How can you apply Kotter's 8-step change management framework to program management?

This step is crucial because, without a sense of urgency, change efforts can stall before they even begin. In program management, this involves clearly and compellingly explaining why the change is necessary. This isn't just about presenting facts and figures; it's about storytelling and making it relatable to everyone involved – from the sponsors to the team members on the ground. For example, suppose your program is about introducing a new technology. In that case, you might share how the current technology is falling behind, costing time and money, and how the new technology can solve these problems. This creates a picture of the present challenges and the future benefits, bridging the gap with a sense of urgency.

One way I've found to be effective at illustrating the program vision is to paint a picture using a change curve graph with points that describe milestones. For example, the X axis would go from Present state to Vision while Y axis is Low to High degree of change/commitment. The graph could start from the bottom left at "Awareness" (depends on your situation) and as it progresses to the top right it could end at "Commitment" which illustrates the organization has integrated the change and proactively providing feedback for continuous improvement. It would be effective to follow this up with a strategy on how you plan to go from present state to commitment.

In my experience, recruiting and empowering a trusted team member as a change champion directly from the team impacted by change is most impactful. These change champions are able to help pilot, communicate and advocate the changes. As a member of the team, the change champions can provide important feedback that is directly represents the team's needs and values. Create a continuous feedback loop with the change champions and integrate feedback where valid. This also helps reduce change resistance as the impacted teams gain a sense of influence and collaboration--they can drive the change rather than change is happening to them.

In practical application, Kotter's 8-step change management framework may deviate from its sequential structure to adapt to a program's unique dynamics. Flexibility is crucial, and strategic deviations, such as empowering key influencers early on to address resistance (Step 2) before formal communication of the vision (Step 4), or implementing quick wins for momentum (Step 6) before fully developing the program's strategy (Step 3), can be highly effective. This adaptive approach ensures the framework remains pragmatic and responsive to the program's evolving needs, fostering a more dynamic and effective implementation.

I was once at this startup that was blowing up like crazy, hiring 10 new folks every month. But you know, with all that speedy growth, we started running into more and more cross-functional dependencies. So, I introduced a slick dependency management framework that ended up revving our efficiency up by 20%. Once I rolled out the whole deal and got everyone up to speed, I had to make sure it was in the company's DNA. That meant hosting this weekly sync where we'd dig into all the pesky dependencies still hanging around, and as a team, we'd hammer out which ones needed tackling first. It took a few rounds, but now it's like second nature during our sprint get-togethers.