Prelims

Half Title Page

PURPOSE-DRIVEN INNOVATION

Title Page

PURPOSE-DRIVEN INNOVATION

Lessons from Managing Change in the United Nations

By

Jens P. Flanding

Genevieve M. Grabman

United Kingdom – North America – Japan India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2022

Copyright © 2022 Jens P. Flanding and Genevieve M. Grabman. Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-144-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-143-6 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-145-0 (Epub)

Contents

About the Authors

Jens P. Flanding trained as an economist at Royal Holloway College and McGill University and earned his doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is Faculty for Designing and Managing Organizational Change at the United Nations System Staff College and a Member of the Change Management Peer Network of the UN Laboratory for Organizational Change and Knowledge (UNLOCK). He has led strategic change initiatives for Deloitte Consulting clients, UNHCR, UN Environment, and PAHO/WHO. He authored, with Genevieve and Sheila Cox, award-winning The Technology Takers: Leading Change in the Digital Era (Emerald Publishing, 2019).

Genevieve M. Grabman is an attorney with a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of North Carolina. She is a District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellow and Member of the UNLOCK Peer Network. She has led policy reforms at UNHCR and PAHO/WHO and began her career at UNICEF as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She authored Challenging Pregnancy: A Journey Through the Politics and Science of Healthcare in America (University of Iowa Press, 2022) and, with Jens, The Technology Takers: Leading Change in the Digital Era.

Preface

Acknowledgments

We are thankful for the support received for this book from past and present colleagues. We thank our Commissioning Editor, Katy Mathers, and everyone at Emerald Publishing for their unwavering support in realizing this book. We are grateful to three anonymous peer reviewers of our proposal whose comments helped improve and clarify the purpose and scope of the book. Great thanks are owed to our research assistant, Kathleen Guan, for her copy editing, footnoting, and investigative skills, without which this book could not have been completed. We also appreciate support from our longstanding collaboration with graphic designer extraordinaire, Adriana Crespo. Our gratitude is to Jafar Javan, Miguel Panadero, Daphne Moench, Sabine Bhanot, Mads Svendsen, Joel Nielsen, Catty Bennett Sattler, and all the members of the UNLOCK Peer Network for support and insights. We are also grateful to Michael Barzelay for reviewing multiple book proposals and for conducting in depth talks about the book’s theoretical framework, even during these difficult COVID-19 times.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of the authors’ past or present employers or affiliations. Examples of frameworks, models, and case materials within this book are examples based on limited and clearly referenced sources in the public domain. Nevertheless, we have sought and received permission from the United Nations System Staff College to use all frameworks, models, change graphics, and cases cited. The United Nations (UN) kindly provided us permission to reference and use the graphics of the sustainable development goals. Assumptions made within the book are our own and not reflective of the position of any of the sources cited. The content of this publication has not been approved by the UN and does not reflect the views of the UN or its officials or Member States.

Jens Flanding thanks his family members for their support and patience with yet another academic project during these trying times of global health challenges and upheavals.

Genevieve Grabman thanks her family members, who are even more exhausted than she is with the writing of this work.

Endorsements

“From two authors with first-hand experience comes the most innovative answer to the formidable challenge of managing change in a complex organization. A must read for anyone interested in the United Nations and in change management.”

– Francesco Mancini, Associate Professor in Practice and Vice Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

“Besides providing access to valuable UN data and experiences, the authors’ unique analysis gives organizations a timely set of lessons and tools to better navigate these turbulent times.”

– Toni Castro-Cosío, PhD, Senior Behavioral Researcher, Center for Advanced Hindsight, Duke University

“It’s great to see a very tangible and timely outcome from the UN Lab on Organizational Change and Knowledge (UNLOCK). A case based approach to organizational change makes this book a must read for everyone interested in understanding and navigating organizational change in the context of the SDG’s, the UN and other large international organizations.”

– Joel Nielsen, Chief Of Leadership Development in UNHCR

“Though not everyone has yet realized (or accepted it), we are long past the days when organizations could treat their decision making as purely technical exercises aimed at generating success by narrow definitions (like profit or shareholder value). Resilience, societal concerns and objectives, the actions of governments and NGOs, and the views of all stakeholder must increasingly be considered. This book provides lessons from the worldwide organization that has confronted this reality most directly – the United Nations. The authors were there, on the front lines. Open-minded leaders will find much here to think seriously about.”

– Robert D. Austin, Author and Professor, Ivey Business School

“This is a valuable reference for change management in multi-cultural organizations with a global presence.”

– Dr. Jingbo Huang, with 20 years of experience working in the UN system