ChangeFlow F.A.Q.

Welcome to our F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)

About Us

What is ChangeFlow’s mission? | What is unique about ChangeFlow?

Methodologies and Theories

What is Organization Development (OD)? | How does OD differ from other approaches to organizational change and improvement, such as change management, management consulting, TQM, or LEAN? | What is organizational culture? | What is inclusion (versus diversity)?

Working with Us

What kind of organizations do you work with? | But what do you do? | Does ChangeFlow only do consulting? | How can I contact ChangeFlow?

About Us

What is ChangeFlow’s mission?

  • We are a catalyst consultancy. Our mission is to build agile and inclusive organizations, enabling ethical people and organizations to anticipate and thrive in change.

What is unique about ChangeFlow?

  • We specialize in transformation—when significant behaviour change is required for strategy success
  • Our toolkit blends organization development, culture & inclusion, change management, and project management—uniquely addressing behaviour, processes, and structure
  • Our competencies are global, with special expertise working across Asia
  • We use systems thinking to diagnose root cause, and data to target interventions and evaluate impact

Methodologies and Theories

What is Organization Development (OD)?

  • OD is “a systemwide application and transfer of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development, improvement, and reinforcement of the strategies, structures, and processes that lead to organization effectiveness.” (T. G. Cummings & C. G. Worley, 2005. Organization Development and Change)
  • Put another way, OD is an interdisciplinary approach to management consulting. You’ll know it’s OD if it:
    1. involves change
    2. is concerned with organizational effectiveness
    3. addresses behavior
    4. takes a systems approach, and
    5. builds organizational capacity.

How does OD differ from other approaches to organizational change and improvement, such as change management, management consulting, TQM, or LEAN?

  • Organization Development (OD)…
    • …applies to changes in the strategy, structure, and processes of an entire system
    • …is based on the application and transfer of behavioral science knowledge and practice
    • …is an adaptive process for planning and implementing change
    • …involves both the creation and the subsequent reinforcement of change
    • …is oriented to proving organizational effectiveness
  • Additionally, OD puts forth that organizations are the aggregates of people and that human behavior is a crucial factor in organization functioning.

What is organizational culture?

  • The widely accepted lay definition for culture is: the way things are done around here. Culture defines what is and is not acceptable if you want to maintain membership in the group.
  • Culture has three layers. The inner layer, or core, holds the tacit beliefs and assumptions that drive actions and behaviors. Transformation efforts commonly fail either when change architects misunderstand the nature of culture and its importance to organizational effectiveness, or fail to address the core of culture appropriately.

What is inclusion (versus diversity)?

  • At a macro level, the term “Diversity” refers to the spectrum of human differences. The designation of protected classes varies by country. However, we encourage organizations to define diversity as “the varied perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups bring.” (D. A. Thomas & R. J. Ely, 1996. “Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity”)
  • In organizations, inclusion is the extent to which a team, group, or organization integrates differences into “the way we do things”—into organizational culture.
  • Whereas diversity conversations tend to focus on representation, inclusion focuses on learning from and adapting differences.

Working with Us

What kind of organizations do you work with?

  • We work across industries, sectors, and cultures. In general, engagements are most effective with organizations with at least three management layers.

But what do you do?

  • The range of organizational dynamics is knowable, often predictable even. However, we still believe in tailoring an approach for each engagement. In general, our approach includes:
    • Co-Creation. Involving the client throughout diagnosis, design, and execution
    • Real Teams. Forming cohesive, invested, and cross-functional teams for robust problem solving
    • Internal Communications. Building channels to support behavioral change and promote desired culture
    • Feedback Loops. Leveraging stakeholder feedback to engage the system and test cultural fit

Does ChangeFlow only do consulting?

  • The core of our projects address transformational change, but the road is sometimes evolutionary. Sometimes we’re brought in to drive multi-year change initiatives; or we assist with targeted interventions that can get the team or organization to the next level on their change journey (e.g., catalyst meetings with leadership, masterclasses, experiential workshops).

How can I contact ChangeFlow?

  • We have offices in the US and Singapore.

Phone: +65 8499 9434  |  +1 (650) 793-1215

Email: info@changeflowconsulting.com

 

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