Hitting the Ground Running

"Must be able to hit the ground running".

How many times have you seen this on a job description. For change initiatives it seems to be a staple but what does it mean and what does it really look like.

Well I am working on some material that might give less experienced change professionals an idea of what this looks like in practice. I had some ideas already but of course I am just one person so I wanted to hear what others in my network did when they first come into a change initiative.

The original post and comments are here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/changeasianprovocateur_change-changemanagement-mondaymusing-activity-6807654212848115712-NTGQ

Well worth a read in its own right but what follows is my own summary to guide mainly those new to change and how they might mature as they grow with experience.

First off, my network are a clever bunch and more often than not they get brought it at a relatively senior level working with the executive team and steering boards of challenged programmes. As such, much of what was provided was, I think, aimed at being in that position - understanding the motivation / rational for change, analysing what had been done to date in regard to change management activities, determining what key stakeholders feel needs to he undertaken to be successful and understanding the readiness of the organisation for accepting change.

Although this is super helpful perhaps it is a bit lofty as to what less experienced change analysts might need to do to hit that proverbial ground at speed.

But it did help put some structure to what this elusive expectation should look like at three levels. For the purposes of this little exploration I have defined three levels of engagement.

1. Change Analyst Support - deployed into an existing change team to support existing change management activities on a single project.
2. Change Manager - deployed to support a project manager by leading the change management activities on a single project.
3. Change Advisor - deployed to support a project sponsor/project steering board to advise on key considerations to land change successfully considering the intention, organisational readiness and proposed approaches.

NOTE: Depending on the organisational setup you might find yourself across multiple projects performing these roles. That simply means a little more work on getting ready to go but for now I am assuming just one specific initiative unless you are in the advisory role.

Also reviewing the feedback and reflecting on my days trying immerse myself in a new change project, I noted that there are 4 things to being able to get to be effective in the shortest time possible.

1. Gather intelligence - One of the hardest things to do is to play catch up on a programme that is already underway. It is a delicate balance of asking lots of questions but without making people feel like they are going over old ground and providing you justification for what has happened. These actions should help get a sense of where things are at, how things get done and who drives action / controls information flow.
2. Make a plan - This is your opportunity to determine what actions you believe you can help support and believe are needed to resolve some of the issues you have uncovered.
3. Validate approach - From a credibility and buy in perspective, you want to know that what you are proposing has some backing and that what you have learned through “discovery” has been interpreted correctly. How you position your work here will help build trust – remain open to it being wrong or needing to change significantly. At this stage we are really still trying to validate our understanding of the need for your position in real terms for this client.
4. Get going and update - Time to take the training wheels off and show everyone what Business Change is all about, why you are so good at it and why they should have got you in at the start. Be open to adjusting your work as new information comes to light and when changes happen elsewhere in the project make sure your priorities or plans have been reassessed to maximise your contribution.

With this in mind, see below a table that looks at what activities to focus on depending on your role and where you can gain access to the information or what you should use to support the activity. I believe this approach can give you the best chance of contributing quickly and effectively - which by the way is my definition of "hitting the ground running"

As you can see, depending as to approximately your role will fit the areas information that you might find helpful and the actions you might take will vary. But it gives each role a place to start. The table by no means is suggesting that certain items arent valuable to you - its just that if time is of the essence, which we can perhaps assume it is when hitting the ground running, then these might be the best places to start.

Oh Behave!

There are some fundamental behaviours that people called upon time again which essentially have the end goal of making friends. New people to projects, especially change analysts / consultants find themselves in the midst of a moving rollescoaster. Some people are loving the ride, others can't wait to get off. There's often a tension between them and we changies need everyone to enjoy the ride. To do that it is vital that people, thrill seeker or not, trust us and know we can support their needs. So here's a few points about making friends

Listen intently - people have a lot to say when it comes to making change happen, especially if they have been through it before or have experience of leading change in the organisation. Having a bank of questions that helps you dig into their experiences will really help you understand them, their role and their perception of change. Some questions you might think to ask

• How long have you been on the programme?
• What do you do within the project team?
• How does that fit in overall?
• What is worrying you about this being successful?
• Etc etc

Whatever you do, make sure you are listening intently, look for facial and bodily cues if certain things they say energise them or demoralise them.?This is a first step to understanding support and resistance

Don't judge - whatever you hear, it is quite easy to make an assertion or judgment about it. We all do it everytime we hear someone talking or see someone in the street - ok not all the time but it is very common and casual that it happens a lot.

DONT DO IT!

REALLY, I mean it! Don't Judge them.

If you want someone's trust, you have to be willing to hear their experiences and refrain from judgement. You may have an opinion on why certain things are the way they are but, you weren't there and no Two stories no matter how similar are ever exactly the same. So if you are listening intently, make sure you let the person finish and do your reflections away from the conversations. Needless to say, don't remain mute unless you are asking a questions - that would be boring. But instead of perhaps judging some they could have done better call out any stories where you had a similar issues and share those insights from your own experiences.

Remain open to change - probably an oxymoron for change agents but you would be surprised how easy it is to get sucked in to thinking your plan or ideas are protected from change. You take the time to research the landscape, understand the context and know what parts of Change Management can help - how can your ideas possibly not be what is needed. Well perhaps they are exactly the right ideas but other emotions or challenges are at play or perhaps you have missed something in the analysis. Remaining open to the ideas that what you put forward is just the best you have based on what you CURRENTLY know and that your knowledge is always evolving should help make you feel a little more comfortable that perhaps what you have suggested could still have room for improvement and that ultimately can make your more successful in the long run - despite the initial knock on the ego. Of course, you must also be able to defend you thinking if you truly believe it to be the right approach - but here is a very nuanced part of the role. If trust is key to enabling change practices to be included in more initiatives, then picking which points to hang tight to and which to concede is itself a point to hone.

You could have the best plan, but if the sponsor or those impacted dont like it and you push on through well that wont buy you any friends. On the other hand, you might know the consequence of not perhaps allowing sufficient time for an activity, say like the business readiness window. Imagine you get pressured in to reducing it but you know the business have aligned all their resources and planned for this - its time to get some find the defiant you and keep on pushing. Worst case - people at least know you have noted this as a major risk and described the consequences and they project ploughs on anyway. Best case people sit up and listen and, although they'll never know it, you can rest happy know you saved a potential own goal.

Summary

Depending on where you believe your role sits, you can focus your attention in the right place by jumping straight to the project artefacts relevant for the role you are performing. Anyone who has been around a while in change, you'll probably spot a number of additional things which could be added. Do comment and share - this was just a starter for 10 and largely intended for those who are new or early on the change career journey.

A huge thank you to all that contributed on the original post and shared their wisdom.