So many of the books on change focus on managing change or leading it. But for most people change in their organization is something that happens to them. This post is about how you can become a change champion in your organization, ready to not only deal with the change but welcome it, campaign for it and help others to accept it too.
Take the following steps and make change a positive word:
- Play the game of consequences. Most organizations release strategies or corporate plans periodically. These signify coming changes but are often written at a high level and usually phrased in ways not to scare their staff. Take time to think through the consequences of each key ambition stated. Ask yourself what the impact will be on people, processes, places and products. In every change there will be impact on one or all of these areas. Brainstorm as much as you can and look for patterns. What are the implications for each area? What changes can you foresee?
- Find the golden eggs. Where are the opportunities for you to benefit from the changes? To get excited about change you have to see opportunity. Will the change change the nature of your work? Will it open up opportunities for promotion? Where are the golden eggs hiding? If there are none for yourself, are there opportunities for your team or other colleagues to benefit from the direction of the change?
- Find the hidden traps. The reason why so many people hate change programmes is because they are euphemistic and driven by a cost cutting agenda, making them terrified that their jobs are under attack. Say change and people hear redundancy. Organizational strategies are full of phrases like "finding operating efficiencies" and "stream-lining" which do mean cost cutting in effect. To be a change champion though you need to map out all the potential traps for yourself and for others. Sometimes the conclusion from this exercise is that it is time to move on before the change hits. There is nothing worse that sitting with the threat of redundancy hanging over you. If there are no or limited golden eggs for you and the hidden traps seem undeniable then moving on may be the right thing to do but first review number four.
- Align yourself to the future. Jobs evolve over time. Skills change and grow leading to new opportunities. For most people, their careers are not linear but include many twists and turns as they respond to the changing job market and their evolving interests. Change programmes are the right time to review your skills and see how you can re-position yourself to better benefit from the planned change. Go through your skills and what you like doing and match it against the direction the organization is going in. Think beyond what skills you currently use but include all the skills that you currently have. What other skills might be necessary in the future? How can you brand yourself as having the skills that the organization will need for a successful future?
- Promote solutions. Being in charge is the key to a more positive relationship with change. We don't fight the changes we choose. Usually once a change in organizational direction has been decided upon there is a delay as management try to map out how to implement the strategy and manage the associated risks. This is your opportunity to put together some options on how to handle the consequences of the change in corporate direction. Focus on potential risks and show how these can be mitigated.
- Promote the change. Every briefing and meeting will become affected by the new organizational direction. Managers will often regard these topics as sensitive and couch their briefings in vague language so as not to unsettle people. This is an opportunity to identify and promote the benefits of the change in public forums and meetings. See the positive results (even when the process may be painful). Ask yourself what you would do if it was your company? Maintaining inefficient and outdated practices are hard to defend when it is your money! Think like you are the owner of the company then champion the benefits.
- Build other champions. If other people are not convinced by your championing of the change then you are not really a champion! You need to bring others on board. This should not be a scatter gun approach. Select colleagues carefully then on a one-to-one basis help them through the previous six steps so they can also champion the change. If you build 7 change champions and they in turn build 7 each then a powerful coalition of change champions will soon emerge to support the organizational change programme.
To be a champion of change is a much more positive approach than to be a victim of it. You can and should take charge and champion your organization's change programme even when it affects you negatively.
What do you think?