The Cooperative Contextual Change Model: a systemic approach to implement change while preserving stability (Le Modèle de Changement Coopératif Contextuel: une approche systémique au changement dans la stabilité)

Change and stability: putting these two concepts together may appear contradictory. In fact, their coupling constitutes one of the most important paradoxes contemporary business leaders and managers have to face in their day-to-day action. When resistance to change appears, it is often considered as a negative by-product of the change process, instead of being seen as warning against instability and as an opportunity to leverage people resources. Without a cooperative approach, change may turn sour because often leaders and managers decide on using coercive power: hierarchy loses then its legitimacy and becomes a factor of conflict instead of being a factor of stability. When everything changes, landmarks become rare: their persistency is then necessary to help people to focus their energy on positive actions. To create the stability necessary to make change successful, the Cooperative Contextual Change Model recommends leaders and managers to provide the following four landmarks: persistent direction and explicit stake; simple co-opted ground rules; systemic management and communication tools; solution-oriented thinking. The Cooperative Contextual Change Model is designed to create the most favorable conditions to make sure that a group of people (two to several hundreds) work more effectively together. The Model is applicable to any type of organization, regardless the industry, the domain or the size. Change is not a required condition to apply the Model, but the consequence of its implementation. This paper presents an integrative case study to discuss the outcomes of the implementation of the Cooperative Contextual Change Model to manage the turnaround of an industrial company. Even if it is not possible to say that the positive outcomes observed are all directly related only to the implementation of the Cooperative Contextual Change Model, the analysis of the company managers’ perceptions shows that they feel the training had a substantial impact on the cohesiveness of their team and on their way of leveraging individual and collective competencies and resources. Today company’s managers coordinate their action, proactively anticipate issues, share information better by speaking a common managerial language, look for solutions instead of focusing on problems and are ready to face future changes in a more cooperative way. The successful implementation of the Cooperative Contextual Change Model in the company shows that to carry out an effective change process, leaders and managers do not always need major financial or technical investments, but commitment, passion, patience, intelligence, legitimacy. In fact, a Cooperative Contextual Change program is a never-ending endeavour, where success can at any moment be jeopardized by lack of cohesiveness between people and of consistency in their individual and collective decision-making and actions.