Change is no longer a temporary disruption in local government; it is a permanent environment in which councils now operate. Financial pressures, shifting policy priorities, the legacy of the pandemic, and the disruptive potential of largescale reorganisation have created a climate of constant flux. For staff and leaders alike, this can feel overwhelming.
That overwhelm is real. Traditional tools – project management, programme boards, consultancy frameworks – offer structure, but they do not address the human experience of change enough, in what is essentially a people focused sector. I want to pose the question: are we simply doing change wrong?
Many of the challenges around change and transformation come back to the human experience of work. We often hear of change programmes being stuck because of behaviour, uncertainty, resistance, morale, culture. These are not process issues, they are people issues that need a completely fresh approach – one that draws on organisational psychology as an enabler of effective change that sticks.
For too long we have allowed programme management to dominate how we do change. In addition, we've trained people managers in the art of managing ‘business as usual' and not leading change. This has resulted in managers who are disempowered and struggling when expected to play their part in effective change. We've all experienced change programmes which deliver milestones but not outcomes, and stalled when met with staff resistance and cultural issues.
Take local government reorganisation (LGR) as an example. Yes, we absolutely need clear process and programme management in place – all of us know there is a huge amount of work to do and this needs managing and planning well. But we also need to consider the people impact as an enabler of successful implementation.
If I were to open an organisational psychology textbook we'd see chapters on motivation, leadership, dealing with uncertainty, our sense of professional identity, resilience and culture. All these will be huge critical success factors in the delivery of LGR. Our research interviewing over 30 officers and members who have been through LGR in recent years shows that it's the human impact that leaves the legacy which most needs unpicking once the excitement of vesting day has settled and the business of real change can be addressed.
The human experience of the transition can leave scars and cultural issues. This is mirrored by private sector research around mergers and acquisitions, where cultural integration is cited as a huge blocker for success.
Reorganisation is not just a technical exercise in redrawing boundaries and creating new organisations; it is a profound human transition. Councils that integrate organisational psychology into their approach will not only deliver structural change but also sustain motivation, wellbeing and trust – and create a lasting sense of belonging.
For councils not going through LGR, dealing with challenges around budget pressures, changes in demand and development of new technologies – all these too have a human impact. They bring in questions around leading through uncertainty, ethics, values and organisational culture. Using project and programme management alone will not deliver the in-depth transformation we need to see.
For too long we have allowed programme management to dominate how we do change. In addition, we've trained people managers in the art of managing ‘business as usual' and not leading change. This has resulted in managers who are disempowered and struggling when expected to play their part in effective change. We've all experienced change programmes which deliver milestones but not outcomes, and stalled when met with staff resistance and cultural issues.
What if we started to design an approach to change and transformation that treated culture as the driving force, not an afterthought? What if we used the best of project management techniques to keep us on track, alongside key psychology principles to really affect the change from the workforce perspective?
Change is here to stay. The question is whether we continue to manage it solely with tools designed for another era (and in fact another sector – but that's a whole different article!), or whether we embrace the psychology of change to lead with clarity, resilience, and impact.
By equipping leaders with the skills to navigate uncertainty, embedding resilience into organisational culture, and recognising that people – not processes – are at the heart of successful reorganisation and transformation, local government can not only survive disruption but thrive within it.
Lucy Trueman is managing director and founder of Trueman Change
To explore these themes in more detail, join our free online event Change Chat: Leading Change – Drawing on Psychology on 28 November. Visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/change-chat-leading-change-drawing-on-psychology-tickets-1566888609009?aff=oddtdtcreator
