THE CHANGE AGENT'S GUIDE

Your Place in the social system

Once you’ve identified the problem and you’ve taken up the challenge of a planned change initiative, the next thing to think about is the people! Who are they? What sort of social grouping are we looking at? How many? How are they related to one another? Does the need for change apply to some or all?

Change never occurs in a social vacuum. There are always people to consider, different people with different needs, related to one another in complex ways. Thus, the very first step in a change process is recognizing what the system really is. In the most general sense, "system" just means a number of things that go together. Social systems are merely bunches of people that go together in some way. Just who are the social elements, how they go together, and how well they go together are crucial questions for the change agent.

Where to start?

To enter the situation on firm ground the change agent optimally should:

Assess the initial system health and potential for change
Establish a formal or informal contract to limit expectations
Identify members and begin to recruit a change team

Photo: person holding iPad with community diagram

Social Context and Starting Points for Change

"Social Systems” come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. As a change agent, understanding the social context will help you identify starting points for the change initiative. How you form your change team and define change agent roles will depend heavily on the nature of the system.

Three Dimensions to Consider:

Size
Structure
Complexity

There are at least three dimensions to consider. Most obvious is size - the shear numbers of people involved in the system, as members, users, clients, or stakeholders of one kind or another. A second dimension is structure, the extent to which members are held together and constrained by pre-specified roles, relationships, and expectations. These may range from very tight or rigid to very loose or vague. A third dimension is complexity, signifying the number of different roles and the number of interconnections among members as well as the diversity of system goals.

Organization Types: Large to Small

It can be helpful to assess the social system by looking at typical organization types:

Community
Large Organization
Coherent Medium-Sized Organization
Small Organization
Very Small Organization, Family, Couple
Individual
Individual beliefs

Regardless of the size or structure of the system undergoing change, the seven-stage change model applies. For each type, the focus differs somewhat but the basics stay the same, regardless of the size, the scope of the project, or the type of problem that is being confronted. On the other hand, it should be obvious that Types 1, 2, and 3 may require significant resources and more careful consideration of entry strategies.

Should we really do this?

Understanding the social context creates starting points for change. However, not all systems are amenable to change at a given moment. The best change agents have to have a feel for timing and appropriateness. The lead questions should be:

Is this system ready for a change process at this time?
Will negative consequences of disruption outweigh benefits?
Can the system take it?

Assessing System Health and Potential for Change

As a change agent, your first practical step should be assessing the social system's health and readiness for change. Here is a five-part guided resource to help you do so.

Five Part Assessment: System Health and Readiness

Part 1: Diagnosis: social system health and dynamics

Part 2: Preconditions: What you should ask yourself before getting involved

Part 3: Your place: Understanding where you are starting from

Part 4: System Change Posture: Understanding readiness for change

Part 5: Analysis: Should we really do this?

download assessment resource [pdf] >