One of the common reasons I hear from new Change Managers or Change Analysts is that they wanted to become a Change specialist because they care about people. "I am a people person so I thought I would become a Change Manager". And I say bravo to those who are self-aware and caring, and in the same breath I say you are about to venture into a very rewarding but at times challenging career path.

But I wasn't always a Change Manager. In fact 'Change Management' didn't exist when I graduated from University in my early 20's in Marketing. And I was lucky in my first role in an Insurance company, as I learned the ropes from a great Marketing/Communications Manager - shout out to Dawn! While I started in Marketing, I began to understand that campaign work was similar to project management (which was just developing as a discipline) and you needed to be structured as well as be able to be creative.

Some years on and working in Marketing but on projects such as events, launches and in direct...