SEVEN STEPS FOR MANAGING CHANGE
Change is simply the way the world works, and in business it can be the difference between success and failure. But there has to be a reason for the change, and the reason has to make sense to those who are being asked to make the change. Managers who step in and start making changes without a plan to support the initiatives are asking for trouble. Our first section introduces the change model we will explore throughput the course.
CHOOSING CHANGE INITIATIVES WISELY
Change initiatives disrupt. That is, of course, what they're designed to do. But causing these disruptions in people's lives and in the daily operations of your organization can have serious consequences if not done right. In this section, Jack discusses the importance of defining the scope of the project so that it is large enough to justify the disruption of people's time, but not so large that it can never be fully realized (or is doomed to failure right from the start).
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
We ask that question all the time, but we often forget to ask it (and answer it) when it comes to the needs of others. Jack lays out the groundwork for why and how we must ask this question with three audiences in mind: (1) What's in it for the company? (2) What's in it for the leader who is initiating the change? 3. What's in it for the employees of the company who are being asked to adopt the change? Unless your teams can feel the fear of what will happen if they don't make the change and feel the thrill of becoming bigger, better and more efficient if they do make the change, they'll never bring the energy and conviction necessary to see the project through to completion.
FROM HERE TO THERE: DEFINING THE FUTURE
No change initiative starts out with 100% of organization on board. In fact, as Jack explains, most of the change efforts he drove over the years started out with only a minority of people supporting it. But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about gathering support and creating "Change Champions" to get behind the cause. In this section, Jack shares his experience and wisdom in identifying great Change Champions - the ones who can really drive your project forward and the ones that others will want to get behind and support.
RALLYING SUPPORT AND MANAGING RESISTANCE
Regardless of how well a change leader identifies the Change Champions in the organization, there will always be people who simply won't buy in, no matter what. Effective Change Leaders know that they will never (nor do they have to) convince every last person in the organization to get on board, but they also realize that they have to have a plan for dealing with resisters.
ARE WE THERE YET? MEASURING WHAT MATTERS
Effective change leaders understand that they have to talk about the change constantly and continue to paint a vivid picture of what the future holds and why it worth making the change to get there. They also understand that progress toward the goal must be tracked and there must be celebrations when key milestones are hit. The larger the change initiative, the longer it's going to take to cross the finish line. In this section, Jack discussed the importance of communication and celebration. Later in the section, we'll take a closer look at how to set up a good communication plan and how to establish metrics to mark progress toward the goal.
HOW TO MAKE CHANGE STICK
It's one thing to make the change; it's another thing to make the change stick. In this section, we’ll present several practical techniques that Jack and his teams have used to make sure that the change they worked so hard for wasn't lost once the initiative was completed.
CHANGE AS THE NEW NORMAL
There's a world of difference between an organization that works its way through one change initiative and an organization that adopts the view that change is constant. If you're going to keep on winning, you have to put into place a system of change that always challenges and re-energizes the team to do more. This section of our course explores ways to leverage every win and put into place a structure that supports the change and drive the ongoing success of the organization.
WRAP UP
In our final section, we review of the Change Acceleration Process Framework and get some parting words of advice from Jack.
