Straight Talk About Change

Recently, I came across a job title that gave me a chuckle: Change Communications Manager.

The description of the job was even better (pure business gobbledygook):

“Develop and implement a change management and communication strategy based on a situational awareness of the details of the change and the groups impacted by the change. Identify resistance and performance gaps, and work to develop and implement corrective actions. Create and enable reinforcement mechanisms, recognition strategies and performance objectives …”

Well, you get the idea. No need to go on. It’s obvious this company sees change — the process of making something different — as tortuous, guaranteed to generate resistance at every turn. It assumes we can be manipulated to abandon our comfort zone by a barrage of words.  

It fails to recognize change can be relatively easy and often welcome. Synonyms of change include to advance, develop, diversify, transform, innovate.

By the time you receive this issue of the ASHI Reporter, there will have been a smooth change in ASHI leadership. Officers in new positions and five new directors will bring their strengths, experiences, ideas, philosophies and personalities to the leadership mix.

In addition to the smooth annual change of leadership, ASHI, through the years, has changed its Bylaws, Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics, membership categories and much more.

Yes, it takes courage to change, but ASHI has no need of gobbledygook. Advancing with due diligence and straight talk has served ASHI well in the past and hopefully will serve it well in the future.