Professional Development for the Change Profession.

A recent LinkedIn post from David White reignited a question I still am asked a lot about and had me looking back at one of the posts from 2010, and I thought it would be worth updating as the landscape has changed.

?The great hulking elephant in the room is along with landscape change, I am now much more financially vested in the topic than I was in 2010. So, for those concerned with that, I have updated the disclosures and affiliations at the end of the post and have done my best to be impartial.

?But back to the issue of people wanting to know: “Where can I go to learn more – is there a degree or course you would recommend?”

?It’s a great question, with complexities in the answer. In this post I hope to provide some options to those looking for additional knowledge in the field.

?By way of explaining why it is complex to answer, a few thoughts. The field of change management is an imprecise one with many people working in it coming from diverse and fragmented backgrounds (e.g., Project Management, Human Resources, Psychology, Communications, IT).

?So, the question that started this post is usually born of two motivations – I want to be seen as knowledgeable, and credible, and enhance my hiring prospects. Or the second option is “Help, I am working in this space, and I don’t think I know enough”.?Either way, let’s look at the options.

?INVESTMENT REQUIRED

?The first set fall under the options available for you when you have personal or company budget to invest.

?Accreditation:

?There are two primary accreditation-based associations in change – ACMP and CMI, both global associations.

?Accreditation provides reassurance, and a calibration of skill level. You know if you secure a CPA this person will have a minimum level of skills in accounting, much like the?ABC?from IABC in communications (however, IABC stopped accreditation in 2013 and moved to Certification, more on that shortly).

?However, accreditation does not replace experience and wisdom, and often the accrediting body can be slow to update knowledge and market requirements (they are big beasts to shift).?I know that CMI have factored in specializations – I am not sure on ACMP, but happy to update this post if some-one wants to share more. Accreditation also looks great on a resume. It’s a shortcut in the hiring process.

?This is a useful if lengthy path for the change practitioner, perhaps not the non-change person (e.g., a manager or a leader).

?Certifications:

?Certificates can be risky as the bar for entry into the “selling certificates” industry is quite low. And yet, it can be a faster and more budget conscious option for many people.

?You will find more niching in this space and so it suits people’s immediate needs and can be much more innovative in ‘next practice’ professional development. It can be a rapid infusion of knowledge provided the vendor can teach well and knows their stuff.

?Not all will have a focus on application of skills and testing knowledge, so its worth asking questions about how the certificate helps you bridge the knowing / doing gap.

?Certificates undeniably send a message to recruiters and the market about your commitment to continuous learning and career growth so there’s that to consider as well.

?Formal study

?Globally, Universities are increasingly moving to commercial motivations for curriculum development and a level of disruption in delivery modes. This means you no longer have just the options of an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate degree, there are micro credentials available which can assist with the ‘rapid infusion of knowledge.’ This can be the most expensive option though and high risk in terms of contemporary content. But the foundations still matter – what is old is always new again.

?You will find there are academic options in organizational studies, psychology, sociology, and business to consider. I’m too long out of the industry to know which are the ‘good’ ones. Again, if you are reading this and want to recommend one you have done yourself in recent times, please leave the information and I’ll update.

?A word of caution – the cycle of academic publishing means that by the time you are reading an article in a quality journal the research will have been conducted many, many years earlier. In some cases, 10 -15 years. It may be more useful to have a reading list that includes white papers, industry reports, blogs, and conference papers to keep a mix of contemporary knowledge of change management as well as the classics.

?Professional development conference & workshops

?The conference industry has taken a hit with the pandemic. Very few are in a financial position to pay speakers (so they keep telling us!) and so rely on people who are keen for exposure, or those very committed to the industry and high on altruism, or those who don’t need to be working to generate income all of the time.

The jury is out on the relative benefit of in person versus virtual conference. There is undeniably a pay off with engaging with people after a session and unpacking what you found useful in it. There is undeniably a benefit of being able to attend a global conference from home (savings of cost and time travelling).

My rule of thumb is expect a conference to give you one good idea, one person who is valuable to your network, and one new person you would love to grab a drink with and have a laugh. That’s value for me. The virtual conferences struggle to meet the last two criteria on this one.

The same rule of thumb applies for single focus workshops. I will say it is VERY difficult to run an in-person workshop and get enough attendance to make it worth your while to run as the provider – it takes a LOT of marketing effort and risk with not meeting the break-even cost. This means your pool of public workshop providers is small and so diversity of ideas might be low.

?Some of you may be able to get your employers to pay for these conferences, others may be able to get the workshops run in-house (much more attractive for the provider), and some of you may choose to invest in your own career. It may be tax deductible, it’s worth asking your accountant. Tickets and enrolments will cost anywhere between $100 – $10,000, and run from half a day to 5 days.?Again, caveat emptor – look very carefully at the credentials of the provider, and ask for contacts of previous cohort / participants.

?With the increasing commercialization of the “certification industry” many courses are now available as “certificates”. Provision of digital badging costs the vendor of the course, so this will increase the cost of the course, compared to a non-certified one.

?Coaching

?You may wish to make a case for external coaching within your organization or again, self-fund. This is where you engage someone who is external to your organization on a regular basis to assist you in developing your change capability and knowledge. The would-be coach should be able to provide contact details of previous coaching clients who can tell you what they got out of it.

You will need to be clear on whether you are looking for a formal executive development program internally, or more of a reflective listening and wise counsel service. Not all coaches are equal, some are accredited in coaching and have formal or informal approaches to the practice, others are naturally gifted in this space, with no accreditation. Both should be considered. Not unlike the change manager!

?LOW-COST OPTIONS

?The next set of suggestions cover what to do if you have budget constraints.

Course aggregators

?One of the more recent changes in the landscape is the emergence of course aggregators. These are sites like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Teachable and what are known as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course)

?If you have the time to surf them, you are going to find a plethora of options. The quality is incredibly variable in these so while often cheap you may find quality low. That said this can be the easiest access you get to some of the big prestigious universities, and you can get a taste of subjects you are interested.

?Self study – books & videos

?There is such a rich resource out there in libraries, bookshelves and the internet. If you are serious about developing your knowledge, read widely and regularly. Start with the classics e.g. Kotter, Kanter, Carnegie, Covey, Conner, and Senge.

?Google is your friend. If you don’t want to pay for professional development or are not in a position to, then use Google and search on your area of interest + blog post or white paper or TEDx video.

?Why not organize a work-related book club / watch party with peers?

?Mentors

?Don’t underestimate the power of finding a great mentor within your organisation. Ask yourself who do I know (or I have heard of) who has led, managed, worked through change in an impressive way? Then be bold and contact them. Explain what your goals are and what you would like. Don’t be timid. The potential mentor may be quite chuffed to be asked, or in a position to recommend some-one else if they don’t have time.?Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Make sure that your HR / People department is aware that you would like to develop in this capacity – they may be able to arrange it within your organisation or within a sibling company. Similarly, if you belong to a professional association then ask them what mentoring programs they run.

?Networks & Community of Practices

?Another way to develop your knowledge is to seek out professional bodies that are supporting those who work in change management roles.?Way back when, I participated in starting the The Change Management Professionals in Melbourne.?At the time there were no other meetups for change managers. The fundamental ethos of the group was we develop the knowledge and practice of those working in change management by sharing, and supporting each other, regardless of background or professional orientation.

?You will now find that there are many organized networks such as CMI, ACMP, the OD Network, and Appreciative Inquiry Network to consider. These associations and organized networks all run webinars & talks on a regular basis. Existing Professional Associations (e.g. AIM, AICD, PMI) may have special interest groups in change - ?Ask them.

?Don’t disregard social media either; groups come and go on the social platforms - and are often dependent on the quality of volunteers that act as community managers and the inherent functionality of the platform. One of the best developments in the landscape in the recent years has been the establishment of Meetup.org. This can be a super useful site for finding professional networking opportunities. Consider also following hashtags on your network of choice to curate what is being shared.

Within your organization take the lead on organizing a Community of Practice -- with no budget available to you reach out to Subject Matter Experts in the business who can come and share what are working on? A regular Work Out Loud community focused on change will help you build knowledge.

?How do I decide?

One of the things that might be useful to do is create your own Personal Learning Network view -- this is an idea that Lena Ross first shared in 2015 with an example here. The concept asks you to map your sources of knowledge across the domains of immediacy (personal and work), within your organization and then external to your organization.

You may find in doing this activity you have more available to you than you thought?

?Here are some of the things to think about when deciding what professional development is right for you.

• ?What is your budget – have you considered the Return on Investment with your career financially? Will it be .5% of your annual salary or 3%? 10%? What do you expect to see as a result of investing in yourself?
• What is the market asking for? Do you need this to stay relevant? Move into a different type of organization? Analyze the job boards for clues on this and ask recruiters.
• ?How does the professional development activity traverse the gap between knowing and doing? My partner Lena Ross in the Agile Change Leadership Institute has recently published a helpful post on this.
• ?Do you have to be ‘in role’ to get benefit from the activity? Or is there flexibility and transferable learning?
• ?Do you need visual proof for the market of goal attainment (e.g., digital badges)?
• ?What are the value-adds? – what else do you get for your investment and time?
• ?Is there assessment and what is the integrity of that assessment – if its 51% to pass and get your certificate is that really worth it?
• ?How much time do you have spare to invest in professional development?
• ?What is the flexibility of the path you want to take – if you get 6 months into a degree and do not like it can you use it as credit for something else?
• ?What is the expectation on you as a learner – are expected to be an active participant or a passive consumer?
• ?What are your preferences for independent autonomous learning or collective cohort learning?
• ?How fast to do you get bored with content? If commitment is not your strong suit perhaps micro courses work better?
• ?What do your peers recommend? Why do they recommend it? What was the outcome?
• What are the criteria for enrolment – if cohort based will my cohort have work experience from which to draw upon in class discussion?
• What format is the subject / degree / course run in (e.g., intensive, online, distance, or do I need to commit to a weekly presence during a set period of time?)
• Has the lecturer / trainer / facilitator worked in change management before, or is the knowledge base theoretical?
• How does the lecturer / trainer / facilitator ensure relevance?
• Are there guest lecturers, trainers, facilitators, or current cases being used in the teaching?
• Conferences – are they paying for speakers, letting vendors speak, or is it all voluntary?
• If it’s a course or workshop, what background does the vendor have in learning and development or adult education?

?Final thoughts

So there you have it, certainly a long post -- As I said at the outset, this was an initially a post I published in 2010. Funnily enough in some-what related content I also published this post on the perils of 'Knowledge Womblin' in the same year. While the professional development landscape has changed in the last 12 years, my caveat about knowledge wombling remains! Nevertheless, I hope this is useful to you and if you have any additions / amendments to this please leave in the comments and I shall update /amend with attribution if appropriate.

?My final thought on this, is, it doesn’t matter where you get the learning, it matters that you get it!

?Disclosures and Affiliations:

• This is a topic I have a vested financial interest in.
• I am the co-founder of the Agile Change Leadership Institute that offers courses & coaching for change managers and leaders in the domain of change management and also Busting Silos which teaches people how to collaborate, communication and do change better.
• I also have authored and co-authored three books that help people deliver and lead change better (Conversations of Change, 2017, The Agile Change Playbook, 2020 and Change. Leader (2021).
• I have in the past been employed by Queensland University of Technology, Monash University, University of Melbourne and Swinburne University as a lecturer and researcher and may work in sessional roles for Universities in the future.
• I have been paid by professional conference groups to run Masterclasses in Change Management and Communication.
• I was the co-founder of the Change Management Professionals, a ‘meet up group – there is no commercial relationship associated with this organisation.
• I have contributed chapters and case studies to textbooks and industry reports but have not received payment for these.
• I am a personal member of the Change Management Institute and the Association of Change Management Professionals.
• I have no certifications or accreditations – my path was industry experience, followed by three academic degrees, industry experience and investment in workshops by CMI & the Langley Institute (Neuroscience), The Langley Institute (Positive Psychology), AIM & Chip Heath (co-author of Switch: How to change when change is hard), and Raising Your Game with Daryl Conner.
• My future development interest is scaled agile, trauma informed, post 2020 neuroscience, strategic foresight / futures thinking.