Change Guides Newsletter

In This Issue

Training is Part of Learning

Common Questions in Training

Discounts for our Change Management Certification Programs

Becoming a Certified Change Management Professional

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Spring 2017

Greetings

Training sessions are just one part of learning. People need to be actively engaged in the learning process. Our first article focuses on the need to prepare people for learning and our second article, written by Beckie Schretter, one of our trainers and consultants, focuses on questions she often gets while teaching our Change Management Certification Program.

Are you headed to the ACMP Conference May 21-24, 2017 in New Orleans? If so, when you pick up your swag bag, look inside for a copy of our Change Management Pocket Guide.

Enjoy and let us know what you think!

The Change Guides Team

Training is Part of Learning

To learn, people need to be prepared to acquire new knowledge and skills. They need to go through some type of training or skill building. And they need to practice and retain what was learned.

The best learning takes place when people have a mindset that is ready to learn. Until people understand the need to learn something new and want to be a part of a new future, it is hard to get people to act differently.

It is not uncommon to try to "force" people to comply with new ways of working by throwing them into a class and expecting that they will soak up the information and come out the other end of the class transformed.

Sorry, but it doesn't happen that way!

Have you ever sat in a training class that your boss made you go to thinking, "This is complete a waste of time? Why am I even here?" Sadly, it is much more common than it should be.

To get people ready to learn, start by explaining why the learning needs to happen, how individuals will benefit, and what people's new roles will be. Allow people to talk about the change and what will be expected. Give people some foundational information to get them started like an overview or short CBT before dropping them into a boot-camp or a long training program. This gives people the chance to think about what they are about to learn before they jump all the way in.

Common Questions in Training

Did you know Change Guides has certified scores of change management professionals in our principles, methodology and tools through the Change Management Certification class? The best part of teaching these classes is learning from each other as we share well-earned wisdom throughout the three days. Here are some questions that often come up.

1. What tools are required for every change initiative?

There are no mandatory tools; however, there are 4 tools I use on virtually every change project to establish a firm foundation.

The first tool is the Stakeholder Analysis tool which captures the impact the change will have on each impacted group. Capturing concerns focuses us on finding answers to help facilitate the transition.
The second tool is the Change Management Communication Plan which lays out the communications needs to drive change for each stakeholder group. My favorite idea is to link communication objectives to the Change Guides Commitment Curve.
The third tool is the Change Management Workplan to keep track of the tasks and next steps required. Managing these tasks ensures they get done in a timely manner.
The last tool is either a Change Readiness Audit or a Commitment Assessment to get feedback. Do these tools multiple times throughout the project to get trend data on change readiness.

2. How can we best address resistance?

When participants understand resistance as feedback it alters how we talk about and approach perceived resistance. We begin to strive for understanding, asking what is underlying the resistance. This understanding allows us to start address those needs.

3. What do you do when leaders are not aligned on the change initiative benefits or priority?

First confirm the leaders fully understand the change vision and benefits. Consider interviewing your key executive sponsors and leaders using selected questions from the Leader Alignment Interview tool to gather data that will help facilitate an alignment conversation. Engage the executive sponsor by inviting him/her to the meeting to help clarify expectations. Also, use the Leader Involvement Plan to share agreed upon messages or to take aligned action.

Discounts for our Change Management Certification Program

Interested in attending one of our Change Management Certification Programs? Check out the dates on the left hand side of the newsletter. We offer the following discounts:

$1995 - early registration discount

$2495 - regular price

Special ACMP discount - take an extra $100 off whenever you register.

	Did you know that Change Guides has a blog? Check it out at: blog.changeguidesllc.com