Many community leaders come to us because they want their community to be a Healthy Parkinson’s Community, and they want to play a part. Along the way, there are inevitable barriers to enacting change because change is hard. And while passion is a great driver, the proper tools to manage change, prevent burnout, and keep moving the ball forward no matter how long it takes are critical. So, we’re always looking for ways to learn from others. The following resources outline methods to help manage sustainable, actionable, and positive change.
Resources and Articles to Read on Change Management
You may have already noticed that leading change in your community requires both planning and effective communication. These articles provide an overview of how to manage change, resistance to chance, and different behaviors in the community.
The Four Principles of Change Management from Mind Tools
The article serves as a primer that you may be familiar with, as it outlines the four principles that guide change management, including (1) understanding, (2) planning, (3) implementing, and (4) communicating change.
Managing Resistance to Change Overview from ProSci
Resistance to change is normal and there are many reasons why our brains don’t like change. This article dives into why resistance occurs, what it looks like behaviorally, the cost of change resistance, and how to manage change resistance.
Tools and Toolkits on Change Management
In addition to the Healthy Parkinson’s Communities (HPC) toolkit and network, other organizations offer resources that may spark action within your community. The following tools and toolkits highlight how to navigate change management practices in your Parkinson’s community.
Activity: Circle of Concern v Circle of Control from Discovery in Action
Leading community change efforts can feel overwhelming when considering the vast needs of a community. Use this tool to narrow down what you and your group can control and influence as you work to build specific goals within your community or navigate anxious feelings within yourself or others.
Change Management Toolkit: Tips, tools, and techniques for leading a successful change initiative from the University of Berkeley
- The University of California, Berkeley, has developed a change management toolkit with helpful worksheets on communicating and enforcing change effectively.
- The toolkit offers worksheets to guide reflection on stakeholders, risk, and practical decision-making.
COVID-19 Vaccine Community Education and Activation Toolkit from the Ohio Department of Health
The toolkit serves as an example of community education through community engagement, with practices applicable to any major project with the goal of change. It is especially helpful when considering how to communicate about change and garner buy-in from your stakeholders.
Videos, Webinars, & Podcasts on Change Management
Here are various videos, podcasts, and webinars from organizations that are implementing change. These resources offer a wealth of ideas that can spark your own work as a community change leader.
- 5 Steps in the Change Management Process by the Harvard Business School Online: This primer outlines the steps of the change management process in a short yet informative overview.
- Animated Book Review of Switch by Chip & Dan Heath from Between the Lines Book Summaries: The book Switch by Chip and Dan Heath dives into how to make change less difficult by outlining key moves that keep up the momentum of change efforts whether it be in building healthier habits or leading community-wide change efforts. This video highlights the key messages from Switch to help guide you in successful change efforts.
- The Change Curve by MindTools: As we navigate change processes, there are a range of reactions that a change leader might observe and react to. The Change Curve helps to break down the different phases of change, behaviors that can be observed during each phase, and how to navigate each phase within groups.
- Communicating a Vision for Change from James Kotter: Having a vision for change often feels like enough; however, effectively communicating that vision for change is the most critical component of leading change initiatives. If the vision is not effectively communicated, people can feel lost, disengaged, or disconnected from the work. This video offers tips on how to communicate a vision effectively.
- Emotions and Change: How are you feeling in the middle of change? From the Emotional Intelligence Network: Our emotions are deeply complex, especially when we are facing change. What happens when we are in an unfamiliar environment of change? This video captures the range of feelings people experience during change and how to shift them to something positive.
- How to Deal with Resistance to Change from Tedx Talks: This Tedx talk offers a thoughtful reflection on how to recognize indirect or passive resistance to change that can be detrimental to sustainable change.
- Kotter’s 8 Step Change Management Model: John Kotter is one of the most influential voices in leading effective change, whether it be in organizational leadership or community building. This video breaks down change management into eight steps for sustainable and powerful change.
- Personal Transition through Change from John Fisher, Psychologist
- Significant change requires community as well as individual-level behavior change, and in this video, Fisher outlines the behavioral processes involved in change. The video specifically is important for recognizing patterns of resistance and how to address them in the larger scope of the project.
- The author maps change onto the stages of grief and provides strategies to support individuals involved in the change process with the recognition that each person experiences change differently, requiring adaptive responses.
- Why Do Our Brains Find Change Fifficult? By Hilary Scarlett from Kogan Page: Change is difficult for our brains and is often demonstrated in change-resistant behavior. When people resist change, it is not likely due to failure in leading or carrying out the change but resistance from the brain to lean into the uncertainty of change. This video with Hilary Scarlett touches on why our brains lead us to resist change and how to move through the resistance.
- Living Well with Parkinson’s and Re-Defining Identity with Jan and Bill Grimes: In this podcast, Jan and Bill talk about how adopting new identities and finding ways to align a new or existing identity with our community work offers the path of less resistance.
Thank you for the outstanding work you’re doing in the Parkinson’s community. We hope these resources can help you address the change needed to build a healthy Parkinson’s community.
If you have questions, be sure to reach out to us at communities@dpf.org.
Looking for previous Resource Roundup? You can find a collection of previous roundups here.