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A discussion popped up today in a LinkedIn group about the “owner” of the change. I always find these discussions interesting for their range of perspective and for the consistency that many hold to assumptions and narrow methods. As a client that would make me a little nervous since I would hope my external change management consultant sees through common change foibles.
Some answers-
- The executive responsible for the change
- The change agent
- The passed to leader (usually a director)
- All the stakeholders
- The CEO
- The change management consultants
Change success (the accomplishment of business objectives near and long term) requires connecting work and motivation to vision/idea/change and vice-versa. That means strategy must make sense and the "make sense" must be transferred to the employees in a way they will accept.
While this seems obvious I find most executives understanding it only on a surface level.
If this loop of idea and work does not exist and/or is not understood then that is the first step in the process of introducing change ideas. With a clear understanding of what it takes to get things done, assuming a change idea will facilitate that process, anyone in the organization should be able to communicate an idea.
This is a preview of Preparing for the next great idea- Extra ingredients for Change Management . Read the full post (174 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)
 – thinking that change can be "managed"
- reliance on tools, templates and method
- using inexperienced change agents
Middle of the organization change tends to draw clients and consultants into an exercise in creating "engagement".
If somebody likes to run they run. Good luck "engaging" someone who does not.
The core problem is that most organizations do not truly have OCM (Organizational Change Management) built into their corporate strategy. So "change engagement" tends to spend time addressing symptoms rather than root causes. "Un-engagement", lack of sponsorship and hit and miss buy-in are the cough, the sneeze and the runny nose.
This is a preview of 3 mistakes (client/consultant) of middle of the organization Change Management . Read the full post (218 words, 1 image, estimated 52 secs reading time)
A comment and a question I get at every cocktail party when my career is revealed-
That must be fascinating! (it is!)
Do you feel helpless most of the time? (yes but not for long)
My role is at times like the backup quarter back (when there is little chance for needed structural adjustment) and other times like a coach. A coach must stand on the sidelines and hope planning and description translates into strategy and action. They lead but they are not the true leader, the quarterback is. They must survey the big picture while others focus in on task. They work less as a team member than as a giant set of arms holding it all together.
Plan ahead for levels of growth by structuring your organization with a change component.
Each layer of growth in a firm typically adds a layer of titles; each new title has the potential to create a new silo. Eventually it becomes difficult to move the organization fast enough to grow again.
If from the first stage of growth someone is responsible for horizontal connections (collaboration, communication, training across functions, diagonal mentoring etc) your culture will build around working together on the companies business objectives.
This is a preview of Planning for Change from the Beginning- Change Management for fast growth companies . Read the full post (225 words, 1 image, estimated 54 secs reading time)
Trends I am seeing that will influence change management’s future-
- Stakeholders get it- often more so than their leaders
- Executives are trying to establish control over the various organic change movements within their organizations
- External consultants are endlessly debating the definitions of project management (PM) and Organizational Change Management (OCM)
- The Big 3+ firms are subbing independents for strategy and high level change work
- PMO’s are being used less and less as the placement area for change agents and change management consultants
This is a preview of One future of Change Management- Up high, partly inside and boutique . Read the full post (253 words, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)
In a previous “life” I was a rafting guide.
I used to marvel at the patterns that took place in the flow of the river. There was always a path where the water moved the swiftest and the smoothest. When it encountered the resistance of rock or sand bar it would move over the top if powerful enough or deflect into the path of less resistance.
Guides usually choose to follow that least resistant path. Most of the time I was no different. Occasionally though, on contemplative or mischievous days, I would seek the eddies, the slower running channels and choose a bounce or two here and there off the obstacles.
You do have one?
Placing an external change management resource high in an organization is incredibly powerful. Leveraging that power in a way that is honest and effective is an approach few C-level executives choose to use. I will make the assumption that this is a tool at the bottom of the box that you did not know you had.
This is what has happened when I have lived this role for a client-
The employees are shocked and surprised like a kid who gets two pieces of candy at the store instead of one.
This is a preview of C-level leverage of your Change Management Trusted Advisor . Read the full post (287 words, 1 image, estimated 1:09 mins reading time)
Tampering with tradition, common practice and “we have always done things this way” is fraught with complications. Unwillingness to delve into that difficult area is a recipe for change “failure”. How then as the executive owner do you place yourself into the fire?
- Acknowledge your own tie to organizational traditions
- Do the same for others
- Use external influence to gauge, address, and if necessary, overcome
Trying to standardize the practice of Change Management.
There are plenty of things that are consistent enough from practitioner to practitioner to agree on a set of approaches. But…
Feeling the need to standardize- for the consultants to sell their services and for the client to have clarity on value- is a symptom of a greater problem. Change Management needs to connect directly to strategic direction and to individual work effort.
You could say the needed change is away from a project management focus and toward an ongoing corporate structure that can leverage people and then roll out projects.
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