Posts Tagged ‘change management’

Change is just part and parcel of business these days. No organisation, no matter in what industry or sector it operates, can rest on its laurels and take its foot off the gas.

Often when it comes to change initiatives, all of the attention is on the structures, processes and tools.

The trouble is that while this is important to take care of, it is really people who make change happen.

Sometimes organisations assume that because people are highly skilled in a particular field that they will somehow just know how to make change.

When I worked in the NHS I was surrounded by highly talented people. The flipside was however that many of them had no specific experiences to draw on from outside their own area of expertise or training on how to deal with major scale change.

As a result many initiatives fell by the wayside, not because of lack of effort but often because people had never been equipped to deal with major scale change.

So if you are serious about delivering major scale change, don’t just pay attention to the tools and processes. Focus on equipping and enabling people to make the change a reality.

The Bottom Line: Remember that people in organisations are really a huge asset. The question is, do you want to maximise the return on the investment you make in your people assets?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. He invites you to take advantage of his free audio e-course Leadership Success at www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

Those in leadership positions will sooner or later have to deal with change on a significant scale.  It is claimed that as few as 3 in every 10 changes maintain momentum beyond the initial phase of enthusiasm.  So what 3 key roles must change leaders master?

Clarity of Vision

Leaders need to be able to create a compelling vision of what things will be like once the change has been made.  It sounds like it is something that is really easy to do but in truth it is incredibly challenging.  As a leader of change you need to be able to recognise when change is needed and then get a crystal clear view of what you need to create to give your function or business the edge.

Communication

Communication is often regarded as talking and writing and less so about listening.  Leaders when faced with change need to be masters in all three of these areas. They may need to present their vision to a Board, which will require them to articulate it clearly.  They will also need to listen to the concerns and re-assure.  Once they have top level support, the message needs to get passed through the organisation and concerns need to be heard and responded to.

Empowering others

The leader cannot do everything on their own without the help of many others.  The leader has the challenging role of empowering others while at the same time making sure that the change moves in the desired direction and delivers the expected results.  As part of the empowerment, a framework needs to be developed to check on progress and ensure that all of the constituent parts in the process are functioning as they should.

Change is a challenge and leaders have a key role to play in delivering sustainable change in the fast moving and demanding business environment.

Leading is challenging at the best of time.  In the current economy, the need to make change is even more pressing for many organisations and those working in them in management and leadership roles.  The big barrier that managers and leaders need to overcome is not about process or project management.  So what is it?

Getting others to see the need and importance of making change

So how do you address this big barrier?

1. Explain in very clear and simple terms the current situation.
2. Outline the likely consequences for the organisation and individuals of doing nothing.
3. Set out what needs to happen and by when to address the situation.
4. Gain support from a sufficiently large cohort of the workforce and their representatives to make it happen.

What else would you add to the list to remove the biggest barrier?

I was reading in the November 2008 edition of the magazine Professional Manager that the Chartered Management Institute’s President Sir John Sunderland sees Change Management as one of the most in demand skills over the next 10 years.

In the currently challenging economy it is easy to see why that would be the case.  I am also wondering what other skills people see as vital over the next 10 years.  Leave a reply with your thoughts

In the currently challenging economic climate, many organisations are having to embark on financial turnaround or financial survival projects.  While these might be necessary, what mistakes is it important to avoid?

1. Seeing it as something for the accountants rather than business change projects.
2. Focusing too much on quick fixes.
3. Deck chair shuffling.  In other words making the easy changes while ignoring the big stuff.
4. Short term focus rather than trying to create sustainable success over the longer term.
5. Failing to give sufficient time to people to make the change happen.

What additional mistakes do you see when it comes to financial turnaround projects?