What changing bags teaches me about Change Management

Two weeks ago, I had my appointment for the first COVID vaccine shot. As I was waiting for the vaccine center staff to come and check my documents, I experienced a most feminine adrenaline rush: “My passport… where is my passport??? Oh, I must have left it in the other bag!!!!” I have no idea why I decided to change my usual everyday backpack for a crossbody bag that day, but I did. And for the first time in more than a decade, I forgot to check whether I moved my passport from one bag to the other.

A quick inventory of the content of my bag made me question my overall life priorities… A back-up mask, two hands disinfectant bottles, a receipt from a flower shop, a notification for registered mail waiting for me at the post office, my keys, a pen and post-it notes, a mango-flavored lip balm. And my wallet, where I had my residence permit – with a photo (a way more normal looking photo than the one in my passport, by the way), and all my identity details. So, I thought I could use that as Identity Plan B. And it worked, thank goodness!

On my way home, while ruining my lip balm with an ice cream, I started thinking whether I could take any learning from the changing bags episode into my Change Management work. I hope I get to move all my ideas from my head and onto the below list.

Between utility and accessory, how many bags do you really need? In all honesty, this is a painful question to even type out! If I define “need” strictly through the lens of “needing something to carry my stuff around in”, then the answer is pretty simple. The real “counting” starts when I define “need” as a means to say something about myself through the choice of my bag, handbag, purse, backpack… It is not just a fashion statement. It is an identity statement. This is a good takeaway for Change Management work. Between utility and accessory, how many transformation initiatives does an organization need? What identity statements do projects make, beyond being within the “fashion trends” of digital transformation, culture turnaround, future of work, organizational redesign? There is no one single answer to this question. And definitely no “one size fits all.” American writer of legal thrillers Lisa Scottoline gave us a real-life inspired Change Management reflection: “Let’s talk about a decision women have to make every morning – big purse or little purse?”

What are the statements of your identity? The most important item in my “bag of the day” is my passport. I keep my ID card tucked inside the cover of the passport. Unless I forget them “in the other bag”, these two are always with me. Luckily, I have other means to prove my identity, like the residence permit. Which, thankfully enough, I keep separately from the passport. Needing to prove my identity without having my passport with me prompted me to think about the various “statements of identity”, and how important, helpful, and even safe, it is to keep them separately. More often than not, Change Management work is perceived as managing some kind of loss, hopefully before gaining something new. If we try to imagine organizational equivalents of a misplaced or lost identity document, what are the other statements of organizational identity you can rely on? How many ways does one organization have to prove their identity? How many and what types of these identity statements can one organization afford to misplace, forget or lose without losing any means of proving what they are and what they stand for?

What do you match your bag with? The spin-offs of this seemingly simple question are virtually infinite… Should your shoes match your bag? Typically, people match their handbag to the shoes they are wearing. If you are wearing gray shoes, you can choose a bag with fun colors or designs. Should purse match shoes or dress? The answer is no, your shoes and purse don't have to match. Just like with any style choice, you can mix and match as long as your overall look is cohesive. If one piece is a true statement, then tone down on the others. Match your purse to your dress and have a pair of brightly colored shoes. Should bag and shoes match for a wedding? Here’s a tip from a “Mother of the bride outfit: getting it right” article out there on the internet: “Shoes, bag and hat do not need to all match as long as your outfit coordinates as a whole then all three can be different colors if you wish. Often, we recommend two items in a color is enough to coordinate, again, you can over match!” It is never simple, is it? It looks like it all comes down to a “coherent look”, and not so much to a rigid set of strict rules. Could the same be true for organizational transformation? I would adventure into agreeing. It is a bit of systems thinking at work here. Value interaction over action and reaction, the coherence of the whole over the strict matching of the parts. However, do not lose the matching part completely. Here is a good advice from whowhatwear.com: “Instead of coordinating your bag and shoes, keep your entire look within the same palette; that way your footwear can stand out by simply being a different color. If you choose a handbag that so closely coordinates with your ensemble, choose a pair of shoes that distinctly doesn't (and vice versa).” Do not be afraid to mix and match – in your fashion choices, as well as in your organizational transformation decisions. As long as the outcome is comfortable, consistent and true to who you are, do dare to make bold decisions!

It is almost frustrating that today, after writing this article, I chose to work from home, and there is no immediate “need” for a bag… On this note, my closing thought is that we all look more put together with a cup of coffee and a new bag!

Until next week, take care, and add that bag to cart…