Good Change Builds Confidence, Bad Change Breeds Fear

[sgrison]

After years of working with IT teams, I’ve seen change management become both a catalyst and a constraint. When done right, it builds trust and speed. When done poorly, it creates fear and bottlenecks. The difference isn’t the tool — it’s how you use it.

Bad change management is built on anxiety. Every update requires manual approval, regardless of risk. CAB meetings become marathons full of opinions instead of evidence. Changes are tracked in spreadsheets “just in case.” In these environments, teams stop trusting the process — they work around it. The result? More outages, not fewer.

Good change management, on the other hand, feels calm and predictable. It’s structured yet flexible. Routine updates — like patch cycles or maintenance activities — are governed through Change Models and Change Approval Policies, so the rules are clear before the work starts. Risk is measured using Risk Assessment, not guesswork. Instead of chasing chaos, mature teams use ServiceNow’s Change Calendar, Blackout Windows, and Conflict Detection to plan intelligently. They can see when maintenance windows overlap, when business-critical periods are protected, and when resources are over-allocated. This visibility reduces collisions before they happen — not after.

The CAB Workbench then focuses on what truly matters: high-impact or high-risk changes. Everyone has the same view of schedule, impact, and risk — and decision-making becomes faster and more objective.

The difference is simple:

Bad change hides risk and slows progress.

Good change manages risk and enables delivery.

When people trust the process and see the value of structure, change stops being an obstacle — and becomes a source of confidence for the entire business.