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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »