Which Type of Change Agent Are You?
(1) CommentComing together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. ~Henry Ford
Change Thinking is a growing community of experienced internal and external change agents. We are confident in our skills, but at the same time feel a sense of responsibility to advance both our personal capabilities and the professional field of change facilitation.
We have explored the sponsor and agent roles individually, but I’d like to address how the two relate when functioning as a team. In particular, I want to explore the difference between relationships that are synergistic and productive and those that are less than effective.
As seasoned change practitioners, we wouldn’t have survived long enough to gain deep knowledge and skills if we didn’t have a capacity for establishing and maintaining strong relationships with clients (those we serve, whether inside or outside our own organization). However, many of us are frustrated that we don’t have more access to, respect from, and influence with the sponsors we work with.
There are many facets to a good working relationship with a sponsor. I’d like to examine two in this series—our rapport with the sponsor, and expectations about how we’ll work together. more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Understanding the Key Roles in Significant Change
(1) CommentI hope you had a chance to read the series I just finished on the characteristics of resilient people and teams. Resilience is crucial for individuals and groups dealing with the stresses of change.
Now I’m going to pick up again with the sponsor-agent relationship, building on two previous series, sponsorship and agents. First, though, more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Resilience in Teams and Organizations
(1) CommentIn my last post, I wrote about the five characteristics of resilience: positive, focused, flexible, organized, and proactive as they apply to individuals going through change.
Now I’d like to expand the notion of resilience to a larger context. Think about teams going through change. Research shows that under certain circumstances, teams can be more effective than a collection of individuals. How this happens is another topic, synergy, which I will focus on at a later date. For now, I’d like to share our observation that teams can create exceptionally strong and effective responses to change if they can draw on the varied resilience strengths of members. A team in which the least positive person sets the emotional tone for the group, more
ChangeThinking.net
©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Five Aspects of Resilience
When people adapt to change, they need to apply their mental, physical, and emotional energy to adjust to new circumstances. Based on our own observations and review of research, we’ve identified a set of five “change muscles” that help people use their energy more effectively during change. Let’s take a closer look:
Positive
Resilient people are positive. They can see possibilities in even the most discouraging of situations, and opportunities amidst potential dangers. They also see themselves as having the capability to deal with challenging situations. As a result, they are better able to engage their energy in change rather than retreating, worrying, or engaging in defensive, unproductive activities.
Focused
Resilient people are focused. They know what’s important to them, and have a clear sense of priorities. In the midst of ambiguity, there are often many conflicting demands for attention. Resilient people recognize that they can’t do everything. They are able to say “no” to the less important things so they can focus their energy on the few most critical issues. more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
How Resilient Are You?
(2) CommentsAs a change practitioner, you’ve probably seen the impact of major change on your team’s or department’s productivity. Humans have a limited capacity to absorb the disruption that change creates. When an individual faces more demand for change than he or she can absorb, the result is an increase in dysfunctional behavior.
To adapt successfully, individuals must increase their speed of change. I’m not talking about the velocity at which things around them are changing, but rather how fast they can recover from their own disrupted expectations. When people are able to function at their optimum speed of change, they can absorb significant disruption with minimal dysfunction. The key to increasing a person’s speed of change is resilience.
Resilient people are no less vulnerable than others to the stresses of change. They can’t prevent disruptions, but the results of a change are often more fruitful and less damaging for them. Resilient people bounce back quickly; they do not become victims of change. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
The Best Way to Help a Sponsor Deal With Change
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi
If we are to be effective at helping clients understand and manage complex change, we must not only have the ability to educate and facilitate—we must also model the behavior we need to see in those we serve.
Who we are particularly affects our relationships with senior sponsors. Many practitioners haven’t come to terms with that fact. I’ve heard internal agents say, “I like being assigned to high-level leaders, but I can’t be a role model for people that high up in our organization. Anyone at that level won’t relate to me in that way anyway, but I don’t really see myself as someone a senior officer should imitate.”
This kind of self-image limits the practitioner to tactical influence at best. We have to see ourselves as not only change specialists, but also exemplars for the sponsors we serve. Yes, it’s challenging, but without this aspect to the relationship, our guidance will seem more theoretical than practical (it may sound good but doesn’t translate to real life). Even worse, we can appear to the sponsor as providing questionable, if not bogus, guidance. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Identifying and Developing Change Agents
Selecting the appropriate people to function as change agents on a major project is critical to realizing the full benefits of the initiative. At Conner Partners, we use the Change Agent Selection Form to help sponsors and potential agents do four things:
- Choose the most qualified change agents to work on a specific change
- Help the candidates understand the sponsors’ rationale for selecting or nominating them
- Provide a framework for the continued development of the prospective or selected agent(s)
- Facilitate discussion between the agent and sponsor, and clarify expectations for the agent’s performance during a specific change project more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Guidelines for Dealing with Top Change Agent Challenges
Whether change agents are internal or external, they often have to operate in an environment where sponsors are less than prepared to perform their role. Here are some guidelines for addressing common challenges agents face when in service to sponsors.
Aim for realization, not installation.
Many sponsors focus on installing critical changes—putting solutions in place—rather than realizing the intended business benefits. Be sure you and your sponsor are clear on whether you are working toward full realization of the initiative’s objectives or some degree of installation with reduced expectations.
Make strong sponsorship your top priority.
Realization of change is impossible without sufficient sponsor commitment and the capacity to follow through with his or her intentions. Successful agents foster the necessary sponsor behaviors to build and maintain three critical elements: more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Ways Change Agents Can Help Sponsors
As I wrote in my last post, even sponsors with lots of experience leading difficult transitions need the help of skilled change practitioners.
Sponsors are most effective when we help them:
Have a clear definition of the change. Effective sponsors must see the desired state clearly and understand the overall intent.
Recognize and express their dissatisfaction with the present state. Successful sponsors need to be keenly aware that the organization cannot afford to fail at the change; they have to be tenacious about fully realizing the initiative’s objectives and communicate effectively to the organization. more
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©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Do You Recognize These Characteristics of Successful Change Practitioners?
(3) CommentsSponsors who aren’t adequately prepared for their role need our help. Even sponsors who have plenty of change experience and all the right “instincts” for orchestrating difficult transitions need help. They should be supported and guided by skilled change practitioners. So, what are the requirements for playing the change agent role, and how can we get better at it?
I’m going to focus on practitioners assigned to senior sponsors. Don’t get me wrong, change agents at all levels play important roles. It’s just that those who serve leaders in key positions (initiating and primary sustaining sponsors) are particularly important to the change success. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
