Good morning,
Thank you for the opportunity to present you with my approach to “Driving Change in Your Team or Organisation.”
Or as I call it: How to make sure the wheels of the bus go round and round?
From the beginning let me make my position on change clear.
Change is Good!
Change is exciting!
Change is progress!
People like change!
What people do not like is BEING changed.
From the beginning let me make my position on change clear.
Change is Good!
Change is exciting!
Change is progress!
People like change!
What people do not like is BEING changed.
Personally I treat change as a tour, and take the team with me. I become the tour guide: share my knowledge and enthusiasm about the sights (milestones) and do my utmost to ensure that the journey is as smooth as possible with as little stress as possible.
Let’s apply this concept to a learning and development scenario.
The company wishes to introduce a new Learning Management System.
First, let everyone knows what’s going on; send the team the tour sales brochure, briefly outlining the proposed change, the benefits to the company and the benefits to them as individuals. It has to be intriguing, to peak their interest so they want to know more, and so they want to jump on the bus.
Secondly: Invite the team and crew (that includes other stakeholders, sponsors and managers) to a meeting, call it a Launch or pre-tour meeting; use the sales brochure as a base and explain the proposed change in more detail, but of course, this time encourage feedback and discussion: give space to explore the WIIFM, the “What’s in it for me?” factor. I know that the company may have pre-selected already the new LMS, but if this is done early enough, there may be some worthwhile suggestions from the team. The key factor here is communication, making the team feel part of the process, not the victims of it.
The departure point for my imaginary tour is the current state, where we are today: a system that although people are familiar with, they are not happy with it. The destination is the desired state, in say 6 months time: a more modern system with an intuitive GUI, content management, self service functionality with access for administration staff, learners, tutors/facilitators and managers.
As with any good tour, give the team a guide map. The map should show all of the stops, points of interest and the timetable of events. This equates to each milestone of the change, what needs to be done i.e. training, hardware updates, software installations and simple update meetings and the deadline it needs to be done by. Make sure the team has a clear understanding of where they are going and what they will see and do when they get there.
Make a point to speak to individuals all through the journey, asking if the tour is what they expected and whether they are enjoying it. Keep the team engaged with the process, the tour if you like. Be prepared to resolve any queries or complaints.
Whenever there is a stop, make sure the team gets together to discuss the highlights of that section of the journey. Was it as expected, do they feel good about things, what went well and what could have gone better? Get all members to complete evaluation questionnaires at each stop with space for their own comments, not just a tick box exercise. Review the comments and modify the change process as required.
Make sure that there is support in place for any member who gets left behind, The bus can’t get to the end of the journey successfully if anyone is left behind. This could be in the form of coaching or supplemental learning opportunities.
At the end of the journey, gather all team members to celebrate a successful, enjoyable tour. Highlight any outstanding personal contributions, reflect on how far we have come and be sure to thank everyone for their contribution.
It is not just about the destination, it’s also very much about the journey; the shared ownership; the trust.
Remember the whole object of Change Management is to “Make sure the wheels of the bus go round and round” so that the tour can reach its destination on time and with everyone still on board.
Just to conclude;
My personal approach to “driving” change is to be inclusive, to involve and engage with the team; respecting their diversity and equality, to build trust on both sides. I believe this to be the most productive model to effect real sustainable change.
Thank you for listening.
