Mastering change

Providing leadership for change is a constant challenge for today’s executives. Phases of ambiguity and uncertainty, which often precede major changes, can offer opportunities for working with executives on their tasks and current and future challenges, and develop solutions for individual leadership action. The Office & Management division executives of DIS AG decided to take advantage of just these opportunities.

DIS AG commissioned IFOK to design and hold a workshop on the subject of Change Management for its branch managers. The story of the penguins (“Das Pinguin-Prinzip” [the penguin principle] by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber) was used as the framework for participants to grapple with the nature of change. At the same time they learned that change can be shaped by all those involved, and they discovered the role they and their colleagues could play in change processes. The workshop built on participants’ experiences and focused on their day-to-day work and individual experiences. The workshop took an interactive approach, gave participants the opportunity to work on exercises, and provided valuable input from the trainers. The penguin principle as a model for tackling the subject of change management in a results-oriented way once again proved successful with this group:

• It is based on extensive research work on the subject of organisational development and change management, but does avoids the tedium of excessive theory and lectures
• It is lively, innovative, and rousing
• It inspires courage and determination to act
• It provides a simple tool that can be applied in all change situations

It is fun, and leads to success