By Debbie Nicol, Founder, 'business en motion' & 'embers of the world'

Recently explaining Change Management to be the process which links the people to the new business performance, one keen listener asked ‘so if my hamburger chain stops making hamburgers and now wishes to sell salads, that’s a change, one that would simply require training – right?’.

Further discussions revealed that the organization had a choice to make.  Training would undoubtedly equip a team member to make and sell the salads, changing his behaviour according to the new business performance, yet ‘on a rather peripheral level’.

Picture that same salad maker having embraced the change so much that not only would he make and sell salads, but also excitedly tell the customers about the reason for the change and the new future it faces.   This may then result in this server also hearing from many customers of a new menu item, eg that a healthy add-on to salads would be fruit juice or fruit portions. He actively sends this message through the organization, resulting in upgraded choices.

The outer change in skill level has now been complemented by an inner change of becoming an active ‘partner’ in the business’s future.  The reality of change, when occurring on both outer and inner levels, is real change. The future of self-leadership is a balance of both inner and outer change.

How much of your training stops short of the real change you hope for?  What could you be doing differently to change the depth and breadth of your organization’s learning?