How I became a Certified Change Management Practitioner (CMP).

I promised myself that if I successfully passed the APMG, Change Management Practitioner exam, that I would write an article on how I did it. Mostly because my internet searches on other people's experience while I was in the preparation course were unsuccessful, and I wasn't able to find many resources to help me through. So the first part of this article is about the things that helped me get through the 5 day certification course, and the second part of the article is about what I learned.

Part 1: Getting through the CMP Certification Course and Exams

The first thing that I should disclose is that according to DISC, i'm a high SC. For those that are unfamiliar with the personality assessment, it basically means that I have an affinity for process and information. The more logic and structure that I can create and the more information I have, the more confident I feel in the process - hence the internet searches of tips and tricks about the course and exams. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist, which in this case worked against me due to the amount of information I needed to absorb in very short period of time. A combination of my perfectionist tendencies, a 600 page manual, 5 days to learn the information, and 2 written exams resulted in a breeding ground for my high SC anxiety. You can find other articles on the exam structure, and the preparation course also gives you insight on the number of questions and format, so I won't go into that here. Instead I'll offer the top 3 things that helped me make it through the certification course and pass both exams.

1) Trust the process. I am a natural critic and if you put me in a pressure cooker, my inner critic and thoughts of self doubt unconsciously leak out. It's something that I'm working really hard to manage and it's definitely a work in progress. How am I suppose to memorize 600 pages worth of material to pass the first exam? Who is Kubler Ross and why is he important to my life? What's the stage above Love on Maslow's Hierachy of Needs again? Are they really going to boot me out of the course if I don't pass the first exam? How will I tell my boss that I got kicked out? I could go on forever but you get the point. The sheer volume of information that you need to digest in a condensed period of time could bring anyone to their knees, but as I mentioned, trust the process and tame your inner monster. You have the ability to receive the course handbook and candidate guide in advance, and it provides you with specific pages numbers that might be on the exam. So read the sections strategically. Bust out the highlighters and post it notes to help you organize the sections and mark the key content. Then when you're in the course you work through a power point slide deck that highlights the key content in even greater detail. Then at the end of each section, you engage in a group discussion about the key content. Then you get to practice on mock exams to assess how you're doing. So the process, while it can be painful while you're in it, is a good one. It allows you to read the content on your own time, review it again as a class, then you get to apply it at the end of each section. In my humble opinion, that's learning and development 101. You see it, hear it and have a chance to apply it. Add in a few more reviews while you study and you've got it.

2) Draw Connections. Kubler Ross, Maslow, Bridges, Morgan, Holland - there's no shortage of names of really smart people who developed a model that you will have to learn and memorize. As you're going through the course and learning or relearning the models, think about how you've seen it in action at your workplace. Was it followed? Did it work? Did it fail? Now knowing what you know, what would you do differently? Trying to find something solid, something that you're familiar with, something that you've experienced is very helpful in trying to make an abstract concept tangible.

3) Engage with your classmates. You know how they say that it takes a village to raise a child? Well in my opinion it takes just as many people to succeed in this course! Remember that the people around you are all in the same boat trying to work through the same amount of content. Listen to their questions, practice the answers you would provide and don't let your ego get in the way! I started to feel more comfortable the more I started to ask questions, listen to questions and learn from the experiences of others. This is a lesson that not only helped me through the course, it's also a great reminder for life.

Part 2: My Key Takeaways

In addition to filling my head with a whole lot of academic and practical knowledge (of which most will dissipate over time), there are few key things that i'm taking away.

1) Growth is optional. Just because you take a course or get a certificate doesn't mean that you're going to be any better of an individual or in your job. Growth is something that is deliberate and intentional. You need to pause and reflect on what you've learned, how you applied it and what you're going to do with it moving forward. For me, growth was in the form of taming my inner critic. I have failed many times in my life and will likely continue to fail at things moving forward. But the one thing that I never fail at is putting in the required effort and dedication to increase my chance of success. While I'm never going to be 100% successful at 100% of the things that I try, if I put in the work and have the right attitude, the odds are in my favour.

2) Growth comes at a cost. I'm not talking about the financial cost of the course or exam. I'm talking about the price you pay in time and the billions of new synapses that are going to be firing in your brain. Learning new information, taking in new experiences and then translating them into your practice takes energy and time. If you want to grow, you have to put in the work, and it's not always glorious, but it should be worth it in the end.

3) Change is not optional and it can come at a low cost. Change is happening all around us, in our homes, in our workplaces, even in our devices. It's not going to stop no matter how much we may want it to. So the only thing that you can do is accept that nothing will stay the same and it's okay as long as change is for the better. Here's where Kubler Ross's model could actually be helpful. Work through the stages, realize that each stage is normal and part of the process, and hopefully you will make it to the other side. And how can it be low cost? Change your mind, change your perspective. It's going to cost you time, brain power, maybe even a few bucks, but if you set your sights on a goal, something that is meaningful and you want to achieve, the effort you put in becomes a little more pallet-able.

So there you have it - the three things that helped me become a Certified Change Management Practitioner and the three things that will stay with me even when all the names and diagrams have faded. The one thing that you might be thinking is "would she recommend it?". If anyone had asked me that while I was in the course I would have said a resounding "no" - but that would have been my anxiety and high SC talking. Now that the dust has settled and I've made it to the other side, I'd say "it depends". If you're taking the course or working towards the designation because you think it will make you smarter or better at your job, you're likely going to be disappointed. But if you're taking the course because you want to a framework, a guide, a way to think through stakeholders ad perspectives as a starting point, you should absolutely take the course, or at the very least pick up the handbook.