I considered calling this article 'Why Benefits belong to the Change Manager' but I could hear the hiss from Change Manager's who would challenge the word 'belong'. Of course they would be right, as any Benefit outlined in a project brief should be assigned an owner from the business. However, benefits are most critical to a Change Manager's role in any project, as they help explain the reason why the project has been funded in the first place. They are a measure of the effectiveness of what is being delivered, and a Change Managers purpose is to create a plan that is focused on creating the right environment and behaviours to achieve that level of effectiveness.

Any Change Manager worth their salt, therefore, is focused on influencing solutions where possible, to make sure any deliverables are user friendly. Measuring success based on successful delivery only is a thing of the past for high performing organisations, the focus now is on realising the Benefits.

Theory vs Practice when...