Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 180

Special Editions

Dear Social Service Practitioners and Leaders
Leaders are often asked how they manage change. Most leaders would find
this topic an uncomfortable one especially when change entails moving
people from a comfort zone to a less certain future. However, change
cannot be ignored. The environment we now operate in is an ever changing
one which requires leaders to be mindful about managing change. As the
saying goes “change is the only constant”. To understand change, we
need to understand the push and pull factors for change and how to read
and calculate these to ride the winds of change. We need to ask ourselves
how we can help enable change to take place in a more purposeful and
intentional way.

What to focus on in bringing about change
If the environment is always changing and leaders operate in a changing
environment, then learning to adapt to change is inevitable. The question
we have to ask ourselves is how we should focus our attention. A good
starting point in managing change is to pay attention to how organisations
and systems are organised, the service delivery standards and the cost and
value of everything that we do. We also need to understand that cost and
value are different concepts.
For those in policy leadership roles, there is the need to coordinate policies
and programmes across all departments and manage the coordination
setup. Paying attention to coordination will better enable us to manage
the bottle necks or tensions that often reside in the nexus of structures and
people in various parts of the organisation. Links or the lack of links can
facilitate or sabotage change.
For all leaders, there is the non-negotiable challenge of HR management –
the system of hiring and dismissing, performance management and people
development which few enjoy but is at the core of people management. It
takes courage to hire or promote someone who may break the tradition or
prescribe norms for qualifications and experience in order to get the right
person for a job. In some instances, someone with a good track record may
be better suited for a role than someone who has served for many years.

Changing the status quo
Sometimes it is much easier to bring about change in a crisis as the reason
for doing so is clear and urgent. It is harder to bring about change in the
status quo as there will always be the proponents of the “don’t fix it if it ain’t
broken” mentality even when there are ideas for improvement. In some
situations, improvements or change may mean shifting people’s power and
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