Let's not play if we can't get real. Nightmares from the desk of a Change Manager - Part 1

#changemanagement #getreal #mate

70% failure rate of change management. That is staggering any which way you cut it. Would you invest $1000 dollars knowing you had 70% chance of losing it? Similarly, would you invest in a house worth 500K knowing it would devalue 70% in the near future? Chances are no - perhaps 70% no.

I started my career in Change, upon the completion of my Masters degree in the year 2000. 24+ years later I am sitting at my desk writing about its truth. Now I am not entitled to my own facts, but i am entitled to my opinion and views based on my professional work life, my interactions, my conversations and the work I have done. I will keep a check on my facts but my view points are real. They represent the sum total of my working life. My investment in my career; so when I write I am conscious of what I am saying.

Lets start with why? - after all that's what we ask when we go in as change managers or equivalent. Why am i writing this? I have had a bad time during covid. My entire life got turned around. People I loved passed away. The bubble i lived in, burst and then some. I took time off, and during very restricted times got special permission (thanks Aus Govt) to come and be with my family. And we spent lockdowns together. During this time, I suffered an injury which further exasperated my slipped disc issues and rendered me on my bed for a year (we won't go into that). So, I started writing things down the only way I knew to keep myself busy as I was away from Perth, Australia and no one wanted to hire me based on my current location (a bit of a shame as I was able to work just not move around but....). I started editing student applications and essays online. Many of my students were from developing nations. I loved interacting with these folks their energy, ideas and humour fuelling my days.

One day, I skimmed (no one reads it in detail i think) the latest Prosci benchmark report. It had been 3 years since I looked at it & read pretty much exactly as it had 3 years ago. Wait a second or 10 - no change in change during change management? The usual graphs and rationale for 70% failure. We are STILL at 70%? Then I looked at the no 1 reason - ah the no sponsorship deal. Active and visible.... employee engagement .... communications.... fatigue... lack of SME access .... shift in priorities...link to strategic objectives (missing).... digital revolution ... resistance.... the list goes on and on.

Now lets get real, shall we?

"Can we get serious now?" Tom Hanks nailed it when he said that line.

It is the perfect setting - 2 experienced pilots sitting in front of a committee (say Project Board) being told that according to the simulations (work breakdown, project plan, change plan) everything should have gone down perfectly.

And then Hanks added two things to give it that crisp focus;

• Then make it human
• Pls ask how many practise runs the simulations had (the technology) - 17.... was the answer

Any one who has practised change management would be smiling at this point. Admit it. It felt good to stick it to that committee and the chairs sitting in it.

Why? Because reality is a lot further than a project plan which gets crushed every single time due to technical development cycles and cost.

What is the Project board being measured by? What is the Program / Program being directed and measured by?

It sure as s**t isn't adoption and rate of progression from current to future state. It's if the technology works. And yes given enough money, changing dates and technical support from the developer we will get it right (some what) to go live.

Go live - that's the measurement. That's it. And if someone else in change, has had a better experience then congratulations that was a rare one off.

Now lets look at what was given to the change manager (I'll take a medium sized project as a set up - technical implementation) and I am not mixing my words - I am going to deal with my observation (facts?) and give my emotions a 25% chance to mix with my words.

• Did I get a good project team to work with? Sure - next.
• Was my Project Manager an SME or experienced with actually managing change them selves or have a strong understanding of what change management actually is? Ahem - next.
• Were all the human factors or resistance, work challenges across BAU and multiple projects, individual time committments and experiences taken into consideration all thru the project life cycle - Next please...
• Did I have a good sponsor - did they take the time to sit with me at least 2 times a week and listen to all the concerns, issues, risks and technicalities of the project (without the PM ideally)? - get real Khurram what world are you living in? well the world where you are spending a few million dollars to build a house but you don't want to meet with the architect but you do want to talk to the engineer... gotcha!
• Was the Owner available to build an Owner plan and influence the Sponsor to work with them to deliver great rationale and continue to show support in person for the financial and human commitment they made? - Ummm sure at the start, then ... you know people get busy. And oh, they pay YOU to deal with that stuff. Jeez, change people I swear!
• Were the original times for developing training materials, training support and supporting information followed and not compressed , was my training, communication, support budget increased as the scope increased and was I given enough resources to undertake all the activities .... wait, wait, wait - what the hell am I doing ....just hang on ... whoa ... Khurram, you are not being flexible, you are not being adaptable, you are not delivering - you are not being positive. Ahem - Yep , I'm the irrationale one, sorry about that ! Son, this is the game! Well my answer to that is *blows raspberry * - get real! - I am not Harry Potter and even he had help from a lot of people. I don't even have a wand let alone a Dumbledore (apologies to non Potter readers and fans)

Ever notice how many peoples eyes completely glaze over when you start to talk about change management - yeah me too. In fact my eyes do the same. Why? Well cause Im not Ryan Gosling and this isn't La La Land as much as I want it to be.

What I haven't touched on or well I am now, are the following;

• Toxic work cultures - you know who you are
• Toxic people in good work places
• Managers not leaders - that's a big no no in our work place
• Creating safe work places where changes to the work place can be discussed with executive and change fatigue can be discussed to make effective decision making
• Executive - my patch, my rules
• Internal politics which should NOW be banned similar to bullying, racism, ageism
• Barriers to change already in place prior to a change manager walking in
• Reputation of previous changes, and ex change managers (we aren't all good - and lets face it we are annoying to a lot of people)
• Support from Middle Managers - where the real change happens not the ice burg of change
• Budget - what % of the total budget is allocated to change management and related activities

Let us stop here.

So all this begs the question, what am I trying to achieve? What is the outcome as a reviewer asked.

My answer is - absolutely nothing. Let it be what it is. If this takes flight, and goes some where, brilliant - it might actually turn conversations into something real and pragmatic. If it doesn't, that's it. Read it. Throw it away, store it , share it.

It is all fine. As I've learnt through some meditation lately, my precious self is a construct of my brain and not a real product. My self imagined brilliance is non existent as is my ego.

My contributions to the world of my career is just that - contributions - I don't have the money, the power or the influence to back any of it up. Thats not a #feelingsorry for myself moment. It's a fact. And facts are cold, brutal and confronting . My emotions are the opposite for me.

The journey I have infront of me is one of honesty. If I can't get real, I am not gonna play. Id rather do something else till I can find or connect with that one rare person who is going to look at this blog and go

"Well, there's someone worth talking to ...." About what that's up to you. I'll be here.

Disclaimer: If anyone reading this is upset, angry, or experiences certain emotions leading them to want to comment - please do - but Im glad I was able to evoke something from my writing. And if you silently agree, that's awesome and if you are like that's brilliant - then comment or connect.

2/3 changes fail . 70% - that's YOUR life, YOUR investment - if you can't get real about it once in a while, why play at all ?

NB: I'll be writing more nightmares.?