You're considering a career in change management. What hard skills do you need to succeed?

- Proficiency in project management methodologies, - data analysis for measuring change impact, - technological aptitude for effective communication, - strategic planning aligned with organizational goals, - strong communication abilities, - expertise in training and development, - financial acumen for budgeting and cost-benefit analysis, - familiarity with change management methodologies, - negotiation and conflict resolution skills, - understanding of risk management, and - knowledge of legal and regulatory compliance. These hard skills should be complemented by soft skills like leadership and empathy, along with relevant certifications to enhance professional credibility.

Based on my experience as a change management leader, project management is a complicated skill in change management. It is a system that consists of planning and controlling change projects to achieve organizational strategic objectives. This includes defining scope, budget, timeline, and deliverables and using project management methodologies like agile, waterfall, or hybrid to monitor and track progress and performance and report on these metrics through the change project lifecycle. Strong project management skills are needed to implement effective change.

L' écoute et l 'attention pour faire décoller vite le nouveau projet avec l 'adhésion de tous et toutes. Ensemble on va plus vite, plus haut, plus loin...

Being able to set up and run a PMO (project management office). In particular when dealing with complex, organization-wide transformations, you need to steer the PMO. Recently minted Heads of Change at times have the right business acumen and industry experience, but lack the PMO skills. That can lead to overwhelm and a poorly managed project.

Project management skills are essential, including proficiency in creating and executing project plans, managing timelines and budgets, and coordinating resources effectively, analytical skills are crucial for assessing data, identifying trends, and making informed decisions. Communication skills are vital for articulating change initiatives, engaging stakeholders.Moreover, proficiency in technology and digital tools facilitates process automation and data analysis. Lastly, an understanding of organizational dynamics and change methodologies, such as Agile or Six Sigma, is valuable for driving successful change initiatives.

Honestly, change management models are good to know. I don't swear by them. They are very theoretical and often don't reflect reality. Familiarize yourself with them and do not expect your transformation to pan out like the theory.

Change Management Models are only a guide, may or may not be useful, what's more important is the buy-in from all stakeholders & commitment to make it happen.

If there's one tool I use more than I thought I would, it's PowerPoint. It's surprisingly versatile, widely available, easy to handover, and there's plenty of learning content out there. Tips on what to learn in PowerPoint: ===== ???? Designing in PowerPoint - Change slide sizes to create printable content - Learn how to manage colours and theming - Get to know the Master Slides - Grids and snapping for alignment - Formatting text boxes for whitespace and readability ???? Presenting tools: - PowerPoint Live for integrated presentations in Teams - Speaker Coach for feedback - Presenter Modes and Cameo ??♀? More advanced features to step up your presentations: - Manipulating slide morphing - Joining shapes and managing backgrounds

You need to be able to speak the language of the CFO and CEO if you want the transformation to be successful. If there are roadblocks, you need to be able to demonstrate the financial loss (due to loss of productivity, project delays) to derive a stronger sense of urgency and an executive champion stepping up.

Business Acumen is one of the strongest skills require to Champion a Change Process in an organization. The ability to effectively communicate & convince is very powerful & useful to make things happen.