Results of the Change Factor Survey which may change your view on change

Results of the Change Factor Survey (from Roger Kastner)

One of the key points of the Why Change Management Projects Succeed presentation is that no single list of success factors will guarantee repeatable success—instead, the inherent value in the Change Success Checklist is the ability to modify the list based on the objectives of the initiative, the expectations of the stakeholders, and the needs of the target audience.

Even though I’m about to share the results of this particular survey, there is no guarantee that this list of factors will produce successful change for your next change project.

Here are the results of the Change Factor Survey:

Question 1: Please select what you believe are the top 5 factors that contribute to successful change initiatives.

Success Factor	Responses	%
Active & Engaged Sponsorship: committed, consistent, and positively supporting and impacting progress	145	71.8%
Change Leadership: the ability of the sponsor and leaders to effectively lead the target audience through and reinforce the change	95	47.0%
Employee Engagement: engaging a representative group of the target audience to help develop and implement the solution	90	44.6%
Clear Business Objectives: vision for the change tied to ROI and tangible, measureable goals	90	44.6%
Change Communications: frequent and open communications about the change	80	39.6%
Stakeholder Engagement: engaging and leveraging the leaders who lead people through the change	76	37.6%
Clearly Identified “What’s in it for me” (WIIFM): articulating the reasons why the change is beneficial to the individual	52	25.7%
Change Dialogue with Manager: open dialogue between manager and employee about the change, the impacts the employee can expect, the support the employee will receive, and any potential areas of resistance the employee might experience	50	24.8%
Dedicated and Skilled Change Managers: experienced and talented change managers who can coach and support the sponsor and leaders, and know how to adjust plans when necessary	47	23.3%
Influencer Engagement: identification and deployment of key well-networked individuals to positively influence others to embrace and adopt the change	40	19.8%
Reinforcement: the activities that support and measure active engagement with the change after the moment of impact	38	18.8%
Project Management: utilizing PM best practices and approaches to set, manage, and deliver on expectations of the change effort’s scope, schedule, and budget	37	18.3%
Resistance Management: identifying and creating activities to address the areas of resistance to the change	31	15.4%
Positive Environment: able to take on challenges with positive outlook and planning for success rather than looking for failure	29	14.4%
Active Governance Structure: design a model for how teams will operate to ensure effective teamwork and problem resolution among leaders	28	13.9%
Project to Organization Vision Alignment: project vision aligns well with mission and purpose of the organization	25	12.4%
Stakeholder Expectations: identified expectations of all stakeholders for project interactions and outcomes	17	8.4%
Minimize Scope & Requirements: minimizing the amount of change and/or the amount of change transition to only require the minimum amount of change necessary to achieve outcomes	17	8.4%
Formal Change Methodology: adhering to a formal process such as ADKAR, LaMarsh, Kotter, etc.	16	7.9%
Organizational Change Track Record: proven successful organizational change has occurred previously and has been sustainable	7	3.5%

Question 2: Which of the following best describes your role?

Role	Responses	%
Change Management Professional—Consultant	134	66.7%
Change Management Professional—Internal/Employee	44	21.9%
Manager/Director of CM Function	15	7.5%
Stakeholder of CM Function (no change management responsibilities)	8	4.0%

Question 3: How many change initiatives have you lead or had some degree of responsibility for the successful implementation of change?

Number of Initiatives	Responses	%
0	2	1.0%
1-4	45	22.3%
5-9	66	32.7%
10+	89	44.1%

Definitely some unexpected responses in the ranking of the Change Success Factors. In fact, two of the bottom three are on my Change Success Checklist. Yet with over 70% of respondents having significant experience with change, definitely some experience amongst the crowd.

Change: cheer-leaders, managers and players

Change cheer-leaders, managers and players

When you seek buy-in from your staff are you recruiting cheer-leaders, players or managers? What can change leaders do to switch people from being spectators and supporters to players and managers?

A while ago I was invited to attend a Managers Away-Day at which a firm discussed some of the changes that were happening in their industry, as well as the economy and the business.

I noted that whilst there were  re-assurances about jobs being safe staff were interested in “Where is the money is coming from?” since this seemed to them to be the key safeguard and what will deliver the vision and mission for the firm, and enable it to keep its promises.

Most managers when talking about their role in managing change, talked about managing business-as-usual as well as being inspiration, assurance and champion for the future plans. This was good, but I noted that these are essentially “cheer-leader” roles to “support the change”. A good team needs cheer-leaders. It also needs managers/coaches and players and I didn’t get the impression that lots of people were volunteering to “drive and make the change”.

I think safeguards and re-assurances link well with cheer-leader roles that support change. I think new opportunities link well with manager/coach and players drive and make the change. 

It is all well and good for “cheer-leaders” to point to a safety net for people to jump into, but I suspect that sometimes you need a burning building and some coaching to persuade you to jump! Maybe this is why much inspiration change mostly happens when people have hit rock bottom and have nothing top loose.

The problem is that not being at rock bottom means that things are “satisfactory”. They are not great, but they are good enough. I see this all the time in clubs, societies and committees where everyone gathers to agree what needs to be done but few actually volunteer to be the people to do it.

I know very little about football, but I know enough to see 30,000 people support and only 11 on the pitch and 1 or 2 in the dug-out. There is lots of cheering, but for all the noise that they make it boils down to just a few who command extra-ordinary salaries because they are the people to do it.

In business “success has many fathers but failure is an orphan”. So what can change leaders do to switch people from being spectators and supporters to players and managers?

1. Provide opportunities for people to play, to have a go at implementing initiatives, projects and small changes. Let them get the scars, cuts and bruises which mark them out as players rather than onlookers.
2. Provide coaching and guidance to help people learn quickly and safely and feel confident and comfortable. The scars, cuts and bruises can be good, but we must not damage our people or put them at risk.
3. Provide opportunities for these players to reflect on theirs and other people’s efforts to get a feel for “team management” and an understanding of some of the issues that may not be obvious from the grandstand, but are real on the pitch.
4. Provide the rewards and accolades which might inspire people to make the switch. This need not be cash rewards, but more in terms of recognition and respect because beyond a basic level of remuneration this is what inspires and drives most people.

Tim Rogers

Founder ciChange
timrogers@ciChange.org
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853
ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

FREE Startup Owner's Manual

I was recently asked to comment on The Startup Owner's Manual http://www.inc.com/steve-blank/the-startup-owners-manual-excerpts-introduction.html

I replied...I don't have a copy, but think it is a good idea. However inevitably for anyone who has been around a bit some of the ideas will be obvious. An alternative might be some of the FREE material you can download about business start-up and marketing. These vary in quality, but they are FREE.

http://www.jerseybusiness.je/get-going
http://www.mindtools.com/index.html
http://www.businessballs.com/freebusinessplansandmarketingtemplates.htm

It then occurred to me that perhaps the above list may be useful to others and that I might 'crowd-source' (get others to send me) recommended links and websites to compile a FREE Startup Owner's Manual

If you would like to contribute please email me timhjrogers@gmail.com

Trust

Trust is ....

Limited Rules
Clear Boundaries
Transparent Relationships
Open Communications
No Hidden Agendas
No Surprises

Why solving problems is not the same as delivering goals!

Why solving problems is not the same as delivering goals!

My broadband at home is going very S L O W and I’ve phoned my provider to ask them to address this. I offered them the results from an internet speed test and they were perplexed.

Their salesman’s approach is to sell me faster broadband. I explain that if the current system & speed doesn’t work, then spending more only makes the “not working” more expensive: Instead of not getting 4MB I am not getting 8MB (not really helpful!). Eventually I talk to an engineer. We discuss possibilities and configurations on the phone, but with no conclusion.

Eventually the problem is passed to the telecoms provider who at  circa £50/hour turn-up to the house and check every component from the point where the broadband enters the house to the display on my laptop. We identify the problem and agree a solution.

During the visit I explain that I’m trying to Skype my daughter at University and the connection is so poor that it makes communication really difficult. Immediately the telecoms engineer identifies with the situation, explains their experience and offers some helpful advice.

When I retold this to a friend I said ”You know if someone said we’ll sort everything out so that you can talk to your daughter at University I would gladly have given them £400 just to get it done” Instead the process took months, being bounced from one possibility to another but none of them helping me achieve what I want.

My friend replied “That’s the difference between solving problems and delivering goals” People get focussed on offering their solution that they ignore the customer goal. The salesman sells more broadband as his solution to my needs. The engineer offered diagnostic advice as his solution to my needs. The telecoms provider, however turns-up at my house and systematically checks everything, including what my goal is. Eureka my needs are met.

Managing projects and change.

I’ve reflected on this and realise that on some projects we spend huge amounts of time offering silo based solutions that don’t look at the end-goal.  We also spend an extra-ordinary amount of time thinking of all the problems and potentials for failure that we have little time left to consider innovative or alternative routes for success.

I have an MBA and have often complained that I can tell you one thousand reasons how and why projects and businesses fail. I’ve spend years looking at failure and their causes. But this isn’t the same as being an entrepreneur. Knowing the causes of failure doesn’t guarantee success. Ironically I have some sympathy with Lord Sugar who will often discount a candidate if they have an academic qualification because an over reliance upon a structured thinking can blind people to the end-goal and innovative or alternative routes for success.

Tim Rogers
Founder ciChange
timrogers@ciChange.org
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853
ciChange seminar and networking events for 2013 sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/