Change Guides Newsletter

In This Issue

Make it a Journey, Not an Event

Feedback for Leaders

In Your Shoes

Let's Get Together & Talk About Change

Communication and Feedback

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Stone Creek Dining

9386 Montgomery Road

Cincinnati, OH 45242

April 20, 2017 6:00p.m.

News From Change Guides!

Our Change Management Certification Program has been approved as an ACMP's Qualified Education Provider™ (QEP™) Program indicating that our program aligns to ACMP's Standard for Change Management and adult education best practices.

2017 Events

Change Management Certification

March 7-9 Cincinnati

May 16-18 Cincinnati

August 29-31 Cincinnati

Oct 2-4 Chicago

Dec 5-7 Cincinnati

PMI Seminars World Best Practices in Organizational Change Management

May 3-4 Philadelphia

August 7-8 Washington DC

Oct 31-Nov 1 Chicago

Recertification units

for ASQ

Change Guides is a certified women owned business.

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Winter 2017

Greetings

Openly asking for feedback is part of successful change. If you ask, be ready to listen and acknowledge the responses you receive. Our newsletter this month focuses on feedback and why it is so important.

Enjoy and let us know what you think!

The Change Guides Team

Make it a Journey, Not an Event

Many times during a change, impacted workers feel removed from project work. Communication is formal and one way. Project teams assume that awareness communication followed by training will result in workers adopting the change in step and on schedule - Wrong!!

As Change Leaders, we know that workers embrace change when they feel part of the transition, have opportunity to engage and ask questions. Workers need time to make sense of the change for themselves, adapting to the future state and their role in it.

Feedback for Leaders

Leaders are the most important factor in the success or failure of an organizational change. An effective change manager will almost certainly need to give leaders feedback from time to time. If you are afraid to shape the most important lever in creating successful change (or, in other words, if you are afraid to give leaders feedback), you are compromising the potential success of the change.

When leaders are not doing or saying the right things about your change, it is time for feedback - honest, direct, and fair. There are a few things to remember when giving leaders feedback.

First, it is important to keep in mind that leaders almost always want to be supportive of change, act as champions for change efforts, and guide people toward their vision. But they just don't have time or they don't know how! Getting specific can be really helpful.

Clarifying small yet powerful activities that leaders can and should be doing to demonstrate support for the change is always helpful. Think about creating a simple Leadership Involvement Plan or document that outlines what leaders can be doing and when. The kind of things that can be discussed with a leader and included in a Leadership Involvement Plan are ways to:

In Your Shoes

Joy Love

Project Manager II

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)

Have you approached projects differently after the certification? If so, how?

Absolutely! I now expect resistance to change and realize it's just part of the process. During the Change Management training a quote was shared: "No one likes change except a wet baby, and along the way, they need to be comforted." My role is to determine the type of information needed and deliver it in a way that facilitates an increasing level of stakeholder comfort over time.

What advice do you have for others trying to drive change?

I'm a project manager with 15+ years of experience and in hindsight I can see the value of formal change management. Every PM includes at least basic change management, but understanding the discipline is invaluable. I also suggest investing in and learning the tools in The Change Management Pocket Guide. I'm currently managing a major change within my organization and I find myself referring to the guide daily. It gives me everything I need to select the correct tool for the task at hand.

What one thing has helped you the most in driving change in your organization?

Focusing on Change Management within my current project has raised awareness due to the visibility of the project. It's been helpful to understand that Change Management is a discipline with defined processes and tools. It's a mindset shift within my organization because Operational Readiness has been our focus for projects. Operational Readiness is just one aspect of Change Management, but it's more than training or having a support plan in place. As a result of my project, another major initiative is looking more closely at how to make our "operational readiness" efforts more robust. It's not Change Management, but it's a step in the right direction.

Let's Get Together & Talk About Change

Change Guides is hosting an ACMP Ohio meeting in Cincinnati. Join us for networking and round table discussions on some of our favorite change management topics: dealing with resistance, engaging leaders, getting buy-in for OCM resources, and more. Mark your calendar and look for more information and the RSVP link in an upcoming communication.

Stone Creek Dining

9386 Montgomery Road

Cincinnati, OH 45242

April 20, 2017 6:00p.m.

Lite bites and non-alcoholic beverages provided. Cash bar available.

For more information contact Sheri Schweppe at 513-354-9503