PEOPLE DO CHANGE

White, the CEO and co-founder of management consultancy Cornerstone Agility, presents a guidebook for managing change in the workplace.

The author offers thoughts and strategies for improving change management, and she stresses throughout that if one’s game plan isn’t firmly grounded in the thoughts and reactions of individual workers, it can lead to severe consequences, including increased employee burnout, greater turnover, and, consequently, decreased workplace results. Traditional change management tends to focus on “the rational and logistical elements of transformation,” notes the author, and this tendency can overlook emotional challenges, such as fear or uncertainty. This, in turn, can lead to a work environment that’s not only unhappy but brittle, and unlikely to adapt to future changes. As a solution, White proposes “Human-Centric Change Management,” a process that places people at the heart of change and “addresses the psychological and emotional aspects of transformation that are often overlooked.” White has developed her theories over many years with the help of well-known contributors, including Chip Heath and Dan Heath, the authors of Switch (2010) and Made to Stick (2007); and Jonathan Haidt, the author of The Coddling of the American Mind (2018). In a series of short, accessible chapters, White discusses the various strategies of her approach, including the transparent management style known as Kanban, which draws on “the idea that by making work, processes, and progress visible, teams can gain clarity, promote collaboration, and quickly identify and address bottlenecks.” Like many business and management books, White’s vision of the workplace can sometimes feel idealized, and it shares some questionable presuppositions, such as that all workers require comforting during times of change. However, the book’s enthusiasm for simple but effective ideas, such as fellowship and clear communication, is infectious.

An optimistic and often involving set of change-management proposals.