Change Management Must Die, Part 5

RECAP: If it wishes to continue to exist, here’s why and how change management must reimagine itself: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. This is the final installment.

In Part 4, we listed scores of new and disruptive questions facing change management in the AI Era. But we left the most crucial, era-defining question for last...

What’s the Role of People in the Future of Work?

This one question —unthinkably unnecessary just months ago — will be the most important, strategic, AI-driven question that every company and every leader must address during the next five years.

Currently, no one knows how to answer that question! It’s changing by the hour. And the answer will vary from company to company, industry to industry, role to role.

Strategic coach Gilad Wagner from New Zealand posted a story about two co-founders who raised investment seed funding, and within a month had a product in production, and partnered with major US suppliers in a heavily regulated industry full of complex risk management requirements. How many employees, besides the two co-founders? Zero. Nada. Zilch. All done with AI agents. And Mercor, which uses AI to automate the hiring process for clients, scaled from $1 million to $100 million with under two dozen employees.

For those with their heads buried in the sand, stories like that sound like tales of AI science-fiction. “Ludicrous! That could never happen broadly, to most work and most people!”

Well, naysayer... Here are McKinsey’s thoughts in their post, The Future of Work is Agentic: “[AI agents are] a workforce — a workforce that will conduct end-to-end processes... Some companies are even promoting the notion of a zero-FTE [no employees] department — an entire function fully performed by an agent.” And strategy consultants at BCG just published a playbook on how to prepare for an AI-first future.

How does that possibility totally change the game for us mere humans in the workforce? To find out, we need to explore...

What is the role for our undeniable, unduplicatable humanness in getting things done, satisfying customers, and making money for companies? Is it our compassion and empathy? Our creativity and imagination? Our grit and determination? Our passions? Our judgment? Our values? Our sarcastic wit, charm, and sense of humor?

Within five years, which tasks and roles will be done by AI agents? All while your friends, relatives, and maybe you, find themselves unemployed or under-employed?

While none of us knows exactly how things will turn out... it’s crucial that ALL of us are fully engaged in the debate, and contribute passionately, actively, continuously.

Bots and agents don’t need Change Management. Or HR. Or Talent Development, Talent Management, Upskilling, or compensation or time-off. Or, apparently, more than a few human teammates.

Which brings us to the closing question of this five-part series...

What’s Change Management’s Role in the Future of Work?

Change Management’s (CM) future could be amazing! If...

• If companies and leaders define, shape, declare, and place a high value on the humanness that ALL people — not just the highly-paid, highly-specialized masters of thinking, creating, and doing — can deliver in the AI Era.

• If CM lives by Taijitu Principles: Dedicating itself equally to helping the organization change and enhancing each individual’s ability to change. Key value: There is no rapid organizational change without its people changing just as quickly.

• If CM reimagines Assessments: To deeply understand what people need to do their best and manage their own change. Deriving most quantitative data from digital worktools, and qualitative data by doing lots more walking a mile in the workforce’s shoes.

• If CM delivers reimagines Upskilling: Managing company changes by ensuring that individuals can manage their own changes rapidly, in ways that enhance their ability to create and control their own destiny — as well as the company’s.

• If CM operates on a whole new strategic level, creating and delivering new Human/AI relationships and partnerships.

• If CM takes on the role of Lead Change Integrator: Delivering solutions that merge and harmonize how we all — organizations, teams, individuals, technologies, tools, processes — get better at managing change together. We all need help connecting all the change-dots together. THAT’s change management’s new role.

Falter on any of those CM reimaginings, and we’re back to: Change Management Must Die.

(Test that conclusion for yourself. Go here for a killer AI prompt that evaluates career strategies and skills against the likely conditions of 2030. Input your certified change management skills and deep experiences, and you’ll likely get this: “Change management systems are too slow... If you maintain your current trajectory without adapting, you risk stagnation and career irrelevance.”

Personally, I hope Change Management does rapidly reimagine itself. Because it’s far more than a lever that leaders pull to push change through the organization.

We all struggle with, and need to get better at, changing together. That’s what all individuals, teams, tools and technologies, processes, goals and objectives have always had in common — our need to work together to change. And all of us need help connecting all the change-dots together, in ways that matter for customers, for our company, and for us. THAT’s change management’s new role! Helping all of us manage change, together.

The AI Era has created new opportunities — a call to action:

To translate organizational and digital transformation into people transformation.

Will we step up?

Bill Jensen is a seasoned strategy and transformation executive, advisor to C-suite execs, globally-known keynote speaker, and author of nine best-selling leadership and change books, including Simplicity, Disrupt, Future Strong, and The Day Tomorrow Said No. Reach him at bill@simplerwork.com.