If we recognize the need to create a culture which is ready to accept change as a constant then we need to be prepared to undertake the hard work of building a learning organization. Just as effective execution is a baseline for IT to engage and become intimate with the business, the ability of an IT organization to adapt and learn is a baseline for this ability to execute.
To build a learning organization you must develop specific personal and organizational capabilities. Once these capabilities are present, you can then consider how to adopt and apply models of organizational change management to your organization. It is possible to develop these capabilities as you plan for your IT Transformation initiative, but it is critical that your organization be prepared before attempting to execute such a large scale change.
William Cunningham, PMP is a Certified ITIL Practitioner. An independent consultant, he was most recently the Program Manager and Lead Process Architect for Yale University’s IT Service Management initiative. He is a member of the Southern New England Chapter of the Project Management Institute and President of the itSMF Higher Education SIG. Bill is a frequent presenter on managing organizational change, Process and Project management and IT Service Management.
