Whether Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex is out there trying to change the British monarchy (according to British Media) or utilizing her new platform to try and do some good in this world, her actions so far are text book corporate “change management”, and it’s really fun to see, especially since she was never corporate to begin with.
The “First 100 Days Delivery”: they will tell you that it’s important for a new manager to focus on a task that will showcase the kind of change one wants to bring to their organization – pick a low hanging fruit to make sure you’ll succeed. Duchess Meghan delivered “Together”, building on her experience with her website the Tig, her knack for networking and her talent as a catalyst.
“Don’t try and convert everybody at once; focus on a core of early adopters/believers who will help you spread the word/bring the change you are about” It’s pretty obvious their Sussex Royal Instagram is designed just for that purpose. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reach a global (and quite vocal) audience very much aligned with the themes they champion: diversity, inclusiveness, women equality and education, sustainability, mental health. Which is why the British Media outburst on the latest Vogue issue is ridiculous: their readership was never the target to begin with – but thanks for the free advertisement.
“Build on your strengths to bring about change”: the reason Duchess Meghan has been able to hit the ground running is because she’s focused on a relatively small set of issues (women, animal welfare, environmental sustainability), draws systematically from previous experiences, and she’s using to her full potential her talent for networking and being a catalyst i.e. bringing the right people together to help deliver her vision. I mentioned the cookbook, but that is also the case for the capsule collection that will benefit SmartWorks. This project builds on her experience designing a line of clothes with Reitmans (Canadian women clothing retailer). Funnily enough, she might even use her experience playing Rachel on SUITS: Meghan often says she liked her wardrobe that was essentially made of skirts/pants and blouses (rather than dresses) she could put together in various ways.
As you can tell, I work in corporate where usually “change management” is synonymous with layoffs and whatnot. It’s really cool to watch it applied in such a positive way.”
