Effective change management was the subject of a recent webinar led by Cath Convery and Julie Dungate, of the learning and development consultancy, Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS), and organised by the global accreditation and examination institute, APMG International.

Moderated by APMG International’s Mark Constable, the webinar – one of a series from APMG International in which ELS learning and development specialists provide thought-leading expertise – discussed ideas in the recently published ‘business parable’ book by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber, ‘That’s Not How We Do It Here!: A Story About How Organizations Rise, Fall – and Can Rise Again’.

The webinar discussed change management-related issues including silos, learning culture and dealing with adversity, within the context of organisation leadership and management. It concluded that, to help make change happen successfully, every organisation needs to allow everyone within it to, at times, be a leader.

According to Cath Convery, Kotter and Rathgeber’s book deals with changing organisational culture via the use of storytelling.

She added, “It looks at the barriers to change that can be erected and suggests ways of overcoming them. It also examines the balance between management and leadership in an organisation – along with the various types of leadership that can, and should, be displayed in an organisation.”

Agreeing that the biggest block to a change initiative is often the culture and attitude of the team involved in it, Cath and Julie discussed how to reconcile the tension between the need for change, including rapid innovation, and the need to continue ‘business as usual’.

“Basically, effective change management skills are something that all managers should have,” commented Cath.

Citing the results of research by anthropologist Robin Dunbar that some two-thirds of all our conversations are stories, Julie commented, “Storytelling helps reinforce the principle of stakeholder management. Telling stories helps you win ‘hearts and minds’.”

The webinar is currently available to hear on the APMG International website.

The world’s leading global accreditation and examination institute, APMG International accredits organisations to deliver training courses and consultancy services for a broad range of professional certification schemes. It offers a diverse portfolio of certification schemes including internationally renowned solutions for project, business and IT management, Cyber Security and Public-private partnerships. APMG’s certification schemes, exam and accreditation services support its goal of enabling organisations and professionals to maximise their effectiveness through use of the latest methodologies and core competencies.

Founded in 2005, Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS) is a learning and development (L&D) consultancy that believes in using original and challenging solutions to inspire, enthuse and empower people to meet its clients’ needs. Working with clients in the public, private and business sectors worldwide, ELS focuses on organisation-oriented needs analysis; leadership and management; training and development – applying a systems approach to training methodology; learning technology; education; coaching and mentoring; HR development, as well as specialist expertise in the public sector including in defence issues.