New journeys in change: A ‘hybrid’ primer — Part 2

Abstract

As the global COVID-19 pandemic starts to ease and a return — wholly or in part — to the office for many begins, organisations are taking the first tentative steps toward a new, ‘hybrid’ manner of working. The emergent term relates to where we work, essentially comprising a choice between two known locations: office and home. In the absence of case studies, an underlying philosophy of hybrid and behavioural norms that develop over time, organisations are attempting to fashion their own interpretation of the idea reflective of their purpose, culture and strategy. It can be argued that far from being a period of unprecedented change, the pandemic has been characterised by stasis and that its potentially transformative effect is only just starting to be felt upon emergence. On this basis, a clear, effective and flexible method for leading change is required — one that is iterative, organic and truly relevant to the nature of change itself. In Part One of this paper we explored the essence of change (the why), allowing us in this second part to consider in more detail how we enable change and what we specifically need to do to ensure its success. The paper again uses modified extracts from the book Elemental Change.