Unpacking the mysteries of change: mental modelling

Abstract

Achieving growth is the number one priority in global business. Today's top business leaders acknowledge that their human resources and their capacity for change are important factors in achieving growth in a competitive business environment. Most leaders are keen to transform their organizations, but they also recognize that they have limited organizational capability to do so effectively. In a knowledge intensive economy, the essential lever for most change initiatives is the mental model of the individual organizational member. Change initiatives that combine externalized representations of organizational mental models and organizational dialogues enhance change capabilities. Such externalization and dialogue function best when the change process addresses how the company has created value through past successes, how it creates value and uniqueness for its present customers, and how it should change to create stakeholder value in the future.

Keywords:

• Change management
• mental models
• value creation
• change capabilities
• dialogue processes
• modelling