Change Spotlight

01/26/25

Building a Strong Organizational Culture: Lessons from "The Advantage" by Patrick Lencioni 

  • Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, offers valuable insights into creating a thriving culture that drives performance. Drawing on Lencioni’s concepts, this article explores how to build and sustain a robust organizational culture that leads to lasting success. 

The 5 Levels of Change Management Maturity: Prosci blog

  • Prosci’s Change Management Maturity Model, based on benchmarking research, describes the varying levels of change management capabilities across organizations.  What level do you think we are?  

What Makes a Great LeaderPodcast (3min) 

  • Simon Sinek redefines leadership, emphasizing that it's about serving others and fostering their success, rather than a title or position.

Change roadmap

As indicated in the news article "A Roadmap for Change at CMU, " the University Transformation Office has been tasked with helping select a change management framework and developing a roadmap for the organizational changes necessary to achieve our goals. Join the conversation, share your ideas, and follow our progress as we help shape CMU’s culture.

What is the CMU change roadmap?

The CMU Change Roadmap is a living, campus-wide view of the most important changes we’re pursuing together. This isn’t just another project or initiative; it’s the foundation for how we’ll operate going forward by defining the culture we aspire to create. Every major project, decision, and strategy will connect back to our change roadmap, helping ensure that what we build today sets CMU up for success tomorrow.
 

Why this, why now?

Higher education is changing quickly, and CMU is no exception. We are balancing enrollment and financial realities, new expectations for the student experience, and the need to modernize how we work. At the same time, people across CMU see opportunities every day to make things simpler, faster, and more student-focused. The change Roadmap helps us:

  • Focus on the changes that matter most
  • Support teams with tools, change management, and problem-solving
  • Learn from pilots and scale what works

This is about building a sustainable and bright future for CMU, one where we balance risk and innovation, steward resources wisely, and continuously improve how we operate.

How to Lead Teams Through Change-PMI Podcast

  • This episode highlights that managing change isn’t just about managing tasks - it’s about enabling people, building the right structures, and thinking ahead about how to support teams through continuous disruption. The approach is both strategic (portfolio/impact-lens) and tactical (AI tools, tiered support, recognition). 

Latest From the Lab: Creating Psychological Safety for Improved Performance- NeuroLeadership Institute

  • Psychological safety, the belief that one can speak up without fear, is essential for team performance. The three habits to build include: 
    • Set the Stage – clarify goals and norms. 
    • Invite Participation – encourage input and reduce social threats.
    • Respond Thoughtfully – give feedback that reinforces safety.
    • These habits help teams learn from mistakes, innovate, and perform better. 
  • Many organizations overlook culture when executing strategy, especially during transformation. Culture isn’t just a backdrop; it’s the operating system that determines whether strategy sticks or stalls.  

  • What is Change Management? 

Change Management is the process of helping individuals and teams move through change effectively. We use  the Prosci ADKAR Model to guide this journey:
Awareness + Desire + Knowledge + Ability + Reinforcement

  • What is Change Theory?

It’s the “why + how” behind successful change — predicting resistance, picking the right strategy, and making results last.
Explore Definitions and Applications Explained

  • Podcast: How to Lead a Successful Change

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