Bricolage, Angry Birds & Semi-Structures...

...the building of a community of change managers

 The Change Management Professionals hit a major milestone this month with reaching 500 members on the LinkedIn group. I’ve always been a fan of quality over quantity but as one of the co-founders and the owner of the linked-in group I found this number pretty satisfying.I thought I would take the time to capture some of the observations and learning on the growth of this group with the benefit of hindsight as it may assist others.The beginningThe Change Management Professionals started after Kym De Lany and I met at a Change Communication Masterclass I was running for the Ark Group in February 2009.  Both working in change in Melbourne we bonded over a common sense of isolation  -- change managers often work alone, under darkness, and in the background. After some conversations with two of Kym’s colleagues (Verity Byth and Karen Walker) we decided to see if there was enough interest in a semi-formal community of managers.  Verity, Kym and I then went on to workshop what that would look like, how it could run, and what the value proposition was.  In hindsight this day was incredibly valuable.

Lesson 1: Prepare the ground, work through the foundation stuff

Looking aroundOf course there were other models to look at, we all had been involved in other professional associations. We contacted the then NSW branch of the Change Management Institute, but they were reluctant to talk to us at that stage so we pushed on. Nevertheless comparing our vision to other associations and clubs was important in establishing the boundaries of what we would do, and what we would not.

Lesson 2: Research similar entities – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And we’re off…From there we came up with a relatively simple plan of action. Construct a survey that would generate content of value to those who work in change, those who employ change managers, and those who broker that relationship.

Lesson 3: Offer value

We did this in a very cost effective way – Survey Monkey and our little black books! Then we organised a meet up at a CBD venue, with bar snacks provided to launch the findings and initiate group discussions on the findings.

Lesson 4: Keep it simple

It was not polished – the venue was humble and a little quirky, (but free), I put forward a modest catering budget and sponsored the food, and the facilitation a little adhoc.  But it worked.  In the absence of anything else like it we attracted 35 people working in change and had fantastic conversations. It’s the Angry Birds model – Aim, Fire, Adjust (HT Pete Williams of Deloitte Digital).In May 2009 we started a blog, and then in June 2009, a LinkedIn group for an online home and blog for the purpose of disseminating information and developing the community. Providing an online home.  There were teething problems with this.  People who work in change are not necessarily early adopters of technology and regular users of LinkedIn. I was also heavily committed with IABC Victoria and my own business, so updating another blog as well as managing the LinkedIn group became unrealistic. So we dropped the blog, and maintained the LinkedIn group.

Lesson 5: Again Aim, Fire, Adjust

Once we relied solely on the LinkedIn group for publishing details of upcoming meet ups, we found that numbers dwindled. It tested the quality v quantity belief. Personally, provided I had one other person to have a good conversation with about what was happening in the change space I saw value. But I understood that a critical mass is useful. By that point I had been using Campaign Monitor for my own Change Nugget series, and it is low cost and super easy to use. So I adapted the template to use for the group and event notifications.  We let the members know that if they wanted to be told when and where meet ups were then they would need to provide an email address.  I also set up an eventbrite account – again, free, easy to use. The act of getting a ticket via eventbrite bolstered the attendance numbers. People could see upfront who else was going, and were automatically reminded of their commitment to attend the day before.  It was a bricoleur approach – use the tools at hand, to build the community. We know regularly see around 25 – 30 attend our in person meet ups.

Lesson 6:  Build your community through bricolage

Our initial approach was to chose a theme that was topical, start with an ice-breaker, and then facilitate small group discussions that come back to whole of group de-brief. Kym and I actively encouraged others to pick up the facilitation baton and be responsible for organising and managing the evening. This has been challenging – let’s face it, facilitating a discussion with 20-30 of your peers who do the same thing for a living can be confronting. We have been very careful to stress that facilitators may choose to run the evening any way they please –it’s a great opportunity for all of us attending to learn alternative methods. But sometimes it still takes courage. Regardless of intent, we have found that we do need to provide ‘volunteers’ with some structure for them to feel free to adapt to their style.

Lesson 7 : Semi structures provide opportunity for emergence and great discussion

Identity & self-organisationOften as not the icebreaker has included some element of why are you here. It’s in the conversations of sense making that the identity of the group has emerged. The discussions of what it is and what it is not. As E.M Forster once wrote - “ How will I know what I think, until I see what I say?”We started with three assertions:1)   The group is inclusive; it’s not just for bona fide change managers (indeed that is a highly contested identity), but also for all of those who work in change.2)   The expertise is in the room, we don’t need to be talked at, and if we have great questions that elicit shared knowledge.3)   When we share our experience in change, the collective practice of change management improves.These assertions have really resonated with people. People often come to the group the first time and voice “I’m not a real change manager” but they often have stories that enrich all of our practice. They also often tired of sales pitches, and self professed gurus getting up and talking at them in the name of professional development. By focusing on the resonant attributes of the group, people are more willing to share. They feel safe to provide warts and all accounts of change. They take more risks in disclosing elements of their professions that they are uncomfortable with – and within this practice comes great learning.Lesson 8: let your community define you, they contribute more when this is the caseSponsors & PatronageAfter the first two meet-ups, we attracted the patronage of SHK. They have been outstanding as patrons – they provide their boardroom and meeting rooms, and put on wine and nibblies.  They have never asked for anything in return, simply preferring to invest in the community. It makes sense for them – as recruiters they place change managers and the better the community the more satisfied the clients. We often wish more recruiters would come along to participate and build their own change management knowledge – one of the frequent frustrations is that the recruiter is the broker of the engagement and the organisation or client rarely understands change well enough to know what they actually need. We need the recruiters advocating on our behalf – and ensuring that position descriptions reflect the real role. Most recently Ampersand have sponsored the first meet up in Sydney and are keen to get further involved. This is a promising development and we hope that we can find a way to work together that offers supplementary value.

Lesson 9  - there will be people who want to help you, take it!

Command and control v emergenceI think one of the most interesting aspects has been the tension between command and control (running a group, initiating stuff, setting rules) and emergence (if the community isn’t asking for it, or initiating discussions, then it’s not up to Kym and I to organise it!) People who work in change like to control. The notion of emergence can be unnerving. The LinkedIn group is a great example – I have stuck with insisting that community can determine its norms and behaviours on the group. I may not always like how some members use it, but provided another member provides feedback it is of value, and then the community has the final say.  As administrator I have at times given others a push to jump on and say something, but often this is because I cringe at the thought of my face /name dominating the group wall. But I do think it takes a long time to build a community, so for now, as one of the co-founders I take pleasure in sitting back and watching the small steps and new voices emerge. I have faith that the community will self-regulate.

Lesson 10: Those who like to control can let go ; - )

So there you go – I hope the lessons are of some use to you. If you are interested in reading more about the group – here are the write-ups of a few of our meetings below. There has been a great range of topics suggested recently on the linked group, so I would say there would be another meet up happening soon. If you want to be on the distribution list for notifications drop me a line and I’ll sort it.

•  Buzzword Bingo for Change Managers
• 5 signs of good health in change projects
• Change Sponsor Engagement - Getting them to the altar
• The tribe has spoken