6.) Involve the Influencers. You know who the influencers are – they’re the people that can really the troops, convince the unconvinced, sway the big guys. Find them, explain the rationale for the change, and get them to advocate the change.
Tip: See point 3. Adam is an influencer
7.) Walk the Walk. Nothing will deflate a burgeoning change more than lip service. If you are behind the change, make sure that you support it with your actions, in addition to your words. Action means resources, time, and money.
Real-Life Example: Natalie spearheaded the merging of two groups, to drive more synergies in customer service. She was the first one to come up with an acronym for the name that would reflect the new organization, but continued to act in a “them vs. us” way. As the leader of the group, her behavior influenced members of the team and the change was never internalized. They were one in name, but continued to act as independent entities, which added more inefficiency instead of the expected efficiency.
8.) Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. This is critical, especially if the change is multi-phased. Communicate regularly with your stakeholders about progress and challenges. When people know they are being affected by something, their thirst for information is very high, so the risk of over-communicating is negligible.
Tips on Creating a Communication Plan: Include the name of the organization/person, the message, the medium (meeting, e-mail, wiki), the deliverer of the message, and the time frame during which the message will be delivered.
9.) Quantify Your Change. It doesn’t need to be factor analysis and regressions, but try to put some tangible measures about your change. You can use a spectrum or a simple yes/no metric to identify your progress and areas of improvement.
Tip on Developing Change Metrics: Many times, measuring the change is truly subjective. Create a scale that you can use consistently: 1 = needs work, 5 = getting there, 10 = mastered the change for the various aspects of the change.
10.) Assess and Adjust. The one constant about change is, well, it changes. Take stock of your change strategy at regular intervals, so that you can modify your plan according to the dynamic circumstances around you.
Note: This is the most important step in surviving a change and coming out the other end better for it.
0 comments so far...
No comments yet.