- Team effectiveness – Team members receive their group results so they can improve their team performance, say for example in project team situations.
- Organisational improvement and change – Leadership teams receive results so they can assess the readiness, willingness, and ability of the organisation to implement and sustain change and improvement efforts.
For more information see leadingcreativechange.co.uk
