Member Article

Making Change Real - change management North East

Forward thinking organisations know what they want to change, they’re just not sure how to do it to make it real and get results. More than 50% of change initiatives fail because despite the strategic plan being right, the people didn’t engage with it. The problem is the people. In recent research we heard how CEO’s, managers and staff felt about change:

“I like that we are a changing organisation, I’m just not sure its the right change” “There’s always something that they (managers) want to muck around with” “I’ll come in to the office and a stranger will be sitting next to me who says they’re part of my team!” “I wish I had a magic wand sometimes to get people excited about change” “The number of new initiatives that come round in a memo or team talk makes me smile because I know they’ll be forgotten by next year”

Change is not a linear process, it doesn’t just begin and end and it is far more complex than identifying an outcome, planning the systems and implementing them. Change is not a neutral word, it is emotional. Therein lies the challenge of making change real, lasting and effective; people need to feel engaged in a cyclical process of change that has meaning and a level of success. How do we do this?

Communicate change - Be open and honest about the needs of the organisation and what may need to change “what happens if we do, what happens if we don’t?” Consult with people about their role and contribution to the business and how they can support change. Share expectations for the implications of change and listen to feedback. Demonstrate your commitment and positivity towards change. Define the action that will be taken and offer regular updates about the impact of change.

Activate change - Set realistic targets in collaboration with people. Develop competencies and align tasks to strengths not weaknesses. Empower people to take responsibility for their part in activating change. Encourage collaboration and learning throughout the change process. Monitor and measure the impact of change. Get started as soon as possible, experiment and review.

Develop a culture of change - Lead people towards excitement for change. Build on success of small change initiatives and plan for bigger change. Review and share success and failure and offer a real world appreciation of the impact of change. Revisit the strategic plan and be flexible about adapting it. Enable people to be curious and creative and solution focussed in a changing culture. Earn and practise trust to create a safe and supportive environment for change initiatives.

Are you equipped to make change real having read these three points? Probably not; that’s because we learn by experience. How exactly do we empower people or earn trust? We probably know the answer but we might not be doing it very well. To bridge the gap between knowing and doing we could experience reality in a safe fictional setting. Imagine watching a fictional scenario based on real world experiences; it presents recognisable challenges and people who are trying to do a good job but failing somehow. The story unfolds, telling of trials and tribulations and frustrations and fear because change is sudden and quick. People feel worthless and unable to control what is being done to them. The rumour mill has started. How does a leader deal with this? In a live interactive session, the audience can investigate what’s going on, step in to the shoes of others and appreciate multiple points of view, then decide what the leader should do to make change happen effectively. Rehearsal for reality is vital for leaders and managers to practise skills such as communication or managing performance, it is an underused tool to make significant step change in skills development and confidence building.

Act Positive with Sogno Consulting and Nineworks are presenting a live interactive case study about change on the 29th April in Newcastle Upon Tyne for the Change Management Institute. You will have the chance to explore the human side of making change happen, share knowledge and experience and practise skills for developing a culture of real change in your organisation. Contact Katharine at Act Positive to find out more or call 07976 535864

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katharine Roff .