Keep the Change

Project management vs. Change Management

 
The interfaces between project management and change management overlap, and they are certainly interdependent when it comes to successfully delivering value by supporting the strategic initiatives of the business.

To put it roughly the project management team handles the technical and administrative side of the project, whereas the change management team handles the people side of the project.

Project management is key when it comes to initiating, planning, executing and monitoring the projects activities and deliverables. They ensure a strong solution design backed up with detailed project plans. 

Change management prepares the organization for the project impact, manages the transition from how we do things today to how they will be done tomorrow - and puts special efforts into reinforcing and anchoring the change into the everyday work and life of the organization.

Key tools in project management are the project charter, business case, budget estimations, work breakdown structure, resource allocations, scheduling and tracking. Key tools in change management are organizational assessments, stakeholder mapping and interventions, communication and coaching plans, training programs, sponsorship road maps and reinforcement activities.

Successful projects and project managers integrate the two approaches, and makes sure to give equal attention to both the technical and the people side of the project. Unfortunately, all to often change management initiatives are late add-on's if - or when - the project runs into trouble.

Do yourself a favor and invite change managers - communicators, HR professionals, Trainers, stakeholder managers etc. - to the table early in the project. It will be a well spent investment, that will help the project finish on target, time and budget.

As I see it, change management is the insurance policy of projects with a high people factor. And most projects need it.

Change put simply

Although change management actually is rocket science, it has often               surprised me who - at the end of the day - actually pulls it of and delivers a successful change project from a-z.

It turns out that the most successful change managers I've met, all are very capable - and likable - people with a seamless ability to communicate and interact with people, no matter where or at which level in the organization they are. They are genuinely curious and interested in other people's views and opinions, believe in the overall vision and are loyal to the company - and most importantly, they believe that the change they are pioneering will make tomorrow better than today.

They don't lead - people follow.

I guess the change management task can be boiled down to figuring out:

• Why change is needed
• What needs to be changed
• Who needs to be involved
• What role must/should I play

Once that is figured out - the task is to help others do the same.

Are you being followed?

Two paths of change

The way we view change and the strategies of how to manage change are many, and reading the book "Breaking the code of change" I have seen an inspiring way of structuring these approaches to change that I would like to share with you.

The authors call it the Theory E and O of change.
- E stands for Economical Value and O for Organizational Capabilities.

Curious? Read more...

Theory E sees change initiatives as a mean to optimize shareholder value and maximize profits. Leaders set goals based on the expectations of the financial markets, and as one leader puts it. "I have a goal of $176 million this year and there is no time to involve others or develop organizational capabilities."

Leaders of this approach do not trust lower-level managers with tough, strategic decisions, and do not have the time to build consensus through participation. The natural focus is on achieving results by changing strategies, structures and systems - the "hardware" of the organization.

Capital market expectations force a short and tight schedule for change and the change will most often be a carefully planned, well-sequenced program for change.
Theory E changes rely on financial incentives to motivate a singular focus on creating economic value.

To achieve rapid and extraordinary improvements in economic value, companies often hire large consulting firms to infuse specialized knowledge, market knowledge and best practice across industries.

Theory O change aims to develop organizational capabilities - especially the capabilities of the employees to become involved in identifying and solving work-related problems and challenges. A main driver is emotional commitment to the change and to improving the performance of the company.

Leading change from this perspective involves a high level of involvement and collaboration at all levels of the organization. Involvement is seen as vital for building the partnership, trust and commitment that key to long-term performance improvements.

Theory O will see the main challenge as changing culture, belief systems and values that over time has given structure and systems legitimacy. There is a natural focus on values and behavior and top management will use these to shape the company culture and guide employee behavior.
The change is managed by a clear vision and values and will be implemented with local participation and experiments - providing a space for a more emergent, bottom-up process that is well anchored in the reality of every business unit.

Focus will be on providing personal incentives with less emphasis on financial incentives and more on skills and collaboration. The consultant role in Theory O change initiatives focuses on designing and facilitating processes, being an experienced resource and sparring partner for how to move the change along as we learn, adjust and get better.

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As the authors point out, it's not necessarily an either or situation but a matter of integrating both approaches in the design for change. But at the end of the day, I believe that we must choose which initial path we are taking and what underlying principles we use when looking at change and working to see it come true.

I have to say that I'm a believer in the "O" way of working with change. What about you? 

A sense of urgency

We may have top management support, a great team driving the change and a well equipped toolbox but it won't help much if there's no real sense of urgency.

Often referred to as "The burning platform" it is the fuel that's going to get people on all levels in the organization moving and keep going when the going get's tough.

As change managers, it's first of all our task to discover - not develop - where the true source of the "reason why", our raison d'etre, is. And if it's not really there, you better backtrack a step or two or prepare to push the car all the way home...

So how do we raise the level of urgency? In my experience, there could be several sources:

Translate and expose
What would happen if we did nothing? Find the answer and translate into the favorite business lingo: Figures. Put the figures into perspective and make a bold event through a strong metaphor, visualization etc.

Raising the bar
Making sure that the business targets or KPI's are set so high that business as usual simply is not possible and progress is monitored closely. This could be revenue, productivity, customer satisfaction, cycle-time etc.

Bring in the customers
Nothing seems to speed up the process more than facing customers or end users - walk a mile in their shoes and experience your service first hand or set up a simple platform for listening and engaging in dialog. It will work wonders, I promise. 

Salute the competition
Demonstrate the competition on your market. You could build up a strategy canvas displaying your weaknesses,  visit the competitors' stores or use other creative methods to make it clear that we're on a burning platform.

Inspire
Can you paint a clear picture on what the world could look like if you just took advantage of the possibilities right in front of you? If so, this is also a good wa to go about it. Again, it's imperative that you use other means than merely rational arguments but also use emotional experiences and personal value drivers to motivate and move people in the right direction.

What can you do that is bold, creative and relevant to the business to raise the awareness and get a flying start?

The Change Formula

Ever wished for a simple recipe for change?

Beckard and Harris (1987) developed a change formula listing the factors that needs to be in place for a successful change to be implemented.

The change formula: C=[D x V x FS] > R

• C is the change that will occur
• D is the level of dissatisfaction with the status quo
• V is desirability of the proposed change - the end state or vision
• FS is the first practical steps of the change
• R is the resistance to change

The multiplication signs imply that if any one factor is not present - or zero - the equation will add up to zero and the change effort will fail.

Although this formula is attempting to put a very complex matter into a simple equation, I think it's a great reminder of what to remember assessing and planning a change process.

It makes me wonder...

• How do we create the sense of urgency and the will to change when people are pretty much happy with where they are?
• How can we create a clear picture of what the desired change consists of, especially if the change is intangible as a result of a process designed to discover the end goal along the way?
• How good are we at communicating uniquely desirable outcomes tailored to the individual key stakeholders instead of company strategy?
• Nailing the first practical steps and making them a success is easier when there's someone to do the job and tell the world about it. Who is pioneering the change? Who is supporting him/her? Who is sponsoring the change in top management?