Lunch Meeting Summary: August 25, 2009

27 attendees - A NEW RECORD!!! New format for meeting featuring a “report back” component to the discussion process. One topic per team, with time allowed for sharing results with larger group. Thanks to Blythe Butler, Pamela Louie and Erin Waddell for volunteering to help with topics and ideas for the remaining three sessions for the year. Next meeting: September 22 @ Centini’s.

Discussion Topics:

Topic #1 Finding and Selling the Value of Change Management

Show value at a higher level. Start with a full project charter or business case. Look at overall scope, impacts and success factors. Need to tie everything back to key benefits of the project. Look at risks then position change management as a mitigating factor.

In an engineering or operations-focused organization, different tactics and techniques are required to effectively position change management. Tie forward (benefits) and tie back (avoiding mistakes of the past) with key stakeholders. Example: “we can’t do THAT again this time.”

Develop ways to “operationalize” change – create concrete plans as to what needs to be done differently. Introduce “management of change” or MOC as a way to drive an operations focus on the people side of change. Change the monitoring process – chart the change using key metrics and performance indicators.

Leaders must own and drive the change, so consider ways to involve them in the process as well. Leaders must also model the desired behaviours and understand financial impacts of the change. Leader alignment must be public and consistent.

Introduce the concepts of change champions or catalysts to help make changes permanent within the affected stakeholder groups. There may need to be significant “repackaging” of project benefits to appeal to all audiences, even if this means “pain avoidance” as a perceived benefit of change. Modification of performance expectations may be required in some instances, lest old habits creep back in.

Finally, consider the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) approach to presenting change in a favourable light to stakeholders. Incentives for change may need to be established initially, with supporting key metrics and progress indicators. Think about factors that promote ENGAGEMENT at all levels. Creating quick wins is a key factor in sustaining the change.

Topic #2 The Value of Change Management as an Emerging Profession

Sometimes it’s necessary to to separate project management from change management as they are different skills sets. Example – PM: software development, IT; CM: communications, people. Both are processes, but perhaps with different deliverables.

How to measure value:

• CM: goes beyond specific project scope and scale
• Increased speed of adoption
• Proficiency increase > full understanding
• Can sometimes relate to employee retention
• Employee satisfaction
• Ultimate utilization i.e. what % actually changed behaviour
• Consistency of messaging
• How fast were they all back to work once they were moved (i.e. physical relocation)
• Need a baseline, solid metrics prior to the start of the change so success can be measured

CM: Change Management outlives the project and starts prior to the project > therefore has a broader scope than project management.

Topic #3 What can we do differently to contribute to CM being taken seriously?

• Addressing symptoms rather than the health of an organization.
• Is seen as needed for a project and it ends.
• Doesn’t become part of the workplace culture or part of team norms.

Topic #4 Where can coaching be useful in the change cycle and specifically with a Technical Project Manager?

• Help people expand their frame of reference. Coaching is not about changing people. It should happen informally throughout the change cycle.
• Helps grow CM skills in the leaders instead of scripting yourself as the CM consultant. May create a broader force for change management. Coaching would help build and keep the change competency in-house.
• Help people in their career path choices during the change cycle. Help people see or focus on the positive attributes change offers them.
• Can open the door to their issues and concerns.
• Resistance management plan / coaching plan for managers.
• Coaching can be targeted at change recipients and those executing. Highest level stakeholders that are accountable (sponsors) and the project team to create alignment.
• Broad definition of coaching. Working to help expand viewpoints to help people get to where they want to be (e.g. work with a resistor to find out why and get them to discover how it can be a positive change for them).
• We manage change and we coach people. Coaching is a tactic and part of the toolkit to help manage change. Asking people the “so what” for change is when you start to get to coaching vs. telling / communicating the change.
• Help build desire or intrinsic motivation (ADKAR).
• Align coaching to the mandate – just get the change in or build the change competency internally.

Bookstore: Competitive Values Framework; The Fifth Discipline Field Guide