Change Management Optimizing Organizational Change

Anyone in a leadership position is well aware that any type of change within their organization is never easy but is a normal part of progress; such change is especially commonplace in the dynamic nature of the current health care landscape. Despite that knowledge, how best to manage change is often unclear and/or ill-defined. This is particularly troublesome when one considers that a given change may affect everyone from one individual to the entire organization. Moreover, the extent of the impact resulting from the change will vary depending on its magnitude and duration. Before embarking on the management components, it is worth noting the critical aspects of the organization that generally should not change. Specifically, we are referring to the organizational vision, mission and values. Exceptions to this rule may include the process of an organization's transformational strategic planning process. Otherwise, these entities form the critical foundation for stabilizing an organization during tumultuous change. Identifying business issues or opportunities for improvement is often the initial step toward change. Invariably, a process or technology innovation is needed to remediate the issue. Normally, an innovation leads to long lasting change. One of the major difficulties with regard to change in health care is that the current model is characterized by increasingly restrictive regulations and bureaucracy. This makes the identification and implementation of innovative processes and technologies difficult at best. However, innovative health care organizations and leaders do not surrender. Instead, successful organizations flourish by seeking out different paths. They create environments that strive to reinvent their competitive landscape; they create a culture where change becomes routine. Innovative organizations find change is at the core of their culture and values. At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), our promise to our patients includes the statement, "We never stop searching for and providing powerful and innovative therapies...." Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard Business School suggests that "successful companies develop a culture that just keeps moving all the time....and provides value to the customer." In the case of health care organizations this means the patient.