In a fast-paced world like ours, change is a constant force that impacts every aspect of life, including the sustainable management and development of organizations. Reflecting philosophically on a problem, drawing from both personal and collective experiences, can help us methodically identify actionable strategies to navigate our organizations. Thinking in terms of theses and antitheses, weighing pros and cons, or simply posing and answering questions—these are just a few ways to make this approach practical.

In this article, I am offering a dialogue between two fictional characters, Protagon and Antagon, who serve as my trusted advisors when dealing with complex concepts and problems. This meditation will explore the topic of strategizing change.

Protagon: “Have you noticed how rapidly everything is changing and how fast-paced life has become? Change is everywhere! Everything changes, including ourselves and our organizations. So, how do we effectively navigate through change? That is the question!”

Antagon: “Change?! What is change to begin with?”

Protagon: “We are referring to change in general terms—everywhere and in everything. Change is constant; this is how life progresses, and so does your organization—constantly being shaped and reshaped by human behavior, inventions, new knowledge gathered, shifting (mis)beliefs or (mis)understandings, and sharing of best practices. We live in a very fast-changing world, and the same applies to any industry or organization, as they do not function in a vacuum. Organizations, like individuals, exist within a dynamic environment.

Consider how rapidly we gather information today compared to a few decades ago, and how huge the amount of it could be. In the past, ideas and information used to flow much more slowly—through books, articles, conferences, or personal encounters. Nowadays, we communicate almost instantaneously via chats and messaging. We gather huge amounts of information from digital sources online with the speed of a mouse click. News from across the globe reaches us in real time. This speed leaves us with less time to process and react, as we are already in the midst of whatever is unfolding.”

Antagon: “How can we survive in such a hectic world and keep up with this pace of change?”

Protagon: “The world has always been under constant change since the very beginning. So, there’s no change to that at least. Still, we must improve our ability to think strategically about change. I’m referring to change that would allow for some deliberate preparation or strategic planning, not to any action that requires an immediate reaction.”

Antagon: “So, we should strategize our response to change? How shall we do that?”

Protagon: “The same way we deal with any other major problem—through analysis, forecasting, and developing courses of action that inform our strategic planning and decision-making. Strategic planning—both the process and the strategic plan as its major outcome—is the best example of strategizing our response to change. Most organizations have some sort of analytical and business intelligence capabilities to help with those processes. Some might have an analyst; others might even have a whole team of them, such as strategic analysts, performance and accountability analysts, operational research analysts, management analysts, etc.”

Antagon: “What about organizations or departments that do not have dedicated analysts?”

Protagon: “Even in such cases, thorough analysis must be performed, either by an ad hoc internal team or by outsourcing analytical capacities. It is best to have analysts conduct the analysis, as they are professionals in their field, supporting the process methodologically and ensuring rigor. It is not always safe to rely only on someone’s ‘gut feeling,’ as this provides no scientific and methodological rigor, may not be data-informed, and ultimately may lead to a biased approach from the start.”

Antagon: “I see. We can institutionalize our response to change through strategic planning, including the development of strong analytical and forecasting capabilities, or by outsourcing them. But how shall we address the human factor? How can we motivate individuals to embrace change and help institutionalize lessons learned?”

Protagon: “There is a constant continuum of transactions between the institutional level and the workforce. People create the culture of their organizations, and it gets formalized at the institutional level through formal rules, such as standard operating procedures and policies. The culture may be one that embraces change or one that is resistant to it. These rules begin to shape the actions of those who created them. Change is constant, and our standards should also be updated to stay relevant. Still, standards and rules shape our actions, but we shape them first. Overcoming resistance to change at the institutional level begins at the individual level. We sometimes catch ourselves saying, ‘We do it this way because that’s the way we’ve always done it,’ referring to culture or rules, both written and unwritten. That is valid until we decide to rethink (as Adam Grant encourages in his book, Think Again ) the rules in a way that better matches our current and future needs and accounts for triggers such as change. This can be done through interpersonal transactions, such as staff meetings, manager chats, roundtable discussions, surveys, etc.”

Antagon: “Tell me more about how we can get our workforce more involved when dealing with change.”

Protagon: “The best approach is to encourage members at all levels of the organization to get involved—not only by performing their regular duties but also by volunteering for additional tasks. This creates a win-win scenario: the organization benefits from improvements, while the volunteering members showcase their valuable skills, opening doors for career advancement.

For instance, if someone presents a process improvement idea, collaborate with them to turn that idea into action. By doing so, they actively contribute to solving a shared problem, gaining a sense of ownership in the process. Moreover, this individual could become an ideal candidate for roles such as your next process improvement program manager or another position that aligns with their strengths and skill capacities.

Take Kyle, for example, a young professional who proposed a solution for digitizing and improving the standard operating procedure (SOP) development and update process in his department. He took the initiative, became the SOP program manager, and earned a promotion. As professionals like Kyle continue to develop their problem-solving and leadership skills, they could eventually become your next division manager or even the head of your organization.”

Antagon: “But how do we find and motivate those people to get involved and help navigate through change?”

Protagon: “By knowing who we are working with. Our team members, regardless of rank or position, may have other knowledge, skills, or competencies they acquired in past careers or continue to practice elsewhere. ‘Knowledge is the new currency,’ as Jim Kouzes and Larry Posner note in their book, The Leadership Challenge. To better understand this, the concepts of multiple identities and transferable skills are useful. We all have multiple identities or roles. We are not just members of our organizations; we are also someone else somewhere else—a community association leader, consultant in a firm, adjunct professor, thought leader in another industry or a church, book author, sports coach, handyman, mentor, advisor, or trainer. The list of possible roles and identities is endless, and so are the skills that workforce members bring with them when they come to work. Many of our skills are transferable, such as communication skills, analysis skills, presentation skills, etc. That is my personal experience, and I hope it is yours, too.

Leaders and managers at all levels must know their team members well and identify their other identities and skill sets to insource their capabilities, providing opportunities for those members to contribute, shine, and feel self-actualized (the highest need in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). ³ Encouraging them to volunteer in processes and activities that they are passionate about would help improve their integrity with the organization and thus improve their work motivation and performance.”

Antagon: “Aren’t there risks that come with change?”

Protagon: “Yes, there are risks, as change has a dualistic nature—it can be a risk, but also an opportunity. Change can be a huge risk if left unmanaged, but strategized change equals improvement and thus progress. Inclusion of as many members as possible, not only in providing the key services or mission of the organization but also in strategizing and improving that service and mission, regardless of rank or position, is key to empowering them as owners of that service. The change we have meditated on is not just any change, but the one that is strategized, not chaotic. It is the change that leads to progress, improvement, and ultimately a better service to our society.”

In conclusion, the above meditations advocate for a more complex approach toward the concept of change. We can insource our strategized response to change by fostering volunteerism among the members of our organizations and by capitalizing on the skill capacities carried by their multiple identities. We can also outsource that response by exploring multiple venues for collaborative and out-of-the-box thinking, such as centers of excellence, associations, conferences, staff exchange programs, and much more. Above all, we must empower ownership among our team members and thus promote inclusion in strategizing our unified response to change, ultimately ensuring its sustainability.

DR. EVGENIY P. IVANOV works as research and analysis manager for the Virginia Beach Fire Department in Virginia, USA. Among his top professional and research experiences and interests is the application of conceptual and critical thinking through diverse analytical methods to complex concepts and problems. (eivanov@vbgov.com)