Do you lead change in your team or in your role as a leader? In this Episode we cover the three critical questions that you should be asking related to the change.

Highlights...

2.00 While we are approaching the festive break, the cut off for introducing change should be early November to allow for embedding change to take place up to Christmas. For many organisations though this is not the case.

3.40 The first question is about impacts. Who is impacted, and here is a hint, it is never just one group! 4.30 The change must be simple in the way it is communicated.

5.34 We over the 'when they....then they' method

6.12 What is the size of the impact.

7.00 Is this transformational?

7.30 The most important question as a change leader that indicates ownership.

8.24 The trend used to be to outsource change leadership to change managers, however this is also changing.

9.19 When asked, the third question reflects the behaviour you want from your change leaders.

Leaders are getting a bad wrap and in most organisations who aren't performing leadership is blamed. But what about in Programs? When projects are started, it is often a leader or a group of leaders who have decided that the project is needed and lead the funding push. When funds are awarded, a leader then plays a Project or Program Sponsorship role. 

Many times leaders are not equipped to take on that role as it is unclear as to their role and it's responsibility. So how much impact can a poor leader have?

So what should you expect from your leaders when it comes to sponsoring a program and looking to achieve outcomes for the organisation? What is reasonable?  Have a listen to the latest episode and you decide.

 On Apple Podcasts here or Spotify here.

Well here are some hints and tips and links to articles we cover which are related:

The critical role that leaders play in changing organisations

Is change leadership simply good leadership?

Visit us at www.myvirtualchangema...

Leaders - when they are collaborating and all aligned to the purpose of an organisation and vision, well there is nothing that can hold an organisation back. Change becomes unified and cohesive. Leadership is one key component of the change ecosystem. It's no just about leadership of course but it is a major contributor to change success or a blocker.

Why?

Well the sum of a transformational change is the ability to communicate to every individual and have them rally around a common vision. And who holds the key to that 1:1 communication? The people leader. Every manager, team leader, from the top to the bottom of an organisation. When leaders are aligned to the message, not just understand it, but truly buy into it and can communicate it well, then success is on the horizon. However if there is miscommunication, intentional cynicism, then this can derail the effectiveness of the change. And for some organisations who have many 'layers' of leaders, then this challenge is amplified.

S...

In this episode of Next Level Change Success, we explore the different types of change leadership and the most important important change leaders in an organisation. 

 In this Episode:

2.48 That 'aha' moment when I realised that I shouldn’t be leading the change on behalf of the manager. There were times when managers gladly outsourced the change.

3:34 The most important layer of change leadership

4:00 Visit myvirtualchangemanager.com for a change leadership checklist and a post about the traits of a good change leader

4:31 The size of the impact relate to the extent of change leadership you require

5:04 when looking at transformational, you are needing to engage all layers of leadership

6:15 For transformation change you need breadth and depth 6:28 Research is showing middle managers are the most important leaders.

7:04 Middle managers are more accountable and responsible for the change and if they aren’t provided with theright support it will compromise the change.

7:45 W...

Organisations are at a crossroads, facing decisions regarding the future ways of working. One option is to try to go back to the way things were, another is to take the opportunity and reimagine the ways of working.

In many ways if considering ways to reimagine the ways of working, there are many opportunities which could result in innovation. From an organisational change perspective, there are new challenges to introducing change in times such as these.

Here are some highlights:

2:05    Shout out to all frontline workers and for carrying our communities during the pandemic

3:30     Therese discusses how different industries face different challenges

4:40     Therese discusses the Microsoft Annual Work Trend Index report for 2022.          

5:10     The Changing priority of health over work

6:05 Management challenges in engagement and organisations having ‘work/life’ balance

7:10 Management needing to shift focus managing to outcomes rather than ‘task’

9:05 Managers...

The rollercoaster that we find ourselves on for managing change in organisations continues in 2022. While the twists and turns may now be anticipated, the drops may still leave you and everyone else a little queasy. There are a number of trends that have been discussed recently in the recent Change Management Institute Global Insights Next-Gen Change Management webinar, which was attended by practitioners all over the world, myself included. In addition to this, the recent Neuroleadership Institute conference covered trends and challenges facing organisations this year. Following are some of the themes that all organisations and change leaders should consider with a sense of curiosity.

So what will be the challenges in 2022 for managing change?

Embracing new ways of working and introducing hybrid ways of working in the workplace are key. For some organisations flexible ways of working were just 'the way it is' and that meant achieving a competitive advantage immediately and a somewha...

A good leader of change will be attuned to how their team is responding to change, and be considering how the change effects their people not just professionally but how as an individual it may have an impact. After all, we all respond to different changes in different ways. At times when leading change you may be surprised at the response individuals have in response to change. This is why it is critical to consider the entire individual when leading change.

There isn't a requirement for your team members to leave their personal lives at the door when they come to work.In fact that is becoming more and more impossible during these COVID times when we don't even leave our homes to go to work.

There has been no more important time than now for leaders to engage on a humane and empathetic level to get the most out of their staff. An employee will display more loyalty and work harder for Managers who care about them as a whole person acknowledging that each team member has different nee...

There is a often debate whether change fatigue is a reality or myth.  When change is not effectively managed or led well, change fatigue most certainly ensues. There are signs that a good leader keeps an eye out for when it comes to the impact on change to their team. 

Following are some of the key indicators a good Change leader picks up on:

1) Illness is on the rise: sick leave or general illness of team members and employees in the business is one sign of change fatigue. During the winter seasons, this can be blamed on bugs or flu's, however when a good change leader recognises the link between change and poor health. When individuals are under stress their immune systems suffer leaving them susceptible to catching and spreading these bugs. This doesn't necessarily mean team members will be taking more days off. A good leader notes who may not be coping well with change through physical indicators. Back issues and things such as migraines are other physical indicators of individua...

What makes the difference between a successful and unsuccessful change approach? Engagement.

Just like in relationships - you learn there is a big difference between dating someone and being engaged. Engagement has commitment and a clear intent.

An ineffective change manager or leader will approach change like dating. Spend a little time with their stakeholders, and even if it was a memorable moment, don't follow through or create that genuine relationship. It's superficial with some brief communication before and after. There might be questions asked but it's patchy as to whether there are answers provided. A successful change strategy contains more than that. It enrols leaders, stakeholders and impacted audiences through impactful interventions.

So how do you create powerful engaging dialogue with those who are affected by the Change?

• Involve the customer of the change in the design of the solution. Such an easy concept and yet it still isn't followed. With many technical speci
...

Leaders require particular organisation structures and enablers to be in place to be able to effectively lead change.

Let's explore these enablers:

1) Clear and engaging communication channels: Communication channels and methods need to be clear and functional. Even in large organisations I have witnessed death by email and written word. A picture is worth a thousand words - after all who has time to read more than a paragraph unless its well formed and engaging?  From strategic messaging to operational messaging, all employee groups should be clear in knowing which channel to go to for certain information.  Information that the individual leader can reinforce and link into. Change leaders need communication channels and methods that achieve cut through. This allows leaders to leverage the messages and allows them to create their own notes on how the change impacts the individuals in their team.

2) Departmental role clarity: When joining an organisation, one of the most important ...