Organizational Change Strategies from the Land Grant University System

I was fortunate to work on a study with a number of excellent colleagues in which we looked at change in the Land Grant University System. For this post, I’d like to share some of the findings from that study. We can use the changes observed in the study as a way to better understand successful organizational change processes.

Initiation: Catalysts that Drive Change

One key finding from the study is that change in the LGUS typically comes as a result of internal or external needs. External catalysts are often identified in other change models, but the surprise with this LGUS study was that change can also come from internal desires. Specifically, internal motivation and commitment were enough to cause change to develop organically.

Leadership's Role: Navigating the Start

We observed that change often starts small in the LGUS. At those lower levels, leaders have supportive supervision and sufficient control to affect change. This finding matches with the strategy of starting small and nurturing an innovative environment.

Success Essentials: Intent and Communication

We found a few key conditions under which change could thrive. Those included effective communication, respect, intentionality, and dedicated effort. Open channels of communication in higher education are always critical for collaboration, and these findings align with that reality.

Overcoming Obstacles: Inertia and Vision Gaps

Perhaps the biggest barrier to LGUS change is bureaucratic inertia. This is where having a clear vision for the desired change is essential, as only a clear vision can be communicated openly and directly.

The Human Factor: People and Relationships

Relationships drive change. Collective efforts within LGUS are better able to achieve sustained change and long-term success than initiatives that are undertaken without broad support.

Sustaining Momentum: Relevance and Communication

Incremental growth can keep change in the LGUS moving forward. When growth is paired to ongoing communication and consistency, the changes can gradually become a part of the organization.

In Conclusion: Paving the Path of Change

There are many insights into how change can be navigated that resulted from our LGUS study. These findings offer a unique perspective on organizational change, with an emphasis on the importance of both clear communication and strategic intent. Many different types of organizations can take the lessons learned within the LGUS context and apply them to their own transformations.

Our proposed organizational change model...

For more information and details, I've linked the full manuscript below:

Organizational_Change.pdf

Download PDF • 259KB

Lamm, K. W., Sapp, L. R., & Lamm, A. J. (2018). Organizational change in the land-grant system: A qualitative evaluation. Journal of Agricultural Education, 59(1), 204-222. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2018.01204

What are your thoughts about, and experiences with organizational change? Please be sure to provide your comments below!