Hello all! We are in a series called What does Pickleball have to do with change management? In this series, I’m sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned from playing pickleball that have direct application to my work as a change management practitioner. Last week’s post was Sharpen your saw. This week’s lesson is….

Standardization would help

As the sport of pickleball has continued to grow, a number of rating systems have been created to help people determine what level they are at. The challenge is that there is a lot of inconsistency among the systems. So, if you and I are both rated as a 3.0 player but by different rating systems, it’s not a sure bet that we’re actually the same skill level. There are also at least two professional leagues. This has diluted the talent level.

This dynamic is also present in the change management field. We don’t have a shared meaning of what change management means/is, what competencies practitioners need to be successful, or what services we provide. There are multiple professional organizations, models, and theories that vie to be the gold standard for how to practice/carry out the change management discipline. This lack of standardization can get in the way of our ability to best serve the people we work with.

This lack of standardization can get in the way of our ability to best serve the people we work with.

Closing thoughts

I want to hear from you! What are your thoughts about the current state of the change management discipline and what you would like to see happen to strengthen it going forward? Please post your thoughts and comments below. Let’s help each other become the best change management practitioners and enthusiasts we can be!

Thank you for reading. Until next time, take care and keep up the good work!

Mike