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The Human Dimensions of Change Management with Nicole Gahagan, EdD
Manage episode 477172979 series 3436398
Sarah Holtan, PhD sits down with Nicole Gahagan, Ed.D., Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Madison Area Technical College, to talk about the intricate world of change management within higher education. In this episode, Dr. Gahagan shakes up the conventional approach to institutional change by focusing intently on human needs. Looking to improve student success and employee experiences? This one's for you.
Dr. Gahagan shares how ignoring human needs can backfire during change, causing resistance and inertia. She highlights the importance of purpose in change initiatives, stating that without understanding the "why," stakeholders might disengage. She also discusses her research insights into the key human needs during change: coherence, purpose, belonging, support, and confidence.
Want to know how focusing on these elements can change how an organization operates? Listen to discover Dr. Nicole Gahagan's unique take on creating a sustainable culture that embraces change as an opportunity, not a threat.
Episode Highlights:
03:11 - Change doesn't have to be this ominous, jarring, or exhausting things, but it can certainly feel that way when institutions aren't managing it well. The biggest mistake I see colleges and universities make are a lack of investment in building organizational change capacity and then failing to take on a human-centered approach during change events. So if leaders initiating change do not want to spend their time managing the panic that ensues every time a change is introduced into the environment, then they need to be disciplined and deliberate about doing those two things. So it's really about creating the conditions right for continuous improvement and innovation and for that to be something that you are building and maintaining over time with a lot of intention in order to create and sustain this change ready state.
06:54 - Based on my research and validated through my experience, humans have about five baseline needs in order to think and act differently in a way that will help the organization achieve their goals. That's coherence, purpose, belonging, support, and confidence. And without acknowledging or addressing, these people can't or simply won't change their mindsets or behaviors deeply and pervasively enough for an organization to achieve their intended outcomes. It's when these needs aren't met that you start to see resistant behaviors emerge.
14:19 - I wanted to find out how mid-level administrators make sense of their role in the context of organizational change. I use mid-level administrators, or I defined it very broadly, because it really depends on their organization and the layers of leadership they have. But what I said was anybody between cabinet and front lines that has some sort of supervisory responsibility, somebody who is in some way managing or leading others and would need to help cascade that change.
Sarah Holtan, PhD
Nicole Gahagan, Ed.D.
53 episodes
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