Overview
The Process of Transition
Whether it is personal change or organisational change, change management is all about bridging the gap between two peaks one representing where we are now and the other the goal. How steep the valley we need to cross depends on a number of things, e.g. how much support we get, the amount and effectiveness of the communication and the engagement and subsequent ownership we feel we have during the journey and our understanding of what the new peak represents.
As a person, we all go through a series of set, defined, stages whilst in the process of changing, how quickly we transit across the valley or how deeply we go into the trough of depression and how long we stay there, however, depends on certain factors such as ownership and control.
The ABC Technique
I want to share my favourite technique for facilitating the change conversation and uncovering blockers and resistance to change. This is a simple, but elegant, method, devised by Finn Tschudi, that provides a very useful framework for engaging with people and identifying why they won’t change or what may stop them from embracing change.
The ABC model looks at the meaning applied by the individual to the change, the up and downside, its benefits and any implications thus allowing for a conversation and as the start for engaging them in the process and getting control over the change. I’ve used this technique with both groups and individuals and should be one of the first steps in any change management plan.
The Change Timeline
I believe that, for any change to be successful, people must take account of the wider physical situational and environmental elements of the Past, Present, and Future. We must address each of these three times as if it was a specific phase to be passed through; to the extent that they are relevant to each individual employee, whole teams, and the organization.
We must recognise what worked well in the past but close it down. We must then provide a viable, comprehensive vision of the future and finally provide an understandable “route map” for how to get there.
Leading Bold Change
This is an interactive workshop experience that helps leaders at all levels how to drive change through the practical application of John Kotter’s change management principles for creating an effective change management strategy. The experience connects the heart of those who must embrace and lead change today with the mindset necessary to ensure future success.
In 1995 John Kotter identified the eight mistakes that organisations make when trying to implement change and in his subsequent book “Leading Change” Kotter then identified the 8 key steps organisations need to take to make change successful.
