Here at MVCM, when developing our change framework, and considering all of the contributing factors that make a major program change successful, we knew that it was more than what had been talked about in the models that had been designed before. From our many years of experience and as the change discipline has matured, there was a theme that was emerging being expressed and reflected upon by many senior Change practitioners. It was more than the recurring frustration of sub standard change leadership, and it was emerging as Change practitioners were being put on projects at the development stage. It seemed to centre around the design of the product/service/process/policy itself. This is why we created the Change Diamond model.

The correlation between 'friction' and design

It seems odd, but effective design can be implemented quietly and seamlessly as it achieves its outcomes. Innovative design is often commented on and commended, (good innovation that is), which can enhance...

One of the biggest lessons I have learned while implementing change programs time and time again is to measure the behaviours and the trends related to the change. Why? So you can play back to the stakeholders the adoption trends and capture the lessons for when you try to introduce a similar change again. Those measures can also unearth otherwise hidden leadership challenges or culture issues. You get to tell an evidence based story through measurement and learn in a data driven way.

I had first heard the term 'evidence based decision making' only 8 years ago. It was used in a Policy context but seemed to make so much sense when I was thinking about how I always measured my change programs. After all perhaps as a nod to my marketing days, I knew that by providing the Program sponsor with stats and facts when the change was implemented they could talk (or in some cases brag) about how well the change had gone. That would also help build up a good case for change management support...

We are nearing the festive break, and even I have some favourite posts from this year (and it isn't even over yet).

Here are some of the posts I think were the best this year:

The environment in organisations that contributes to effective change. We covered the change ecosystem in organisations.

A roadmap to building Change maturity in an organisation

Some of the critical things you need to set up your change leaders for success

This year we also kicked off our podcast - Next Level Change success.

You can check it out on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Happy reading and listening....

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.

...

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 leadership is a prized skillset in leaders, and an area of leadership development which is growing fast. But what are some of the myths about change leadership in general? Here are five of the most common myths and subsequent mis steps about change leadership.

Myth 1:

The CEO is the most important communicator. There is nothing further from the truth. The CEO plants the flag on a hill, and sets a tone, but at an individual level, the people leader is the one that matters. So Executive leaders need to spend more time than they realise the engage their direct reports, and depending on how many layers there are to the organisation, even more time with the next level and so on and so forth. Distortion of message can easily take place if there is a deep hierarchy and the probability of distortion is high if there isn't top down engagement in the change. Note I mentioned engagement rather than simply top down communication in cascade form. So you may have a CEO general message, but...

In this episode, we cover off a critical aspect of change - change leadership. From why is the change leadership training in high demand right now down to the importance of change leadership and the seven traits of an effective change leader. Whilst listening to this episode, think about those who are really great change leaders - do they share these traits?

Listen here on Apple podcasts.

1.30 Topic of today is about change leadership in organisations

2.30 Why is the demand so high now? We cover why the demand is high due to global factors and other things. We cover off the different factors which have conrtributed to the greater demand for change leadership skills. These are multi-faceted.

7.15 Treatment of people through the last couple of years for some organisations has deepened loyalty.

9.45 How change leadership is different to good leadership. It is the evolution of leadership to meet the requirement to continually lead your team through change.

10.27 The first trait...

The question should be asked, whether Change leadership is just part of good leadership, or whether it tis something new. Or perhaps we should hypothesise that due to the increase in the pace and frequency of change that leadership skills related to engaging and leading a team through change well is more important than ever. I can empathise with leaders who may feel they have enough on their plate, but. focus should be on how these skills will help them in their leadership role. 

Why change leadership and why now?

The reason why change leadership is in demand more than ever, due to a triple whammy of a global pandemic, during the information and digital age. In the last couple of years we have witnessed major movements across the world such as #blacklivesmatter #metoo and many other positive, connected, global movements. This has raised the awareness of rights, and raised the good, bad and ugliness of humanity. The world we live in is fast paced, cluttered and challenging...

There are 2 levels of change introduced into organisations - Operational change and Transformational change. There are a number of things that determine which category your change falls into. The size of the impact of your change, and how many ways the people are impacted. 

If you are just starting out in either managing change or projects and don't know where to start when it comes to managing change or supporting your organisation through it then I recommend you check out my Operational Change Management course. Why? Well, I put it together to step any individual through the change management process end to end. It's easy to follow and it also has all the templates you would need to be able to assess impacts, put together a plan and I have even laid out some possible change activities you may want to consider.

Take it from someone who knows after years of experience, a framework and templates are a great starting point, but if you don't know how to use them they...

In this episode we cover the elements in a change maturity model. In the last couple of weeks we have covered this in our blog post about the accidental journey that some may take. We then walked through the Enterprise Change Management maturity model.

If you want to know where your organisation is at, you can take our Enterprise Change Management Maturity assessment and find out right now!

 Listen on Apple Podcasts here or on Spotify here.

1.44 The accidental change maturity pathway and what that story looks like.

7.06 Key elements of maturity. Starting with Executive Sponsorship and then at all levels.

9.08 Resourcing mix and what that might look like.

9.57 Where your function sits - centralised or decentralised?

10.26 Capability development 10.50 Consistency - is there one...