GSBS6001 As Amy Stowe sat alone in a conference room, she contemplated what she had agreed to moments earlier: Managing Under Uncertainty Case Study, NTU, Singapore

“Congrats, You Are the New COO — Now Implement a Re-Organization”: Planning for Change at a Nonprofit

Introduction
As Amy Stowe sat alone in a conference room, she contemplated what she had agreed to moments earlier. She had promised the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) a communication and implementation plan for a company-wide re-organization by next week. She had never led nor facilitated such an initiative and did not have any team members with this skill set. Based on the new organizational structure approved by the ELT minutes earlier, she would be promoted to chief operating officer (COO), so it made sense that a large-scale change initiative would fall under her purview. But her organization, Clean Climate Coalition (CCC), was in disarray, as a senior leader resigned to work for a competitor a week prior. The previous week pulled Amy in multiple directions, as she worked with the ELT on the re-organization while supporting employees as they navigated the key leader’s departure.

On the one hand, Amy’s seven-year history with CCC and strong connection with its employees put her in a great place to be the point person for communicating and implementing the reorganization. On the other, Amy feared that an ineffective plan could increase turnover, damage her credibility, and derail CCC’s progress in expediting clean energy solutions to reduce climate change. This was a mission that she believed in, which is why she joined the organization. Amy’s first major initiative as the incoming COO weighed heavily on her. Since sleep had been scarce the past week and it was already 11 p.m., she knew the first step would be to get a decent night of sleep. However, that evening, as she lay in bed, a number of questions kept her awake.

She thought, “What plan will work for CCC and all employees? How can I communicate the plan so others understand and embrace it? How can I implement the re-organization to increase our strong mission focus?” (A. Stowe, personal communication, April 5, 2022). She gulped as it hit her that she had agreed to a very large undertaking in a very short period.