Design Thinking

Are You Designing Change or Managing Change? Why One Word Makes a Difference.

This week’s guests asks us to examine, “Are we designing for change or managing change?”

Are You Designing Change or Managing Change? Why One Word Makes a Difference.

That one word makes a critical difference in the culture and today Fredrick Martin, Senior Director of Enterprise Change Management at the University of Virginia. He is joining me to share a vision for how we can reframe the way we think about change within organizations using design thinking. Fredrick is responsible for organizational transformation within the Academic Division and UVA Health.

With a proven track record of 15+ years for delivering business and culture transformation in large complex and highly matrixed organizations. Also, Fredrick previously served as the Master Change Agent for Ascension Health. It is one of the leading non-profit healthcare systems in the United States. Moreover, it includes 40,000 aligned providers, 146 hospitals, 2600 sites of care, and 160,000 employees. In addition, Fredrick heads up change design and implementation for The Spill Teem, a global design consultancy. 

Also, Fredrick’s unique experiences provided him the privilege of seeing what leadership and change have looked like across different industries. One of my favorite moments in this interview was Fredrick calling out the core difference between corporate and education environments. The opt out culture. This part of the conversation is one that Fredrick articulates so well.

His observation about opt out culture is one that will resonate with many of us. This is the case specially those of us who are students. We’ve all had educators who are more relevant vs those who are not. So, lack of accountability in the education field is what will be the difference between organizations that survive and those that disappear over the next decade.

In This Episode We Discuss:

  • Why language matters and the difference between designing change and managing change
  • The difference between designing change in corporate vs education environments
  • Also, why designing change extends beyond the IT department
  • The importance of creating shared definitions within your organization
  • The value of creating shared purpose and why humans want to be part of something bigger than themselves

To Connect With Frederick

To learn more from Fredrick you can follow him on his social platforms where he shares insightful posts on both his Instagram and LinkedIn.

I’m Sabba.

I believe that the future should be designed. Not left to chance.

Over the past decade, using design thinking practices I've helped schools and businesses create a culture of innovation where everyone is empowered to move from idea to impact, to address complex challenges and discover opportunities. 

stay connected

designing schools

Add a comment
- Hide Comments
share this post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join the Community

All of my best and life changing relationships began online. Whether it's a simple tweet, a DM or an email. It always begins and ends with the relationships we create. 

Each week I'll send the skills and strategies you need to build your human advantage in an AI world straight to your inbox. 

As Simon Sinek Says:
"Alone is hard. Together is better."