Reflections: From planned change to playful transformations

Reflecting on my engagement with organizational change as a scholar and reflective practitioner, I observe that my perspective has evolved from a planned change approach to a playful view on organizational change and transformation. Planned change and organizational development are still the dominant approaches to change in most organizations. These perspectives on change management were successful in the last century in a stable business environment. Now that many organizations are confronted with dynamic and turbulent business environments, these approaches are no longer suitable for such unpredictable circumstances. In an adaptive business environment, there is a need for adaptive change to prepare our organizations for the future. In this reflection I describe the basic assumptions and misconceptions behind planned change and offer a perspective on organizational change as collaborative play. This play perspective is a collective search process in which players work together to organize, change and innovate. In this way, play provides a positive view of change in organizations as a collective learning and transformation process. This article makes a difference by offering a perspective on organizational change as collaborative play. Changing organizations in a turbulent world is enriched by a playful perspective on adaptive change. The theory and practice of change as play are contrasted with more traditional approaches to planned change and organizational development. Leaders in organizations and organizational networks, change agents and consultants, and scholars and academic researchers, are invited to reflect on their own assumptions about organizational change and to consider a more playful way of changing organizations in a dynamic and turbulent world.