Change management: Chaos > learning > growth > maximum potential
NBA trade deadlines are notoriously unpredictable, affecting teams across the league. Last week’s NBA trade deadline resulted in a pretty significant shake up for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They shipped six players across the country and forfeited a first-round draft pick in exchange for four younger, and arguably hungrier, players with the long-term goal to increase their odds of a fourth-consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
This massive change will undoubtedly result in a few ugly plays, rough games and frustration among teammates as they build a new chemistry and put a plan in place to show the league – and more importantly, each other – that they are a top contender to compete into late June.
Many people have conducted studies about change management. In the software industry, change happens every day, so it’s a topic we talk about often. Whether you look at the transtheoretical model of the Stages of Change, or Tuckman’s model, which graduates a team from forming to performing, the basic principles are all the same: There’s chaos, learning, then growth, until finally, you reach maximum potential.
The key to it all is not being stuck in the past and afraid of change. If you work at a higher ed institution, it’s kind of like letting go of paper transcripts.
Navigating the chaos
Fear not. The Cavs seem to have found their rhythm quickly together both on and off the court, dominating the competition since the trade and proving that a lot of times, change can be a good thing.
Sure, with any significant change there can be disruption, doubt and questions. But then, just like our hometown favorites, we work our way through the phases of change. Things normalize. And then they improve. We grow and reach our maximum potential.
Until innovation spurs us to change again and improve even more. Like capturing student information sent through any medium, giving you the ability to answer questions immediately.
Understanding what is happening and being cognizant of these phases helps us to get to the best place. As we’ve mentioned before, the key to such organizational change is buy-in from key executives. The next step is to demonstrate to everyone involved how their lives will change, but for the better.
The best leaders know things won’t be 100 percent smooth with change at the outset. Like LeBron James and the Cavs, you have to build new chemistry, make some bad plays and possibly lose some games (but hopefully they’ll keep up the winning streak!).
Along the way, change can be hard. But when efficiencies kick in, processes become faster and more accurate and eventually, you’ll be ready for the title.
Learning, growing and achieving
As the Cavs take back the East, they are bound to trip up a little along the way, and that’s ok as long as James and his squad take those opportunities to learn and grow. The same is true for all of us.
“Nothing is given,” James once said. “Everything is earned.”
It’s an exciting time to be a Cavs fan – and an even more exciting time to be part of the Hyland Higher Ed community. We are working to translate change to success as quickly as possible with our eyes on the prize. For the Cavs the pinnacle is the Larry O’Brien trophy and for us, we’re working to grow and evolve our solutions to help your institution achieve its full potential.
