Purpose The purpose of this paper is to begin the discussion about re-positioning change management in information technology projects and to propose a framework for improving the quality of decision making in change initiatives that may contribute to that re-positioning. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyzed all change management job advertisements in Australia in both the public and private sectors for May 2015, to identify which change management-related skills were being sought. The purpose was to try to identify any patterns that would confirm or negate the original observations, and to help develop a research question for a subsequent, substantive study. Findings Change management may be perceived as predominantly comprising communications, stakeholder management and training. The quality of leadership decision making in change initiatives may also be contributing to the consistently high failure rates. Research limitations/implications The analysis of job advertisements was a sample only, and requires more quantitative research. Practical implications The required alignment of leadership, ethics and change can only be achieved by first improving the quality of leadership decision making, which demands a values-based approach. Originality/value The paper highlights a restriction to the scope of practice of change management, and how that contributes to continuing high failure rates. The value is that it provides deeper insight into the commonly accepted “leadership alignment” issue, as well as demonstrating that this is probably the least practiced aspect of change management. The paper also challenges to build strong ethical foundations for the practice.

Many business and government institutions appear to have failed in meeting society’s expectations of them. Continuing scandals and failures, as well as an increasingly obvious lack of responsibility to customers, have caused communities to question the probity and operation of these organisations. Consequently, “social licence to operate” is becoming an increasingly common process and one which demands a change in management philosophy and behaviour in our institutions. Improving the quality of responsible management practice is a critical element in this new management philosophy, and which demands an intense focus on including ethical considerations in the core management competence of decision-making. We draw on a combined 100-plus years of international consulting experience, “C“ and senior executive work experience, and academic research to present a practical framework for responsible management practice which, we believe, can also form the foundation for the required organisational cultural transformation required of many existing organisations.

The continuing failure rates of change initiatives, combined with an increasingly complex business environment, have created significant challenges for the practice of change management. High failure rates suggest that existing change models are not working, or are being incorrectly used. A different mindset to change is required. The BGR Contingency Model (named after the authors' surnames) for leading change facilitates the required mindset, and addresses the issue of leadership decision-making as one of the major contributors to high change initiative failure rates. Drawing on four propositions offered, the conceptual model is based on the interdependency of ethics and logic in leadership decision-making in change initiatives. The model has specific, formal checkpoints of this interdependency. Its basic design is a series of progressions, or groups of tasks, which start with the strategic and continue through the operational to the tactical levels of the organisation, in an iterative fashion.