Organizational Change and the Lessons Learnt Process

Organizational Change and the Lessons Learnt Process

Change is often inevitable. Indeed, in today's increasingly competitive marketplace, businesses must embrace change or perish. Change in this case could assume various dimensions including the implementation of various cost cutting measures, adoption of new technology, etc. Change for me came knocking when I was appointed team leader. Although this provided me with a unique opportunity to further enhance my leadership skills, it did bring along some unique challenges. The very first challenge I faced was transitioning from an individual contributor to a team leader. As an individual contributor, all that was required of me was cooperation and professionalism in the accomplishment of tasks assigned. As a team leader, my responsibilities expanded to include setting the team agenda. I suddenly came to the realization that leading a team required a new set of skills. I had to learn how to lead. Secondly, relating with my former peers who were now my subordinates was quite challenging at first. In this case, I had to ensure that the objectives of the team were met while taking deliberate steps to avoid isolation.

In my opinion, a number of things could have been done to ease the transition. To begin with, I should have been offered on-the-job training to prepare me for my new role. This would have given me adequate time to develop the skills necessary for the position. Secondly, the top management should have been more supportive during the transition.

The organization's intended outcome on naming me team leader was two fold. First, the top management may have identified the need to fast-track my personal development as a leader so as to groom me for more demanding roles going forward. Secondly, based on my stellar performance as a team member, the organizational leadership may have recognized the need to enhance the efficiency of the team by having me at the helm.

Part 2

Currently, my organization does not have in place a definite process for capturing knowledge. It is however important to note that the relevance of the lessons learned process cannot be overstated. To begin capturing knowledge from projects, my organization may first and foremost have to consider having in place a document designed for such a purpose. Such a document in addition to facilitating the documentation of lessons learnt could also enhance the accessibility of such lessons by others going forward. Prior to developing the document, my organization should first deliberate on its contents as well as how lessons learnt should be categorized. To guarantee its usability in the future, the document may in this case be standardized for all projects.