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Articles
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September16
2020
CM is facing two new challenges due to Covid-19
Change Management practitioners have a lot on their plate. Why? Because we now face two new challenges due to Covid-19; ensuring a safe move to the “new normal” and changing how we do Change Management. Returning to the workplace (RTW) might feel like stepping into a new world. Changes will impact every aspect of our work, from how we collaborate to where we work, and how we are managed. CM is the key to making that happen. At the same time, we as CM practitioners, must realise that Covid-19 is a before-and-after moment in the history of the discipline itself. In plain terms, we cannot afford to do CM the way we did it a year ago. Let’s see what those two challenges look like[1]. 1.“Moving back”: Look beyond the urgency to provide meaningful answers Returning to the workplace involves many changes. One of the most pressing ...
Written by
Morten Kamp Andersen -
September02
2020
4 simple steps to craft a compelling “why” for your change.
You carefully explained what was going to change, and how. You repeated and reframed the message, many times. But to no avail. Resistance to change is a hard thing to beat, and the biggest cause of project failure. You need to shift the conversation. Here is the trick: don´t tell them what you are doing, tell them why you are doing it. A compelling why is all it takes to galvanise people into action and make change happen. The following model designed by our partner PROSCI guides you through the process of crafting the story of change. A simple, straightforward, yet highly effective method to get it right the first time around. The story of change, in a nutshell. The model is divided into four sections, each one targeting a specific set of arguments. You should start with the logical aspect of the “why”. But no not dwell ...
Written by
Morten Kamp Andersen -
August19
2020
Building a CM team: All you need to know about people and structure(s).
You are responsible for building a Change Management (CM) team. Two questions pop into your mind. First, who should you choose? Second, how to structure the team? You will not be the only one to ask how to go about these tasks. And even if there is no right or wrong, we do know what might work best. Here are some key points to consider[1]. Choose the best people Let us focus on the most important element first: the people. That way, we will remain true to the core principle of CM. People are the core constituents of change. You obviously want the best to spearhead the next big move. Which attributes do great CM team members typically have in common? What should you pay attention to? According to research conducted by PROSCI, the topmost sought-after skills are the following: Communication: this one is straightforward. The ability ...
Written by
Morten Kamp Andersen -
June23
2020
Back to work after Covid-19: The importance of defining the impact of change.
In our previous post, we emphasized the importance of empathy mapping in extreme circumstances such as Covid-19. Organizations now face the urgent task of redesigning the working environment in accordance with new sanitary regulations. Many employees have probably expressed concerns over the post-lockdown workplace rules and wider consequences of the crisis. Clearly defining the impact of change, and co-creating the roadmap with collaborators where possible, is key. Here is another essential tool to respond to Covid-19 related challenges and help people push past resistance. 10 working areas, different impacts. When asked to consider the potential advantages of highlighting the impact of change, participants in one of our recent webinars offered insightful answers: less rejection, greater efficiency and likelihood of success, coalition building, change reinforcement, better engagement, sensemaking… These are just a few key points that make a compelling case for defining the impact of change before taking any ...
Written by
Renaud de Lombaert -
May20
2020
Empathy mapping: a particularly valuable tool in times of crisis.
Covid-19 has disrupted the workplace and upended routines in the blink of an eye. As governments relax lockdown measures, companies are pushed in the back to reshape the workspace in compliance with sanitary standards. For many employees, uncertainty translates into anxiety. Health concerns still loom large, but the sense of moving into unchartered territory can be equally unsettling. What will the atmosphere be like with less colleagues around, strict distancing rules and the compulsory wearing of masks? What if I am redeployed into a role? … The list goes on. Our partner PROSCI has drawn attention to empathy mapping[1] as an extremely valuable tool to navigate the “new normal”, by putting people first. Here is a way you could improve the response to the crisis. Mapping out thoughts and feelings. Empathy is the ability to understand another person´s feelings and experience. A visual and collaborative tool pioneered by ...
Written by
Renaud de Lombaert -
April28
2020
The 5 roles of Change Management in Agile.
What better way to wrap up this series on CM and Agile than to talk about the roles that structure change. Leaders and senior executives, CM practitioners, project teams, managers and frontline employees … all have to join forces to make change a tangible reality, yielding long-lasting results. In Agile, these five roles do not lose any importance, nor do they get redistributed, but they need to be adjusted. Again, Agile should be treated as a transformation in itself, one that adds an extra layer to the challenges attached to the change initiative. This article will help you identify focus points and trouble spots. Sponsors: the voice of change and … of Agile. You probably already know that, depending on how involved they are, sponsors can make or break the best initiative. Make sure that the ABC of sponsorship is taken good care of. In short, sponsors must ...
Written by
Vincent Piedboeuf -
April14
2020
Making the most of Prosci’s Five Levers in Agile.
Welcome back to our comprehensive series on Agile and CM! As we dig deeper into the practical aspects of integrating Change Management and Agile, now is the time to review the entire host of CM plans required to get the ball rolling. Here is everything you need to know to work your way around sprints and releases. Back to the basics: five levers of CM and ADKAR. With PROSCI’s five levers, the process of change is given flesh and bones. A robust sponsorship roadmap is critical to enable leaders to be the face and voice of change. A carefully crafted communication plan also ensures that the message is sent at the right time to the right people through the right channel. Further down the road, empowering managers and frontline employees through the transition will call for a proper coaching plan. Equally important is the training plan designed to ...
Written by
Vincent Piedboeuf -
March30
2020
How you keep people motivated, connected and disciplined in COVID-19 extreme circumstances.
When a client asked “How do we maintain a sufficient level of connection with our team members – working from home? And, how do we keep them motivated, involved and disciplined?”, we thought the answer could be of broader interest as we are all facing weeks of uncertainty, anxiety and confusion. These are characteristics of any major change. And all of them are at play these weeks – massively. As with any major change, we need to manage the transition. We need to take care of our health and the health of our business. And at the heart of both are people. People who are concerned and confused. But at the same time we are required to perform in an entirely new way to minimise the effects of Covid-19 on our business. But before I – for purely structural reasons – divide the question into social and business ...
Written by
Anna Balk-Møller -
March18
2020
We cannot discuss CM and Agile integration, unless we explain how ADKAR gets reconfigured in Agile. If you are already familiar with PROSCI’s ADKAR model, you will find out how it supports individual transitions in an incremental environment. If you aren’t, we’ve got you covered. This post gives you everything you need to know, from a detailed breakdown of ADKAR’s change sequence to a comparative overview of how it operates when coupled with waterfall and Agile approaches. ADKAR at a glance. At the organisational level, change is nothing other than the sum of successful individual transitions, which can be achieved in five steps. Skip one or leave people behind, and the whole initiative will be ruined. Fail to put the right “building block” at the bottom, and the change will be, at best, short-lived. A powerful tool that has gradually become the change model standard, ADKAR can ...
Written by
Vincent PIEDBOEUF