In organizations around the world there is a lot of chaos and turmoil. We see mergers and acquisitions, organizations downsizing and/or restructuring, we see an aging workforce, a talent shortage and a lack of succession planning. Now you have heard me talk about some of this in previous articles that I have written, but now I have some questions for you.

In your organization who is responsible for overseeing change? What would constitute change in your organization? Who is responsible for helping your personnel navigate and understand the change that is going on in the organization? Do you understand the impact of change to your organization and just as importantly to your people? They are your most valued resource and one that we often forget about in change initiatives.

Let’s look at who is responsible for overseeing change! In some organizations a role of change agent or change manager has been created to oversee the introduction of change. Depending on their experience this can be a value add to the change initiative, or it can also add to the confusion and chaos. There has to be a lot of focus placed on understanding the impact of change on the organization and personnel. That does not always happen.

Change has a lot of meanings in a number of different organizations. Change has been described or defined as; to cause to be different, to give a completely different form or appearance to; transform; to undergo transformation or transition; the act, process, or result of altering or modifying. We see that we have a number of different challenges in an organization that would qualify under these definitions. For example, a leadership development program would transform personnel into potential leaders of an organization. A succession plan would create a situation that would transform or transition from the incumbent to the successor. The development of a formal recruitment and retention program would require the altering or modifying of what is in place to day. The list could go on!

Who is responsible for the navigation and understanding of change in the organization is a good segue into the next part of our conversation. I want to tie this conversation to also understanding the impact of change on the organization and its personnel. These two are very closely aligned – some might say attached at the hip! Change has a huge impact on the organization and its people. It has a far reaching impact on other stakeholders as well. Clients/customers, business partners, owners of the company are all impacted by change.

Navigating and understanding change is not an easy task. You need to be able to develop a relationship with the organization and its people. You need to be able to understand the impact that change has on each of these groups. You need to develop some innovative ways to help the organization and its personnel in addressing change.

Let me introduce you to the “Change Mediator!” A mentor or mentors working in your organization help people and the organization navigate through organizational change and chaos with a primary focus on people. If you think of any type of change such as the ones we have mentioned above, the “Change Mediator” or mentor can and will play a dynamic role in your organization.  A mentor is focused on the development of trusted relationships (organizational and personal) and assisting personnel with their personal and professional growth. With a mentor(s) your organization and its people will begin to work together to realize a timely Return on Investment (ROI) as all parties understand the benefits of change and its impact on each other. The mentor will assist personnel in dealing with change and adapting to the change quicker – resulting in increased productivity in a shorter period of time. This has a huge impact on the organization’s bottom-line.

A new definition has entered the market place!

A mentor is defined as a “Change Mediator” helping people and organizations navigate through organizational change and chaos with a primary focus on people and their personal and professional growth enabled through the “power of mentoring!”