-
Change Program Goal Setting
Many change initiatives fail for want of a clear and unambiguous set of objectives. Why Program Objectives Are Important Your desire to move your organization towards a new way of working will remain just a wish unless you set specific change program objectives and create a change management plan for achieving those objectives. Working with your key stakeholders to flesh out unambiguous and measurable objectives will set your program off on the right track. How can goal setting help? To begin with, the two-way dialogue involved in setting goals helps to get all stakeholders on the same page, uncovering hidden…Read More »
-
Change Program Roles
Assigning roles and responsibilities is a key step to energizing your people for action in achieving your change program goals. Types of Change Program Roles Your change program, no matter how meticulous the planning, will not bring itself to life. People are needed to complete the necessary actions and to hurdle all of the barriers put before it. You will need to identify and communicate the various change management responsibilities of all the people required to see your change program through. The roles you will actually need will depend on a number of variables. However, generally speaking, a change program…Read More »
-
Key Areas for Implementing Change
There are critical actions that require your attention if your change initiative is to succeed. Essential Change Management Activities Managing Stakeholders Whatever your change program, one key area requiring your attention is the identification and management of change stakeholders. A stakeholder is any person with an interest in the change process or the outcome of the proposed change. Stakeholders bring with them an amalgam of competing interests and often act to further their own power, influence and survival. The added difficulty for change managers rests in the fact that such political maneuvering is often in the guise of impartial and…Read More »
-
Project Team Management
Successful projects depend on individuals and groups of people working collaboratively. Managing a Project Team In managing a project team, a Project Manager needs to possess excellent analytical and organizational skills. A technical proficiency in the specialist area of their project is also a distinct advantage. Remember, though, that projects achieve their outcomes through people – a variety of people working together in a coordinated way to produce the desired results. How are you encouraging peak performance from your project team? As with any manager getting the best out of their people, you will need to pay attention to your…Read More »
-
Teams in Change Programs
Change program success depends increasingly on people working collaboratively within teams. Team Types in Change Programs You may be using teams in designing and implementing your change initiative. Or your organizational change program may be tasked with setting up teams of one description or another. Which of the following kinds of teams are you currently involved with? management decision-making cross-functional or functional improvement teams autonomous work teams project teams Whichever team types you are involved with, there are a number of considerations in making sure that your team setup and development activities are successful. Team Setup Team size is important.…Read More »
-
Training for Change
A critical part of any successful change program is skilling up people in a variety of roles. Change Program Training Plan Successful organizational change depends upon improving people’s capabilities. This includes skilling up the people working in the new environment – employees, customers and suppliers. Often forgotten about are the skill requirements of the people involved in bringing about the new way of working – the change drivers, implementers and enablers. Have you included all players in your training plan? How comprehensive is your training plan? Is it adequately resourced? Does it address each of the five key requirements for…Read More »
-
Change Program Stakeholders
Many change programs fail because one or more key stakeholders were not engaged in the process of change. Change Program Stakeholders For your organizational change program to succeed, you will depend upon a range of people. These people can be divided into five stakeholder groups. A stakeholder is any person with an interest in the process or the outcome of the proposed organizational change. Consider each group separately if you are to avoid one or more groups falling off the edge of the map just when you find that you need them the most. The table below provides a description…Read More »
-
Employee Resistance to Change
Excessive resistance to a change program will quickly kill any change initiative. Employee Resistance to Change – Why? No matter how well designed and planned your change program is, not everyone will be singing its praises. Employees resist change for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from a straightforward intellectual disagreement over facts to deep-seated psychological prejudices. Some of these reasons for employee resistance may include: belief that the change initiative is a temporary fad belief that fellow employees or managers are incompetent loss of authority or control loss of status or social standing lack of faith in their ability…Read More »
-
Five Essential Change Management Principles
Adopting a principled approach significantly improves your change program’s chances of success. Taking a Principled Approach to Managing Change Many change programs appear to the innocent bystander as a struggle for power amongst competing interests within and without the organization. These programs can appear that way because they are. In the short term, these kinds of implementation seem to succeed. However, once the people forcing things in place start to weaken their grip, the change effort can fall apart very quickly. Short term success gives way to longer term failure. On the other hand, adopting a principled approach that engenders…Read More »
-
Why Change Programs Fail
Most change initiatives fail to deliver the expected organizational benefits time and again for the same reasons. Organizations and the Change Imperative The rate of organizational change has not slowed in recent years. In fact, with the Global Financial Crisis continuing to send shock waves to all four corners of the globe, the frequency of change appears to be increasing. Consider the other myriad drivers of change. For example, the rapid and continual innovation in technology is forever requiring changes to organizational systems and processes. Witness the startling growth of the internet and micro-devices, which is enabling much faster and…Read More »