This post is a sub-set of Managing Change. It is the second in a series of eight posts, designed to provide more detailed information about each of the the eight steps of the Change Management Process.

The second step in planning and managing a successful change process is to create a team to guide the decision making about the change. Members of the team should balance leadership with management skills, should be the ‘right people’ in terms of peer group credibility and trust, and who have (or can make) time available to focus on effective teamwork and guiding the change project.

Purpose of the Team.
The purpose of the guiding team is to ensure the change is successfully implemented and entrenched within the organisation. Responsibilities to achieve this include:

• Create the Vision (see Step Three) to describe the purpose of the change;
• Maintain and monitor the communication plan - ensure planned messages are consistent, delivered by various media and speakers and monitor how well the message is being understood and accepted;
• Create the change plan and assign actions to overcome resistance, complacency, fear, agression, etc;
• Govern the change - monitor what has been achieved and what has not yet been closed out of the change plan;
• Define the new behaviours - tell people what they should stop doing, and what they should start doing differently;
• Reward people who are aligning to the change, and hold them up as an example to the rest of the organisation;
• Remove barriers and roadblocks for people in the organisation who are changed with tasks to facilitate the change (see Step Five);
• Communicate and Listen! (see Step Four).

The team must commit to meeting and guiding the change on a regular and frequent basis, which will maintain the momentum for the change.

Composition of the Team
The team should balance a whole range of skills, experiences and viewpoints and include people:

• who share an understanding for the need for the change;
• with strong leadership and visionary skills, who are enthusiastic, articulate and passionate about the change;
• with strong planning and management skills, who have attention to detail and are passionate about getting things done;
• who can communicate with all levels of the organisation using different styles, media and techniques, with strong networks;
• who are trusted and respected by their colleagues;
• who are able to make time for and commit to the change effort and the Guiding Team; and
• from all levels of the organisation. We have seen Guiding Teams fail because they were made up entirely of senior management staff. Select people who can represent and interact with all levels of the organisation.

In other words, these people are usually already very busy creating change within the organisation!

What’s Next? Step Three – Develop the Vision…

This post is a sub-set of Managing Change. It is the first in a series of eight posts, designed to provide more detailed information about each of the the eight steps of the Change Management Process.

The first step in planning and managing a successful change process is to increase the urgency for the change and create dissatisfaction for the status quo.

All change starts with the individual.
Each individual faced with impending change needs to first hear and understand the change before acting and behaving in a manner consistent with the change. As change agents, we must show individuals the need for the change (ie why the change is mandatory) and identify and communicate the corporate and individual benefits of the change. It is only when individuals act and behave in a manner aligned to the change that we see groups (such as business units) working productively and cohesively in the changed environment.

The Change Coping Cycle
We are all created with an in-built mechanism to protect us and give us time to adapt to changes: it is called the Change Coping Cycle. We individually progress through the stages of the Change Coping Cycle, (ie from Shock to Denial, Acknowledgement, Adaptation, Growth and finally an acceptance in a new Comfort Zone.)
Individuals progress through the stages of the Coping Cycle at different speeds and must be allowed time for each stage. People can get stuck for a while in any stage (eg Shock, Denial, Acknowledgement, etc) and need help to move around to the next phase of the Coping Cycle.

Why must we Increase Urgency for the Change?
People typically prefer the status quo to significant change. We are often complacent in the face of communicated change for many reasons, including our natural tendencies to deny that change is needed, especially if we are already busy or stressed at work. Some of the other typical reasons for complacency include:

• The absence of any major and visible crisis;
• Low overall performance standards and a tolerance for current performance ratings;
• Too much ‘happy talk’ from senior management which seems at odds with the need to change;
• Too many visible resources (eg expansive meeting rooms, plush surrounds, flying first class every time, fat cat functions, etc) which seem to contradict the need for change;
• Lack of performance feedback from external sources and measurement systems that perhaps focus on the wrong indicators / metrics;

How to Increase Urgency for the Change

Here’s a set of ideas which we have found useful in the past:

• Show the need for the change. Express the problem and the opportunity clearly, logically and personally. Gain input from business people about the possible solutions.
• Make the message tangible. Use emotions and feelings, not just logic and numbers, which can often be ‘dry’.
• Use evidence you can see to generate urgency for change. Be creative when you demonstrate the nature of the current problem.
• Create actions or activities that dramatise the end of the old way. Don’t just talk about endings – signal the new beginning. Cortez the Conquistador burned the boats on the shores of Veracruz to demonstrate to his troops that there was no ‘going back’!
• Use external feedback. Organise for a customer, supplier, partner, etc to express the problem (or need for change) as they perceive it.
• Don’t underestimate complacency, fear and anger. Try not to be surprised when faced with passive and even aggressive resistance to change.
• ‘Reward’ individuals for demonstrating new behaviours which are aligned to the change and the vision. Rewards can be as simple as a special mention in a memo, a monetary bonus, a gift voucher, some time off in lieu of increased productivity, etc.

What’s Next? Step Two – Build the Guiding Team…

Managing change is ‘hard work’ and fraught with risk of failure. It requires a lot of patience, continuous repetition of key concepts, enthusiasm, understanding, empathy and often the development of a ‘thick skin’. People promoting, leading and enabling change are often faced with passive resistance to change such as silence, withdrawal, absenteeism, lethargy, inactivity, etc. and even ‘open’ resistance such as hostility, aggression, conflict, paranoia, negativity, criticism and sabotage.

So Why Do It?

Successfully managing change can also be incredibly satisfying. Individuals and organisations often seek to implement changes in order to realise some intended individual or business benefits. Often those intended benefits are difficult to express or are in some way unpalatable to the intended audience (eg We want to decrease costs, reduce staff numbers, increase productivity or efficiency, etc).
Managing change using tried and tested concepts and techniques will avoid (or at least minimise) the impact of passive and open resistance to change. Applying good change management techniques in a project environment can:

• manage peoples’ expectations about the change – including their perceived losses and gains from the implemented change;
• mobilise and motivate people to accept the change and get on with it;
• maintain participation and support of all interested parties;
• speed the implementation of change and the realisation of the intended benefits;
• reduce the less-productive time (downtime) associated with doing things a new way, and help people to more quickly become familiar, comfortable and even expert at doing things the new way; and
• institutionalise the changes, so individuals (and the organisation) are not tempted to revert to ‘old’ practices.

How Do You Do It?

We have implemented change programs in many industries, in organisations large and small and with a huge variety of organisational cultures and have found that even the most planned and meticulously executed change management attempts will risk failure without the mandatory, high levels of visible executive sponsorship, individual understanding and belief in the need for the change and concrete benefits for the individuals in the organisation.
Over the years, we have tried various techniques to manage change, and have found that Kotter’s 8 Steps to Managing Change are very useful. We have added our experiences to Kotter’s method.
Using a recipe analogy, the ingredients for a successful implementation of sustained organisational change are quite simple, and should be checked regularly for their effectiveness in supporting the change process:

1. Increase the urgency for the change and create dissatisfaction for the status quo. Show individuals the need for the change (ie why the change is necessary) and identify and communicate the corporate and individual benefits of the change. This step has been further explored in this post.
2. Build the team to guide the implementation and decision-making related to the change project. Members of the guiding team should balance leadership with management skills, should be the ‘right people’ in terms of peer group credibility and trust, and who have (or can make) time available to focus on effective teamwork. This has been further explored in this post.
3. Define and communicate the vision for the change. The vision should be bold, compelling, understood and easily shared with the guiding team and the individuals in their work environment. The vision should express clearly what the new, changed organisation will look like and feel like to the individuals.
4. Communicate (even over-communicate!). Tell people affected as much as you can, as early as you can. Respond to concerns raised, they can at least be acknowledged, if not fully answered. Honour all commitments to communicate. Remember that you will be judged by your actual communications (presentations, e-mails, newsletters, posters, meetings, etc) not by your best intentions to communicate!
5. Empower action. Help people in the changing work environment to succeed in the new world. Communicate what they should stop doing, and what they should start doing differently. ‘Empower’ them by removing the obstacles (eg too much work, not enough time, impossibly high targets, etc). Provide them with the mandate for action, the resources, the time, etc. Coach and support the people empowered to act on behalf of the guiding team, and visibly reward them for demonstrating changing behaviours aligned to the intended business outcomes of the change.
6. Create momentum and support for the changes by implementing Quick Wins. Be aware however, that not all Quick Wins are equal: true quick wins should be implemented quickly in the context of the overall project timeline, should be communicated effectively to the areas most affected, and must be meaningful and unambiguous. If you find yourself arguing about a Quick Win, its often perceived as a loss…
7. Turn your back for a second, and groups of individuals usually prefer to abandon the changes and go back to the ‘old way’. The second-to-last step in the change process is to stop the back-sliding: Don’t Let Up. This step involves actions to maintain the urgency for the changes and can go on for weeks and months.
8. The eighth step in the change process is to make sure the changes stick. This involves all the actions required until you hear people saying about the changes you have been seeking to implement “… but this is how we’ve always done it…”. Old terminology and phrases are a thing of the past, documentation and culture has changed to support the changes, and new employees are indoctrinated in ‘the new way’.

Have you ever found yourself standing before an audience - all of your attention focussed on delivering your careful, controlled presentation - when a voice calls out the sort of cheeky remark that stops you dead in your tracks?

Welcome to the world of the workshop facilitator!

The thought of standing before your peers like a sacrificial goat tied to a stake might reduce you to the foetal position. Do not think that you are alone.

Along with strapping ourselves into an aeroplane seat and getting up-close and cuddly with over-sized arachnids, public speaking still ranks as one of our all-time greatest fears.

Recently I was facilitating a workshop for fifteen hostile conscripts. Within the first five minutes (which were punctuated with yawns, shuffling feet and vibrating mobiles) one of them decided to contribute to the session by saying, “Listen lady…” in an exaggerated drawl, then launching into a lecture about how he had “heard all this before.”

A number of things happen at a moment like this:

1. The workshop bully gets his moment in the sun and finds he likes it,
2. The other conscripts become either amused or embarrassed – but either way they are distracted from the business at hand, and
3. Most importantly, the workshop process and flow is disrupted, and pressure is placed on the facilitator to regain control.

The good thing about being an experienced facilitator is that you have also “heard all this before.” Skeptical -and often hostile – participants are part of a day’s work.

So what things should you remember and apply in a moment like this? Try the following:

• Pretend you are a Real Person – you may not have settled fully into your facilitator role and are probably being viewed by your audience as a “talking suit.” Inject some humanity into your presentation by using a different tone, body language or by poking fun at yourself.
• Cut to the Chase – even though you may be saving the good stuff for later in your presentation, introduce it early to give the group something to focus on. This should give them an understanding of where you are headed, the significance of the workshop and will help re-align their expectations about your purpose.
• Inflict the ‘Role-play’ – put some of the onus on them by getting them involved in an activity. This takes the spotlight off you and gives them something to focus on other than picking holes in your presentation. This also helps them to understand that you are working with them, not for them.
• Break the News - Tell them something they haven’t heard before! Have some interesting statistics, analogies or anecdotes up your sleeve.

If all else fails, (and take heart that most of the teachers, trainers, managers and facilitators I’ve ever worked with have all had a ‘session from hell’), then start reciting your professional mantra.

I’m sure you have heard all mine before, so I’ll leave it up to you to develop your own!

Effective communication is the most important tool in a consultant’s repertoire.

Often brought into a project or team environment to facilitate constructive conversations, the consultant is always required to choose their words carefully.

For in any meeting or workshop or presentation, there are moments when differing factions hover over common ground.

Equally, opposing viewpoints, when expressed, can create damaging rifts and it is often the role of the consultant to bridge these gaps and cement the common ground while it exists!

Every consultant knows that a careless phrase can damage sensitive negotiations. In our experience, four phrases that should never crop up in consultative conversations are:

1. “Look” / “Listen”

Directing people in this off-hand way is becoming more and more common. Regularly used by politicians to answer unpleasant questions from journalists, these sentence-starters are creeping into everyday discussions.

The words “look” and “listen”, often chosen to emphasise a viewpoint, are aggressive turns of phrase and can be viewed by your audience as abrupt and commanding.

By beginning a sentence in this manner, the consultant seems to be saying: You’re not hearing me or You need to look at things the way I do.

Both inferences are far from engaging and can alienate your audience well before you have made your point.

2. “The thing is…”

This is what we call conversation clutter.

It is another term for “patter” or “verbal fillers”, where the person who has the limelight fills up the spaces in their conversation with meaningless words.

Have you ever been involved in a conversation that the other person insists on controlling with long pauses, drawn-out words or big physical gestures? They are likely to also be guilty of conversation clutter.

The reality is that phrases like “If you ask me…” or “When you stop for a moment and think about it…” are not only largely meaningless, but are also designed to give the audience the impression that the speaker already has all of the answers.

Not a good way to encourage people to contribute to a conversation!

3. “We don’t have time for this…”

The carpark is a consulting technique used when many, potentially distracting issues arise in a consultative environment. While these issues are often important, they may be either out of scope of the current discussion or impossible to resolve effectively in the given timeframe.

As a result, the consultant need to “park” these issues without devaluing them and often writes them on an adjacent white-board to keep them in sight, but out of scope.

This is a far more effective way of managing the conversation than throwing your hands into the air and declaring, “We don’t have time for this!”

Just remember that by telling your audience you will address an issue at a later date, you must honour your commitment or risk losing their trust in both you and the process.

4. “Obviously!” “Surely!”

Like the first phrase, this one is often lobbed into a conversation like a grenade.

The speaker not only suggests that they have all of the answers, but in a single word can ridicule all contrasting opinions.

When dealing with other people, nothing is obvious or certain.

If the consultant wants to be clear about a particular point, it is far better that they phrase it in a less aggressive manner, acknowledging that the general consensus might be different from individual opinions.

In using the words “I think” or “I believe” you open the floor to other ideas, rather than suggesting that only the dim-witted or obstinate would dare to disagree with you!

Interstate and overseas postings and consulting assignments can be exciting and professionally rewarding.

Depending upon what you value as an individual, and your particular likes and dislikes, you may be more or less suited to undertaking consulting assignments away from home.

Consider these ideas, and weigh up the pros and cons for your lifestyle and preferences:

• It’ll look great on your cv. Showing that you have conducted consulting assignments away from home demonstrates your willingness to be flexible in your professional career, and that your skills are respected and needed elsewhere.
• You’ll meet new people. Even though you are travelling for work purposes, you can still enjoy a bit of a ‘holiday edge’ by keeping light-hearted and open to meeting new potential friends.
• You’ll be a stranger. The hotel almost certainly will be unfamiliar, even if the city is not, and you may not see a familiar face at all between finishing the day at the office and getting back to work the next day. See if the hotel has a gym, or facilities to ‘mingle’ with other single travellers before dinner. Ask the concierge about the preferred local walking / jogging routes, or curl up with a great book.
• The weather will be different. Almost certainly the weather in your destination city will be different from home. Make the most of a weather change and bring out the clothes and accessories you’ve stowed in the back of the cupboard.
• Keep track of your expenses. Travelling can be expensive, so make sure you have a solid system (eg put aside an area of your wallet / purse) to store your receipts. It will make the process of making a claim less of a trial.
• Travelling takes time. Specify in your proposal / quote or during discussions with your client if the time it takes you to travel to and from your destination is included as ‘billable’ time. Perhaps you can negotiate by promising to complete some preparation or ‘write-up’ work while you are in the airport / on the plane.
• Getting the laptop through the airport security. Check out your company policy for travelling with a laptop, and the conditions for insurance. Remember that your laptop must be security cleared, will be x-rayed and it is customary for the battery to be removed from the laptop before screening.
• Your client will expect a lot from you. Be prepared. Your client will expect a high level of confidence and professionalism from you. Your client will most likely want you to share your experiences and knowledge, and relevant anecdotes, to add value to your consultancy. Balance this with too many sentences which begin “At home…”.

Overall, we love travelling with work!

What are your experiences on the road?
Feel free to share with us through the contact box below.