Why is it so hard to do?Nightmares from the desk of a Change Manager - Part 2

And What is it that we do?

25 years is a long time be in a career. To stay dedicated and motivated to Change - taking on assignments, contracts and people in the hope that you will make a positive contribution. I did my Masters in Change and my PhD recently in Behavioural Sciences to be able to execute better. But alas, the question that I have heard everywhere is...So what is it that you do?

Such a good question and the honest, real answer is - whatever the organisation decides they need. Not what is change management - whatever the organisation decides.

I have read about 60 PD's in my lifetime - with the label change management and it sounds like they are hiring an army - but then you realise that it is ONE individuals role.

Logically, and we have to be REAL here - how is it possible that an organisation undergoing massive change hires one person to drive all change? Let's come back to that a bit later - back to the Change Managers job.

• Communications - Check Ill write all the different communications the program / project / initative needs and internal comms will give me templates. They will not assist with tone, style or suggestions. They will 'QA' and when i send them writings they will criticise, edit and complain to the sponsor and project manager - check
• Training materials - Sure / check - not only do I have to set up the entire change practise for the project - I have to develop the curriculum and training materials for the project. Wait - Isn't that the role of a Training Manager / Analyst who will work alongside the Change Manager to articulate the training strategy and materials post their own research, and engagements with the stakeholders to understand what works for them and how the organisation has learnt previously? Nah - you do it.
• Stakeholder engagement - Check check ! Engage all stakeholders impacted by the change and discuss the changes and understand their concerns. Hold your horses Mr PD writer (I'm suspecting a clever project manager here) I just want to get the FACTS right; a singular person will engage all impacted stakeholders to discuss the change. What about your business people driving the change - if they work with the change manager on the style of engagement, what words to use and how to communicate - wont it be far more effective to hear it from your own managers and leaders as opposed to a complete stranger on contract who , lets face it has no idea about the history of the organisation an has no relationships to drive the change?Check - ??
• Educate the organisation on change and how to manage changes - this is where i throw my hands up and think of who I need to smack - did you just copy and paste these items from 2001 or something? Educating an organsation on change management, its related processes and how to manage changes is a 5 year enterprise journey which requires a budget, a dedicated sponsor and a change management office which is an enabler to help business drive change and you want a project CM to do this. Earth to Planet Project. Pls.
• Drive changes across the organisation and ID hot spots and come up with mitigation strategies. No one person can drive Change - and no one project can drive Change. It can impose change, sure - but the only way to drive change is from the top. And that is simply due to the hierarchical nature of an organisation driven by pay structure and leadership. Middle Management can talk about what's coming, but they can't drive change unless they have the background skills and competencies to 'drive' change. And then the expectation is that a singular individual will drive it - within impacted stakeholders. Good luck (try driving a change in your own family - see how it goes without skills)
• Work with senior managers and business owners to upskill..... Ok Ill stop here. you all get the idea.
• Insert whatever the project needs and no one wants to do By this time my cynicism around change roles would be obvious and the lack of clarity on what to do, where to put your energy and how much workload to take on would be becoming clear. if it's not - read above again. By what measure, is the role of a change manager to take on the pre-defined and existing roles and talents of a Communications, Training & Risk manager. Each of these is a discipline in itself and requires a unique set of talents. Combined together, they make a team for managing change (not expectations!). You can only expect something when you understand its nature and capabilities. All else is a waste of your energy and time. So, what is my role - I've written test scripts - not that i want to - its not what my job is and neither was it part of the discussion but resourcing being what it is, and expectations being what they are - something has to be delivered. Where did the money go - the solution. It's a tricky so and so. There is no way - that a singular person can do all this. Just like a project manager on their own cannot deliver a solution. They need a team. Technical managers need a team. People need to understand their roles and responsibilities, but it cannot be made a single person job to drive and manage change. If you think it can be, go do a PROSCI course, come back certified and give it a go. So what is the solution; glad I thought of that answer. Here it is: Plan your change. Sit and work out with a subject matter expert, even if you have to hire one for a short period or a few days to articulate what you need. And then plan the resources for it. You will need a change manager ( I will explain what they do in another writing) but hire a Change Manager, A Communications Expert, A training manager and a Risk / benefits manager is also essential. But form the team. And get the business to pay for it if you can afford them in your project. If they can't, then don't take the responsibility to manage change (don't ever drive it). Fight for a change team, dont just make do with one. If you do, then you will get what you decided to get. A make do scenario. Project also need to start pushing for business stakeholders to drive change. Any and all project members should push back and involve business stakeholders in the engagement of change. I've seen a billion-dollar project go - ho hum - because it took too long, too many moving parts were involved and the scope got changed. The end result - we do not know. Benefits are linked to change. Tangible and intangible but they are not measured and reported on because people don't adapt (this does not mean the change has failed - it means the individuals have their own unique reasons to not adopt and realise benefits). I have only worked for 2 organisations that saw this. And were trying their best to deliver on the long term promise of better management of change. One got its legs cut off during budget cuts and the other just lost 800 million on a failed project. Why? No one listened to the experts. Ive seen too many great people burn out (including me :-) and walk away from change. Perhaps we need to call it something else after 25 years. Change the brand itself. Because 70% failure rate is way too high to keep going. Here's hoping.