Protect your career from ending up as a smoking ruin by defining you Change Management Objectives up front!

Change management is a very broad subject, and the way change is managed (or not) will differ significantly, from one organization to another and from one project to another. Organizations and consultants will often propose formal change management “systems” that often bring with them templates, toolkits, checklists and outline plans of what steps are needed to manage change successfully.

As a Team Leader or Manager the question is not “if”, but rather “when” you will need to manage change, and you will very soon realise that change is truly a constant of management! So, when it happens, irrespective of whether or not you subscribe to a particular change management system, the first question is always what change management really means in your particular situation. We discussed in the previous blog on this subject that change management focuses on people, and our working definition identified that it is about ensuring change is thoroughly, smoothly and lastingly implemented, in order to realise the benefits associated with the change. If there is no benefit, then it is change for change sake, which is usually an expensive and counter productive exercise.

In order to define the benefits clearly in your situation, you must dig down further to define your specific Change Management Objective(s), and that is the main focus of this blog.

These will usually include the following:

1.    Patronage: Make sure there is an obvious and active patron for the change at a senior executive level within your organization, and engage this patron to help you achieve the desired outcomes.

2.    Commitment: Gaining commitment up front for the changes from those involved and affected, directly or indirectly, is a non-negotiable in any change process. You ignore this one at your peril as many absolutely valid changes (and sometimes careers) end up in smoking ruin due to internal sabotage.

3.    Engagement: Engaging the right people in each of the affected departments, or even processes, in the design and implementation of change, will make sure the right changes are made, at the right time, for the right reasons.

4.    Effects: An accurate assessment of the effects of the change early on will enable the potential of negative consequences to be identified and addressed. Identifying how the changes will affect people, is the most critical part of this process, and this must be done before any changes are implemented.

5.    Consultation: Involving everyone who is affected by the proposed changes in the discussions on the effects and implementation of the change, will help immensely with 2,3 and 4 above.

6.    Preparation: Get people ready to adapt to, and implement the changes, by ensuring they have the right information, training and help. There is no such thing as over-communication, when it comes to change.

And that, Jedi Warriors, gives you enough to chew on for today. We will continue next week and give you some more practical pointers to help you sail through the change management labyrinth with inter-galactic ease.

If you are about to head into, or maybe are already in, a season of change and you are not 100% sure that you have all the bases covered we’d love to help you. Check out the “Square Wheels” section of www.version8.com.au and drop us a line to set up a no obligation chat.