True Management: Is The removing of obstacles

 - Cletus Olebune

            courtesy of nel-mag.org

   Very often we hear the saying: “The only constant is change”, but what is the true value of change management? The true value of change management is the understanding that true management goal is the removing of obstacles that hinder organizational growth in the right direction.

Change is not necessarily making a U-turn; change in managing a situation is okay as long as one respects the past, learned from the past, in an effort to understand the real obstacles to remove. Knowing the past and understanding the obstacles helps in knowing what direction change should take. The mindset of understanding the past is seen in leaders who appreciate and want an organization to continue its progressive growth. True leadership management is the ability to provide solutions to problem situations. There is no wrong and right solution, but the ability to provide the right results that move an organization ahead, no matter how complex. By removing obstacles, organization stakeholders are once again given the opportunity to recapture the spirit of renewal and optimism and hope that accompanied the birth of an organization.

Every healthy organization needs a regular infusion of new ideas, energy and freshness to keep it vital. Some may call this a “generational change”, as is the case with one of the political parties in Nigeria that sees generational change as a way of tapping into the younger generation as a way of infusing new ideas, energy and freshness in the organization called Nigeria. Is this change, removal of the older generation as the obstacle impeding growth in the right direction? Not necessarily, this type of change is an introduction of what is lacking rather than what the obstacle is. Change in this case as introduction of what may be lacking in mentoring the right ethical minded stakeholders is what occurs in most true change management in removing obstacles. This true change in removing obstacles must be pervasive throughout the organization for huge impacts on the operations of any organization.

Leadership at all levels must understand and value the fact that as the level of complexity increases in a system such as a nation or any other organization, the value of effective change management processes increases. Once there is a disconnection in the understanding of this in a complex system, the whole system is a failure. 

To understand potential solutions, real or perceived by removing obstacles, one must first recognize the solution space – people and process. Understanding the solution space will help in knowing which obstacles to remove, people or process. Are the people at the various leadership levels lacking in ethical practices, or does the structural process encourage non-ethical practices; therefore the lack of attention to the underlying ethical problems posed by the conflict of interest, and the absence of any sense of remorse for wrong doing.

The need to manage change in the face of increasing complexity will continue to be a challenge for organizations. The use of formal change management processes grounded in best ethical practices is the best response to the challenges of obstacle removal in true change management.

Cletus E. Olebunne is the Executive Director of Nigerian Entrepreneurial Leadership. He focuses on Entrepreneurship – general management and organizational development

© October 2005

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cletus E. Olebunne, Is the Executive Director of Nigerian Entrepreneurial Leadership (www.nel-m.org ) An accomplished scientist, and entrepreneur in the global healthcare product distribution. He is the founder of Eastern Pharmaceuticals (www.easternpharmaceuticals.com), a global distributor of healthcare products based in New Jersey. An active member of Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS), the global pharmaceutical regulatory body, the American Chemical Society, and the American Management Association (AMA).
The NEL organization seeks to:
1 Support and promote a community of entrepreneurs
2 Promote public understanding of manufacturing entrepreneurship
3 Promote and enhance the role models that reflect the ideals of manufacturing entrepreneurship
4 Be the source for information about best practices in business leadership.

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