Building engagement is crucial for every organization. But the traditional top-down coercive change management paradigm—in which leaders “light a fire” under employees—actuallydiscouragesengagement.
Richard Axelrod offers a better way. After debunking six common change management myths, he offers a proven, practical strategy for gettingeveryone—not just select committees or working groups—enthusiastically committed to organizational transformation. This revised edition features new interviews—everyone from the vice president of global citizenship at Cirque du Soleil to a Best Buy clerk—and new neuroscience findings that support Axelrod’s model. It also shows how you can foster engagement through everyday conversations, staff meetings, and work design.Foreword Preface Introduction: Engagement Makes a Difference Chapter 1. Why Change Management Needs Changing Chapter 2. Engagement is the New Change Management Chapter 3. Six Change Management Myths Chapter 4. Lead with an Engagement Edge Chapter 5. Leadership Conversations that Foster Engagement Chapter 6. Widen the Circle of Involvement Chapter 7. Connect People to Each Other Chapter 8. Create Communities for Action Chapter 9. Promote Fairness Chapter 10. When Engagement Disengages: Some Words of Caution Before You Begin Chapter 11. Design Work with Engagement Built In Chapter 12. How to Start Where You Are Chapter Reviews Resources -How to Build Trust -A Brief History of the New Change Management Works Cited Acknowledgments Index About the Axelrod Group, Inc. About the Author“Over 70 percent of organization change efforts fail. Clearly, change management needs an overhaul. Just as clearly, Dick Axelrod has provided the tools for reformation. Engaging people may seem obvious, but how to do it is not. This highly useful book provides enlightenment for the not-so-obvious.&l3,