Whether they are change agents, leaders, or managers, the best change management professionals reflect on their previous experiences involving a change both in personal or professional environments. For this week’s assignment, think of a change that you have experienced and write a story about it. Here is a definition of a story to help you:
A story expresses how and why life changes. It begins with a situation in which life is relatively in balance: You come to work day after day, week after week, and everything’s fine. You expect it will go on that way. But then there’s an event—in screenwriting, we call it the “inciting incident”—that throws life out of balance. You get a new job, or the boss dies of a heart attack, or a big customer threatens to leave. The story goes on to describe how, in an effort to restore balance, the protagonist’s subjective expectations crash into an uncooperative objective reality. A good storyteller describes what it’s like to deal with these opposing forces, calling on the protagonist to dig deeper, work with scarce resources, make difficult decisions, take action despite risks, and ultimately discover the truth. (McKee, 2003, p. 52)
To get started, write down your experience of change in about one page, and then answer these questions:
- What made this experience a “story”?
- What lessons for managing change can you take from your story?
- Compare these with the lessons from the Starbucks, Sears, and Detroit stories. Which are the same?
- From your experience, what new lessons have you added, particularly for future changes in which you might be involved?
- What three main conclusions can you take from these stories about managing change?
In your paper, ensure to utilize the textbook and integrate at least three peer-reviewed sources along with their citations and references. Your paper must be APA formatted and include at least 1500 words. Please use the APA 7th Essay Template available in the Supplementary Course Resources>>APA 7th Edition Resources section.
