The only permanent thing in the world is change. Trite as it might sound, it’s the reality. Changes happen in our personal lives, in our workplace, in society. There’s no use trying to resist it when it is our ability to embrace change and adapt to it that will determine our success, and in the greater scheme of things, our survival. But when you’re at the other end of the stick, when you’re the one creating the change and trying to get people’s buy-in and rally behind you, how do you do it exactly? Dr. Jeff Fox discusses how.

Dr. Fox teaches at numerous colleges, universities, and criminal justice academies about various topics including leadership, ethics, emergency preparedness and homeland security. His expertise comes from almost three decades working in the criminal justice field and an impressive educational credentials that include an MBA, a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Investigation, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration.

Dr. Jeff Fox is back at the Justice Clearinghouse to talk about creating and managing organizational change. Some of the topics Dr. Fox covered in this course include:

• An anecdote that teaches empathy when it comes to rolling out changes.
• The book Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. John Spencer that has become a cult classic when it comes to understanding and adapting to change.
• The common reasons and pressures that bring forth change in agencies especially in the government/public service sector.
• The three types of leadership that create change – both good and bad – in the workplace.
• Transformational leaders as the best types to bring positive changes through proactive and engaging methods to inspire and motivate productive teams/team members.
• The four key elements of Transformational Leadership and how these allow people to be more receptive to change.
• The common reactions to change that individuals have.
• Dealing with resistance by ensuring change is collaborative, interactive, transparent and organic.
• Likely consequences when change isn’t introduced or done correctly in an organization.
• The four stages of transition/change and how leaders must respond to each:
  • Denial characterized by a decline in productivity and focus on the past.
  • Resistance characterized by anxiety, lack of motivation and focus on self.
  • Experimentation where people try to come up with new methods and ideas to adapt to change.
  • Participation where individuals fully adapt to the change.
• What happens in the process of change including questions that spring up and how leaders can communicate effectively with the team amidst challenges.
• The Kotter’s Eight Steps of Change that considers planning for change, engaging and enabling towards change, and sustaining change.
• Highlighting leadership and management organization tools to inspire and educate the team.
• Planned change and the process involved to move an organization towards a new or improved state.
• The two most common sources of failure in changes identified as naivete and lack of a team helping the leader to propel the change forward
• Criteria to consider when it comes to the pace of change taking place.
• The importance of taking care of both the soft and hard sides of organizational change toward success.
• The two styles of change where Participatory Change is preferred to solicit advice and support of other stakeholders and the buy-in of the team.
• Change management methodologies and checklist to serve as guidelines when rolling out changes to a team or organization.
• Critical success factors to ensure proposed changes will be more likely to succeed and embraced by the agency.
• Poll questions checked the webinar participants’ perception of change and how changes lasted in their experience.
• Dr. Fox clarified and provided examples to the attendees’ questions about:
  • The importance of timing when pitching ideas or rolling out changes.
  • Being in the middle management and stuck between having to enforce top management’s decisions while dealing with the struggle of your team adapting to it.
  • How the criminal justice profession tends to be more resistant to change due to traditions and being bound by the rule of law.
  • Dealing with resistance from the leadership when changes are being introduced from the ground-up.
  • Making people see things outside their perspective.
  • Top of mind reasons why some changes don’t endure.
  • Employees’ diminishing loyalty and increased distrust.

Books Referenced During this Webinar

• Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
• The Ultimate Guide to Excellent Public Service Leadership and Management by Dr. Jeff Fox
• The Ultimate Guide to Being a Great Police Officer by Dr. Jeff Fox
• The Ultimate Guide to Excellent Teaching and Training by Dr. Jeff Fox