"Change Management" is Proactive by Definition

Recently, I was reading the latest e-newsletter from Prosci, the change management specialist company. The topic was "Resistance: understanding a phenomena that is natural to all of us". Prosci has a way of explaining the obvious in very clear and simple language, which I appreciate, but I still disagree with some of their points.

Here is the excerpt that caught my attention (my emphasis):

".... rather than simply designing a “great” solution to the call center structure and beginning implementation, a proactive change management program could have been put in place to engage and support employees through the transition. Rather than waiting for resistance to happen, or being taken by surprise when key managers resisted the change, the leadership and project team could have assumed that resistance to change is a normal and natural phenomenon."

As I have written in previous posts and articles, to describe change management as proactive is redundant. Change management is proactive by definition. Someone might say, "Well, it depends on what you mean by 'proactive'." So let me spell it out fully. "Proactive" means that your CM program is:

1) Based on predictions and recommendations resulting from an analysis of the changees, their org culture, past change history, and characterisitics of the change itself, and

2) Planned in advance of implementation.

If your CM activity is not proactive, then you are not managing change, just reacting to it.

Likewise, in recent interviews for CM Lead positions, I have faced the question of "What interventions strategies do you use?" as if interventions are the heart of change management. The focus on interventions and the popularity of this question tells me that most people do not see change management as proactive. The better your CM analysis and planning are, the less frequently you should have to resort to interventions.

No CM plan/program will ever prevent 100% of resistance to change, and some interventions will always be necessary, as will changes to the CM plan. The need for and frequency of interventions tells us how well we analyzed and planned; how well we understood the changees and their organization.