Understanding the delicate balance of change in an organization is critical, but being able to identify its impact—both positively and negatively—on other areas of the business is essential. ATD’s Change Management Certificate program raised the bar in developing the necessary professional skills I needed through a six-step change process that highlighted tools that sharpen my business skills immensely.

This program demonstrates a progressive process of change management that allows for efficiency assessments in every step, utilizing systems thinking approaches (such as SWOT analysis, Lean, Six Sigma, and benchmarking) that will fortify the change; align leadership to the change; communicate the change for active commitment; and design, implement, and institutionalize the change process.

Working with the knowledge of Elaine Biech, a renowned expert in the field of guiding large-scale business change, I was able to understand the change management process through the use of high-impact tools (like change theory and change models, engagement practices, diversity and inclusion, motivation theories, and communication techniques) that increased my use of critical thinking processes in problem resolution.

Another benefit of this training was having the advantage of using the tools presented in the process in a case study that was very similar to my organization. Those tools sharpened my understanding of the power of efficient critical thinking, planning, and assessment. It also created a great deal of excitement among the participants because we were able to effectively understand the issue, design an efficient change model, assess the effects (both positive and negative) to create mitigation plans before implementation, understand how we would motivate employees in accepting the recommended change, create change agents to positively impact others with respect to the change, and institutionalize the change to make it sustainable.

I walked away feeling excited and empowered to make business recommendations for change that would prove not only strengthening, but motivating in sustaining efficiency, reducing waste, and developing the next generation of leaders in the continued growth of the organization.

Join an upcoming Change Management Certificate program.