New life and change management, part 2

The birth of a baby is the ultimate organizational disruption, bringing a complete restructuring of daily operations, shifting team dynamics, resource constraints, and an entirely new set of deliverables. If you consider the chaos of the newborn weeks, it maps perfectly onto the principles of change management, both Prosci’s ADKAR Model and Kotter’s 8-Step Change Framework.

First, in business, there’s the project planning phase. You define scope, buy software, set a launch date. In pregnancy, you read the books, assemble the crib, organize tiny socks by colour.

Both environments provide a false sense of security. You think that by having a plan, you control the outcome. But like a software launch that reveals unexpected bugs, a baby rarely sticks to the project timeline. The go-live day arrives, and the actual implementation looks very different than it did on the spreadsheet! Even with my new-parent-kids, who are ultimate planners, curveballs materialized.

Second, every change management model identifies an initial period of shock, confusion, or resistance when a system is disrupted.

Imagine the first week home with a newborn. Your normal operating system is completely offline. Sleep deprivation begins, routines are shattered, your untrained “team” is suddenly working 24/7.

In a company, this is when employees fuss, “Why did we change things? The old way worked fine!” At 3:00 AM with a crying baby, fleeting, survival-induced thoughts arrive. Like, “What’s happened to our peaceful lives?” “Will this ever end?”

Third, the organization receives a powerful new stakeholder. A small human who has veto power over all decisions, communicates entirely in screams, and does not care about your previous processes.

This requires an immediate restructuring of roles and responsibilities. Who’s handling inventory (diapers and wipes)? Who’s overseeing facilities (laundry and cooking)? If you don’t define these new roles, you’ll experience typical corporate conflict: duplicate work, dropped balls, resentment. Successful change management requires constant realignment and re-negotiating responsibilities.

Fourth, if you try a rigid, linear project management style with a baby, where one phase must end before another begins, you will fail. Babies change rapidly. Just when you think you’ve mastered the “sleeping-through-the-night” phase, a new phase begins: teething! And the system crashes again.

Like in business, parenthood forces you to become Agile. Run short sprints, test what works, gather data (e.g. Did he sleep better with the swaddle or the sleep sack?), and pivot quickly. Sometimes, a successful day just means everyone got fed and clothes were mostly clean.

Fifth: Every change initiative experiences a dip in performance and morale before benefits are realized. Leadership’s job is to coach people through this, so they don’t give up.

In parenting, this is the hard work of building new habits, finding a rhythm, and accepting that the old routine is gone. Gradually, the dip reverses, and rewards materialize. The baby smiles for the first time. A routine emerges. The new operational model stabilizes. You go from surviving the change to successfully operating.

We often separate our professional skills from our personal lives, but whether you are merging two multi-million-dollar companies or contemplating how to leave the house with a stroller, a diaper bag, and a crying infant, change management guidance remains:

• Expect the plan to break
• Over-communicate with your team
• Be patient with the learning curve
• Focus on continuous improvement, not perfection

The next time you navigate a big shift at work, take a breath. If humans can successfully manage the disruptive, chaotic, life-altering yet beautiful arrival of a new baby, a corporate restructuring could well be plain sailing!

Email me: bernadette@gogettercoaching.com .