Use Change Management to Build a Change Competency

It takes change management to do change management.

When building a change management competency, take a change management approach:

• Define a vision and make a case for the change
• Find a leader sponsor
• Involve, communicate and educate
• Train
• Create short term wins and measure results

Like any organizational competency effort, building change management muscle takes time. It’s a journey. To define your scope, think about the maturity model. Where is your organization and what is the next step?

Ironically, some change leaders are guilty of forgetting the transition stage for their own efforts. They go for too much too fast, overwhelming users with many tools, inflexibility, and complicated processes, resulting in discouraged users and inconsistent efforts.

Instead of focusing on the whole scale, focus on that next step. Think of competency building as phases over time. For example, you want to build change management competency in your organization but the “as is” is ad hoc. The work is daunting when at the bottom of a maturity model. Optimized feels so far away! So, gain support for a goal of “repeatable,” focusing on developing a simple, consistent change management approach that others can easily understand and adopt.

With many methodologies out there, determine your repeatable list of education slides and foundational tools. For example, topics could include:

Education (many times a common PPT with facilitator notes):

• How will you define change management?
• How will you explain change management’s role and how it integrates with the business and project teams?
• What are the key principles everyone must keep in mind? (be audience focused, seek feedback, etc.)

Tools:
• How will you scope the change management work?
• What templates will be used for stakeholder impact identification, communication planning, and leadership involvement?

While determining this foundational set of vocabulary and tools, remember that scope creep is not your friend. Over analysis and adding complexity kills momentum and takes a toll on morale. Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Recognize it’s a work in progress. Remind yourself and others that it’s only Phase I or you’ll end up with a 100-page PPT deck and 50 tools!

Once you have “repeatable” established, it’s time to move onto “Defined” and “Managed.” Good luck!