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Is it possible to look at the same sky and see two different versions of the present? Here in Seattle it is sunny (whimsical as that may seem on the surface), partly sunny or mostly sunny. At home in the Bay Area it is sunny (that goes without saying) cloudy (minutes before it rains) or partly cloudy (which means so few clouds as to be unnoticeable). After a couple of days on the Puget Sound I get the sunny thing. The clouds do not go away so the sun is surprising, refreshing and fleeting. At home the clouds come, it maybe rains and then they go. So a cloudy day usually means rain.
The holidays bring people back to town from all over. Deep down project manager (and thanks to a previous life as sous chef, waiter, cook etc) that I am the gathering is typically at my home. Small gatherings they are not. Two leaves in the table and 14 friends from three decades back and the 2009 holidays are in full swing.
My family is used to these spontaneous gatherings with a role for each. We sometimes switch but we each have our specific skills. Often guests show up early just to be involved with the excitement and energy of the event. They soon find their forte too, to the point that they may take a specific process as their responsibility- maybe the desert or the appetizer or getting the table pretty and fancy.
It amazes me how difficult it is for clients (and most of the consultants I have observed) to put themselves at the end of an initiative or project and look back toward the present. Doing so is an entirely different perspective-which feeds an entirely different approach. It surprises those clients and consultants to see that this simple change of viewpoint can reveal many of the human obstacles, illustrate gaps in the fabric of the organization and pave the way to a much straighter path to success.
This is a preview of Change Management From the Horizon- looking back from the end state . Read the full post (357 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)
 Standing on the shore looking out over an empty expanse it is often hard to envision an end state to change. It is easy to know as a leader what you want to happen, how you might want it to change the direction of the company or what business objectives you might want to accomplish.
It is much more difficult to place yourself in the blur of the horizon and imagine how things are different. That takes time; time that is not often budgeted into a business day. It also takes skill and competency in that you have to put yourself in your own shoes with a changed perspective and environment.
This is a preview of It is OK to dream- Change Management from the shore . Read the full post (405 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)
The greatest asset a change agent/consultant can bring to your organization is the intuitive ability to know which way the change will flow- like predicting the movement of a wave on the beach.
I have mentioned consistency for high level change many times.
Striving for that consistency is admirable- for the business piece of the change equation. For certain things it may be a relentless process for the people part of your calculations. For people and their human nature are a little like the incoming tide- they go where they will and often follow seemingly invisible paths. Predicting those exact paths, because there are so many forces directing the movement, is impossible. Anticipating (especially with a honed intuitive sense- an important change management competency) the directions people may go is not only possible, it is essential.
This is a preview of Waves of Change- Anticipatory Change Management Competency . Read the full post (474 words, 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)
Dandelions in a lawn can be beautiful, but is that what you intended? Change Management sprouting up all over your organization can be invigorating, but is that what you are looking for? An over-fertilized lawn looks lush and green, but is it healthy?
I have seen and heard, lately, of quite a lot of organizations who have change management processes, teams and mini-functions springing up like weeds on a spring day. Like dandelions that can be a beautiful sight to see, until you realize the competing perspectives and approaches are effecting your operations (that thick green lawn you should have been looking for).
This is a preview of Dandelions in the Lawn-Organic Change Management Design . Read the full post (341 words, 1 image, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)
My simple definition-
The process of moving an organization and its people to a different and better state.
A good change agent does this in a way that links the context of work to the bigger picture, enlivens the culture of the organization, makes the right lists for the right people and does so with an empathetic and business approach.
A really good change agent (here I am thinking exclusively external although with the right leverage and status it could be possible for an internal change agent) does all of the above while also improving operational efficiency, developing employees-especially future leaders and layering in a replicable process for the next corporate initiative.
Change Management often has a learning component. Not the training that is typically associated with CM, but the absorption of new information. That could be learning about change itself, learning about a new business approach, understanding a strategy or gathering enough background to be comfortable participating. It helps for the owners who will communicate and the change agents who will interpret the end state to understand the different types of learning styles.
This is a preview of What do Learning Styles have to do with Change Management? – Delivering information with the best chance of reception . Read the full post (389 words, 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)
I dug back into some seminar sheets for executive consulting I did back in the days when my focus was executive communication. This is the second of those tidbit tip sheets. The information applies just as well 10 years later.
-Whether or not they agree with you your audience members are there to listen to your information. Notice I did not say that they are there to listen to you. Unless you have quite a following or are famous, it is your content they are looking for. Keeping this in mind is your first step in conquering fear and anxiety- the two plagues on presentations.
This is a preview of Formal Communication- Speaking and Presenting insights . Read the full post (234 words, estimated 56 secs reading time)
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