By Dr. Dawn-Marie Turner
Published by Your Nickel鈥檚 Worth Publishing
$24.95 978-1-927756-47-8
Maybe you鈥檙e an employee who鈥檚 been accused of resisting organizational change. Let鈥檚 face it, many of us have been. Or maybe you鈥檙e a business executive who believes most employees actively resist organizational change. Whatever your role in your organization, whatever business or service you鈥檙e in, in her new book, Launch Lead Live, Dawn-Marie Turner has something to say to you: employee resistance to change is a myth.
Change is the one common denominator in business. For most organizations, it鈥檚 change or fail. But constant change 鈥� to technology, systems, processes, staff roles, even staffers themselves 鈥� has a real cost. As Turner observes, 鈥淥rganizations are struggling to survive under the weight and expense of what feels like overwhelming, but necessary, change.鈥� So a book that can help reduce the costs of change 鈥� not just financial, but also human 鈥� is welcome. Turner proposes that leaders demystify change by making it meaningful to the people it affects and motivating them to move through the stages of change. Turner describes such efforts as 鈥淏uilding readiness instead of trying to manage resistance.鈥�
Leaders support readiness by developing an organization鈥檚 capacity to change.
The centrepiece of the book is Chapter 3, which discusses the need for leaders to shift their own thinking from resistance to readiness. This chapter is packed with clear, insightful explanation and direction. Like the rest of the book, it鈥檚 presented in tightly articulated steps, extended by charts, point-form lists and summaries. This format makes the book a great source of information for readers themselves and for the employees and colleagues they teach or train.
The value of this book for training and teaching cannot be overstated. Turner points to people she calls 鈥渋nformal leaders,鈥� those who have no official leadership or management role but whom other employees look to as a leader, for guidance. These folks are important because they, and not the leadership, ultimately determine the success of organizational change. It鈥檚 vital for executives and managers to recognize and support the informal leaders; without them, organizational change may founder because these people control informal information and communication鈥攖he day-to-day culture.
聽聽聽聽 An attractive little book,聽 Launch Lead Live聽 is packed with accessible ideas. There鈥檚 some 鈥渂usiness speak鈥� in the text, but the overall presentation is straightforward and accessible to a wide audience, not just executives and managers. This book will be valuable to many organizational leaders, including small-business owners and non-profit directors.
This book is available at your local bookstore or from www.skbooks.com.
