How To Govern Change

by Caroline Oliver

I have been thinking a lot about change recently and its impact on organisations and their boards. A recent chain of events involving a client I had been hoping to work with for over a year has fuelled that thought – a lot!

A few short weeks ago, the client contacted me. They had been through an enormous period of change and uncertainty but, the Chair reported, “things seem to have settled down now and we are ready to move ahead and look at how best to govern for the future”. I was booked to do a half-day workshop. A few days before the workshop it became clear that, as a result of major changes in government thinking, the organisation’s role was in doubt. A few days after the workshop it became clear that the organisation has no future, the government is abolishing it.

Of course not every organisation is subject to that amount of change but the fact remains that change has become a way of life for most. How are boards to respond? I believe that the first thing is that boards need to recognise that they do not have to be mere victims. Boards have the power to rise above the fray and create the signposts that can help their organisations navigate through all the complexity and chaos that can be created by external events. If boards do not use that power but simply react to individual events I believe that they often become part of the problem by adding further layers of complexity rather than creating a consistent framework within which change can be managed without throwing the organisation off course.

I have written an article on this subject called “Governing Change from the Boardroom” which you can see by going to www.goodtogovern.com. If you have comments on this article I would love to see them here.