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
ChangeThinking.net
©2010 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
How to Spot (and Help) a Good Sponsor
In the last two posts, we’ve examined things about sponsorship that many of us believe to be true. We’re also looking into why we sometimes stray from these axioms when we design interventions and/or interact with sponsors.
In my work, I’ve found that the most effective sponsors display a common set of characteristics. Of course, they’re expressed differently depending on the organization, the circumstances, and the personality of the sponsor, but in general, highly successful sponsors are purposeful, attentive, committed, decisive, and resolute. I’ll break these down into very specific statements and actions. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
The Change Practitioner’s Role in Encouraging the Right Kind of Due Diligence (Part 4 of 5)
I hope this blog provides all its readers with a vehicle for sharing not only ideas but tools and techniques as well. At Conner Partners, we use an assessment tool to help us evaluate the overall challenge an organization is likely to encounter when implementing a particular initiative. It focuses on the three dimensions I have been writing about: more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Assessing Your Initiative’s Degree of Difficulty (Part 3 of 5)
One of the ways agents can bolster their credibility with sponsors is by not coming across as eager to apply implementation assistance to every initiative that surfaces. This can be accomplished by encouraging sponsors to engage in a Degree of Difficulty assessment and discussion that we as agents help facilitate.
A change is difficult when it falls somewhere between easy and impossible. The “difficulty criteria” is clear (How much change is involved, the desired result, and how crucial it is to succeed). However, determining if a particular project is “in crisis” is not a cut-and-dried calculation. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Exploring a Project’s “Degree of Difficulty” (Part 2 of 5)
(1) CommentThree key factors—How much change? What’s the desired result? How crucial is it to succeed?—help determine a change initiative’s Degree of Difficulty. Let’s look at these in detail.
DETERMINING HOW MUCH CHANGE IS EXPECTED
Projects of a continuous improvement nature (dealing with incremental change) have an important place within organizations. Without Six Sigma and other such methodologies to keep a constant vigilance on quality enhancement opportunities, organizations would never harvest the full potential from their processes and procedures.
Transformational change, on the other hand, dramatically alters the course of current actions. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Just How Difficult Is Your Change Initiative? (Part 1 of 5)
(1) CommentCredibility gaps often exist between us as change practitioners and our sponsors. Many factors contribute to these gaps, and I’ll explore several in a future post. Here, I’d like to focus on a common one: Many sponsors see us as indiscriminate when suggesting they allocate significant amounts of time and attention to implementing change initiatives. They believe we think ALL initiatives are critical and in need of our skills.
Let’s not argue about whether this indictment is justified, or whether you personally would ever create such an impression. My point is, too many sponsors hold this view about too many of us change practitioners and as a result, they see us as tactical players (have hammer, looking for nail) rather than as trusted advisors capable of determining when implementation assistance is genuinely called for. more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Hold On—Change Itself Is Unstable
Part 2 of 2
The volume, momentum, and complexity of change are all accelerating as never before, and we run the risk that the challenges brought to us will outstrip our ability to keep up. (Maybe this is already happening for some.) At one point or another, we’ve probably all told our clients (those we serve, whether we are an internal or external resource) that “change is changing,” but are we as practitioners changing at a commensurate speed (evolving ourselves as well as the state of the art)? more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
Introducing Change Thinking— A community of advanced practitioners pursuing mastery in the field of change implementation
(2) CommentsPart 1 of 2
Despite all the business change knowledge uncovered during the last 50 years, many seasoned change management professionals still aren’t adequately prepared to serve those trying to navigate their way through today’s turbulence. Change Thinking is an effort to have an exchange with, and be part of, a community of practitioners committed to raising the level of their game and that of the field of change execution.
The challenges are great, and time is of the essence, so I will be direct: Anyone is welcome to read this blog but my comments will be aimed at advanced practitioners who have a broad understanding of the dynamics of change implementation and deep experience facing the challenges of executing large-scale initiatives. In addition, this blog is for those seeking mastery in this field more
ChangeThinking.net
©2009 Conner Partners, Inc.
www.connerpartners.com
