Introduction
Introduction
Change, change, change - that's what most people's working lives look like. And personal life. The common denominator is almost always to learn something new so that you can do things differently and, hopefully, better. Or doing and eating more healthily so you feel better.
For myself, my own change management today consists of making better decisions. In small ways, such as not filling up my Outlook with activities 10 hours a day so there is no time to catch opportunities in flight, or have time for that conversation that leads to new ideas. How hard it is to stop and slow down the impulse and not keep repeating previous actions that lead to exactly the same result. What is your Achilles heel?
Self-leadership
Self-leadership
The hardest part of leading change is often leading yourself. And to be a good change leader, you need to be able to show that you can change so that others will want to follow. Too often I've seen leaders think they can ask others to change while they themselves can carry on as usual. Some real-life observations:
- Companies in financial crisis where employees have to accept reduced salaries while the CEO gets a pay rise. This does not create trust.
- Launch a health programme to improve the health of employees while the manager does not want to participate in the ladder competition because it is difficult.
- Or wanting to introduce a culture of continuous improvement while the manager continues to turn a deaf ear to shortcomings in his own leadership.
That said, self-leadership is not part of our 10 cornerstones of successful change management. For us, self-leadership is instead a prerequisite to even start leading change. And none of us is perfect. But not trying is probably the biggest mistake.
Why not change?
Why not change?
Our methodology is a fusion of recognised methods from Prosci and Kotter. Mixed with a large dose of experience from many complex change projects where most processes and employees have been affected. If we boil down where the resistance has been greatest, they are:
Concern that "When it becomes so much more efficient, my job will disappear"
- My guru status of knowing all the old stuff best of all goes up in smoke when I become as much of a novice as everyone else in the new ways of working and systems.
- As a manager, my frame of reference of what is good and bad performance has suddenly dissolved and I don't know how my business is doing.
- I was not involved in deciding how it should work and I think it was wrong, it was better before so I will certainly continue to work as before... or resign.
The problem with generic change models
The problem with generic change models
If a generic project model such as PPS, Prince2 etc. is used, change management is only included at an overall level and the models do not support the specific need for the change in question. Using Prosci as a model assumes that the change has been decided "from above". If you use Kotter, you do not take responsibility for operationalising the change. In combination with the special nature of changing large systems and the complexity involved, it is obvious to us that a customised model is needed. So what does a complete model look like?
Rededge's change methodology
Rededge's change methodology
We use a 10-step model where you should follow the order for best results. As usual with changes, they are often a winding road and it happens that you need to loop around in certain steps to be able to take the next one. Nothing strange about that, we work with colleagues with as many wills and motivations as we have colleagues.
The main phases of our 10-step model can be categorised as follows:
- Establish the basis for change and engage the right ambassadors.
- Formalise and drive the change in a concrete project
- Establish a follow-up in the receiving organisation that allows the change to take hold.
/Stefan Schnitzer, Project and Change Manager, Senior Partner
For more on insights such as the change projects we have led or participated in, read our customer cases. here. To learn more about our complete change model, send me an email at stefan.schnitzer@rededge.se and you will receive our onepager, no strings attached.
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