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As with any buzz term (employee engagement being high on the list of buzzes), group think and assumptions cloud a clear understanding of a motivated individual… Bringing your dog to work might be cool and something to brag about with your friends and running with an impassioned leader may feel good, but having your work matter and understanding why is the ultimate motivator.
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.
These are the core phases of a change management initiative (I know not what you are used to seeing). Idea Engagement Big Picture/Vision Engagement PMO approach Disbanding
Idea- Every change starts with an idea. The idea can develop into change. For that to happen a connection to both stakeholders and the business strategy of the organization will have to be made. The idea needs to become a clear picture of a spot to head to. Engagement- Successful change management communication informs stakeholders of the time and place for their work. Time- is the relationship of stakeholder work and participation to the total amount of time for the initiative, the time frame of the phase(s) they are included in and the period they will need to accomplish their tasks. Place- is the relationship of that work to participation and tasks that occur before and after their own (and possibly a connection of importance to the bigger picture). Well of course this is simple time and project management right? If we communicate what is happening then we are doing a good job.
At the End State lies the alignment of vision, process and people/behavior change to business objectives. There you will find a Pot of Gold full of capital for the next initiative-if you can navigate the change path. It is winding, meandering and typically only the first leg is clear. To smooth out the journey it helps to visualize the last leg of the trip and to be clear about the end state. Like a stream down a hill the path will then appear.
What is the End State? Historical approaches and a vertical perspectives are not working. The resulting trend is horizontal change management. Horizontal is the positions of equal "rank" within verticals- like VP sales to VP IT. So there are up eight horizontals depending on the size of the organization. The next trend is to place work in context with the whole. The whole being org. strategy, big picture, end state, direction of growth etc. Once a stakeholder knows how their work fits (which motivates them to participate) then they need to know when and with what effort that participation is needed.
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. I am a stakeholder in the middle of an initiative invited/told/asked/coerced into participating. Do I understand how my effort will fit into corporate strategy? Do I know what led up to the spot where I am asked to contribute? Do I know what comes next and the value of my effort? Change Communication to be considered successful must always be able to answer these questions. Time-For change this means length, moment and its relation to the initiative as a whole. A stakeholder should know the relationship between their work and time both as tasks with length and deadlines (the forte of project management) and as an element of the whole (in terms of both work and purpose). Because it is this spatial connection that can trigger and reinforce motivation.
If I might have a word with the king… What you are thinking of is CHARGE. With good armor and that chosen knight and some fireproofing undergarments you could probably get the dragon. But you also have the problem of that other king guy across the bog, reports (family?) with a history of slaying to get ahead and Dukes and Duchesses that always seem to be out of earshot. |
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