Change Appetite and Change Ability…What about “Change Attitude”?

Many of you would have heard the expressions “Change Ability” (capability to change) and “Change Appetite” (The motive for change). The two basic considerations for any change journey…I would like to throw out my new favourite and that is “Change Attitude“.

As “Change Folk” we assess each change assignment by listening to stakeholders, capturing tangible and intangible requirements and packaging them into change programs and projects. We do this mindful of an organisations “Ability and Appetite” for change. These two views of change allow us to understand the bite size pieces for each change increment “Ability” and the motive for getting to the end “Appetite. But what about an assessment of how people view change management itself as a discipline?

I recently represented a client which had me speaking to various stakeholders. It was a typical array of conversations but what was different this time was that one interviewee had it in for change management. I’m not sure if it was the cost, prior bad experience, didn’t see the value or simply didn’t get it? Up until that moment I had assumed that change management and change leadership were fairly accepted as the modern day approach.

I conjured up the term “Change Attitude” while in a risk management workshop last year. The presenter talked about a couple of new concepts in risk management [for me at least] one of which was “Risk Attitude”. Since that workshop I have pondered an equivalent for attitude in a change context.

This got me considering some questions…

I would like to reach out to my LinkedIn colleagues to learn your view on if there is room in our industry for the term “Change Attitude“?