– 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.
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3 mistakes (client/consultant) of middle of the organization Change Management
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http://www.contrarianconsulting.com/lean-solo/
Is an excellent post written by Katherine Radeka as a guest blogger on Alan Weiss’s Contrarian Consulting blog.
Not much needs to be added except that third parties too can cause the, “…non-value-added (waste)..”, that Katherine and Alan, in much of his writing, talk about.
I would add that many of the solo consultants out there have worked for the big firms while most of the leaders in the big firms have not been solo for any length of time (and it is quite the site to see them maneuver in this environment). So with “solo’s” you get a little two for one!
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The opposite of this- hourly, full time and third party- is what I consider another disturbing trend in change management (and some consulting roles in other disciplines).
High level consulting especially change management since it deals so closely with business/human nature requires a strong, trusting relationship. It is essential that the true owner, the one with the budget and ultimate responsibility for the change and the consultant agree on and work together toward shared business goals. To insert a third party breaks this connection. Direct.
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Paying for High Level Change Management-Upfront, Retained and Direct
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A perusal of a popular change management “kit” shows 24 templates and 14 assessments to be used for a change project.
Ask why.
- As the budget owning executive of strategic change question whether the tool will directly effect the accomplishment of your business objectives.
- Be leery of tools that create “report-outs” to justify work
- Look carefully at assessments and readiness
Readiness and Assessments
Honestly I think the stakeholders have grown out of these.
Mid level change consultants and internal consultants especially love this stuff. This is the chance to meet with people, champion the cause and, usually, do some old fashioned OD (organizational development).
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Ask Why- Protect yourself from overzealous change management
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When change fails it is because of two reasons, politics or disconnected strategy.
And the second is often because of the first so now we are down to one reason.
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Change Management Consultant, internal or external?
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Why
Because there is so much that is fundamentally wrong with the current/historical change management approaches. Much more later-
First promise is a contrarian viewpoint.
Anything that is big as change can be scary, overwhelming and confusing-
Second promise is to simplify change management.
I have a passion for both people and business objectives. Both are necessities for change. And both get sanded down by methodologies and theory.
Third promise is to provide valuable insight from both client and consultant perspectives.
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Vision to Work- Contrary, Simplified and Insightful Enterprise Change Management
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– thinking that change can be "managed"