- Change management - challenges
- How do we approach change management as a consulting firm?
- What makes Timmermann stand out in this regard?
1. Change management - challenges
Humans survive on the moon, in the polar ice, and build air-conditioned skyscrapers. They learn differential equations, soufflé preparation, and Japanese. Yet, it is so difficult for them to switch to a new IT user interface, to distribute responsibility across all shoulders in the team, from employees to leaders, to align their own behavior with the new strategy, or to transform a company from technical perfection to customer-centricity.
Although we have adapted to extremely different environments throughout evolution, our brains are primarily wired for stability, not for change. This is the biggest challenge for change management in companies. We only change when we can authentically say: "I want to, I can, I am allowed to, and I must change."
2. How do we approach change management as a consulting firm?
Change processes in companies and public organizations are diverse. Therefore, within change management consulting, it is important to capture this individuality and complexity each time anew. People used to say there were four phases of change processes: Change diagnostics, Change conception, change implementation, and success measurement. Today a more agile understanding prevails: in fact, there are hardly any strictly sequential phases; instead, many things happen in parallel. And there should be many iterations, instead of, for example, developing a change concept once and then "rolling it out." We often work with the following image to illustrate the approach:
Business topics such as reorganization, a new strategy, an IT rollout, or an an M&A process form the backdrop of the change process. Tailored to this are the conception and implementation of change measures. For example, "What does this mean for me?" workshops, unconventional events, (team) coaching, change communication campaigns, or microlearning via the ChApp (Timmermann Change App) vary depending on the business topic that underlies the change process.
As a management consultancy, we support you in a variety of topics related to change management such as organizational development, strategy implementation, culture development, post-merger integration, top team development, New Work, change in specialist projects, or agility
Our agile coaches and agile consultants are certified as SAFe specialists (scaled agile framework), Scrum masters, product owners, etc. They assist in introducing agility into your organization. To achieve this, we combine agile backbone consulting, agile frameworks & methods, and Lean Startup approaches with the strengths of a structured project management concept.
3. What makes Timmermann stand out in this regard?
With bright minds and open hearts, we shape organizational change with clients who reeeally mean it.
This credo encapsulates what we at Timmermann Partners consider particularly important:
- "With bright minds and open hearts (...)" - Most people are at least unconsciously convinced that either the head or the heart should dominate. We believe in a combination of both. Effective and lasting change succeeds on one hand only with substantive expertise and analytical clarity. On the other hand, it is not enough to be logically "right"; people must be reached emotionally and intuitively, they must be encouraged to undergo a personal development process. We combine our expertise in change, transformation, agility, innovation, and strategy with enthusiasm for creatively shaping changes with our clients. We align ourselves daily with our credo and live it in our own transformational corporate culture, as best we can. We see ourselves as a learning community where people support each other in their development processes. At the same time, we challenge ourselves to achieve common goals, give each other appreciative and direct feedback, and accept this gift. Coaching processes and systematic development dialogues are important to us for the advancement of each individual. We also bring this appreciative and direct approach to our clients, gradually and in alignment with their existing organizational culture.
- "(...) we shape organizational change (...)" We believe that change must truly be shaped; it is not enough to occasionally provide an impulse. Systemic thinking and action, as well as fostering genuine ownership of responsibility, are important to us. At the same time, we believe it would be too far-reaching to assume that every system has all the resources for every change internally and never needs external exchange or support from outside.
- "(...) with clients (...)" - We engage in co-creation with our clients because change cannot be delivered - it must be created together. In this process, good external support serves as an important catalyst, strengthening competence and quality without relieving individuals of responsibility. Specifically, we work with a joint team comprised of clients and change facilitators who collaboratively and mutually learn from each other to create a platform where many individuals within the organization take responsibility for their own development
- „(...) who reeeally mean it." - Serious change is challenging and encounters resistance, often even from those who initiate it. That's why we want to work with people who are serious about change. Those who start with themselves instead of just pointing fingers at others. What personal changes will propel me forward, and what attitudes and behaviors hold me back? Where do I deceive myself? How can I respectfully examine where I deceive myself, so that the honest look in the mirror doesn't frighten me? This is how people become "role models in learning". Because true role models in a change process are not those who stand still because they believe they already know everything and have it all figured out. They are the ones who learn with seriousness, warmth (including towards themselves), and joy - no matter how good they already consider themselves to be. This radiates enormously, and suddenly your entire organization is in a true transformation. We are happy to accompany you and your organization on this journey.
We do these things not just for the sake of feeling good, but because they lead to better results - for each individual, the team, and the entire organization.
