Forget Change Management: It's Time to Focus on Performance Improvement

Over the past few decades, change management (CM) has emerged as the en vogue approach to organizational development, particularly in the corporate world.

CM has become so popular that there are countless books, articles, courses, and other materials outlining and promoting its various yet similar models and processes. And, oh, how leaders gobble it up.

But enough is enough. It’s time the corporate world ended its love affair with change management once and for all. Organizations can, and should, do better.

A central them to CM is overcoming the “fear” of change. Those who embrace change are seen as fearless innovators in whom companies should trust. These are the exemplars, the organizational models of excellence, the people you promote.

But here’s the problem with worshipping champions of change: Change is simply a movement from one state or condition to another. It is, in and of itself, an entirely neutral process.

Change is such a broad term. The literal definition is to make or become different. That can mean evolution or deterioration, success or failure, achievement or diminishment.

Now look at CM as defined on Wikipedia: “Any approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations using methods intended to re-direct the use of resources, business process, budget allocations, or other modes of operation that significantly reshape a company or organization.”

Glaringly missing from this summary are any adjectives, nouns, or other words that convey positivity. There isn’t one word about growth or progress, which is what all organizations strive to achieve.

This begs the question: Why should we embrace something that can be just as negative as it is positive? If a company slashes it product portfolio and sales plummet, nobody gets a pat on the back. Yet it still changed.

To overcome this dilemma, CM advocates lazily throw the words “positive” or meaningful” in as qualifiers. “We need to affect positive change.” “How do we enact meaningful change?”

Fine. Admitting that change can be good or bad is the first step toward improvement.

Improvement.

Now there’s a word completely void of ambiguity. There’s no wiggle room when it comes to improvement. It means to make something better; therefore, it is never a bad thing.

That’s why it’s high time organizations say goodbye to CM and hello to performance improvement (PI).

PI, often referred to as human performance technology (HPT) evaluates the existing output of an individual, organization, process, or procedure, before implementing programs to improve that output. It is a systematic approach to increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

At the heart of PI are two models designed to solve problems, overcome barriers, and improve outcomes: the HPT model and the Behavior Engineering Model (BEM). The BEM is designed to identify and improve 1) the knowledge, capacity, and motives of people; and 2) the data, instruments, and incentives found in their environment. In other words, is a cleaning company failing because its janitors don’t know how to use a vacuum or because they are supplied with cheap vacuums?

CM isn’t bad. PI is just better. PI takes much of what is good about CM and, for the lack of a more appropriate word, improves it. CM asks, “Is there a need for change?” while PI asks, “Is there an opportunity for improvement?”

The difference between the two is a mindset, really. Change for the sake of change prevents some individuals and organizations from focusing on what really matters.

A leader who constantly shakes things up may be looking for a positive outcome; however, they may just be bored with routine, uncomfortable with the status quo (which may be precisely what his or her organization needs at the time), or afraid of looking inactive or complacent.

A leader who proactively evaluates his or her organization and seeks improvement in individuals, teams, and processes is much more likely to build on success and cultivate a culture of positivity and excitement heading into the future.