Complimentary Toolkit: Employing Design Thinking to Lead Organizational Change

Leading organizational change often starts from an internal perspective of “What is the problem and how can we fix it?”

Design Thinking offers an alternative approach to instead put ourselves in the shoes of our customers. This is the main focus of the second module in the 8-week online Leadership Excellence certificate program titled, "Driving Innovation."

The first steps in the Design Thinking process will help you see the big picture and understand the people in your organization. Once we understand what problems need to be solved, you can use creative techniques to develop and gather feedback on potential solutions. Leading change takes time, and creating solutions that really work can be difficult. Too often, ideas that seemed promising initially pose unexpected challenges or don’t work out as hoped. Looking back, the path we should have taken seems clear in hindsight. If only we had known how to draw out and act upon important insights earlier in the process.

As a leader we should be dedicated to understanding and overcoming the barriers people face, using design thinking. The below diagram depicts that stage of the Design Thinking process.

Below, the UMass Donahue Institute shares two complimentary Design Thinking tools with detailed instructions to learn first-hand how to apply them within your organization:

1. The Journey Map – This tool focuses on the first stage of Design Thinking – Empathize
2. The Point Of View (POV) Template – This tool focuses on the second stage of Design Thinking - Define

Download the complimentary PDF

About the Leadership Excellence Certificate Program:

Designed specifically for government and non-profit professionals, this 8-week online webinar leadership program provides 30-hours of hands-on learning where you will:

• Learn Leadership Style: Discover your leadership style by completing two online assessments based on Hogan Leadership Styles
• Drive Innovation: Collaborate with thought leaders to identify opportunities for innovation
• Receive Executive Coaching: Based on your results from an online leadership assessment
• Implement Successful Organizational Change: Develop a change implementation plan for a real-life organization (based on the Kotter 8-Stage Process for Leading Change)
• Gain Commitment: Understand how to help individuals transition during change (based on the Bridges Transition Model)
• Overcome Barriers: Learn how to remove obstacles to sustain your change initiative

Interested in learning more? Click here to request more information about the Leadership Excellence Certificate. The next session will begin Fall 2021.