Change Management Aha!s

Wow. What a seriously interesting day.  This morning I keynoted for the Ark Change Management conference in Sydney, and found some seriously interesting changes occuring in how people think about change!So in the spirit of sharing the learnings, here are my top 4 notables, and then 10 of the key learnings from those in the room. Let me know if you want me to expand on any of them in future posts.

• A rejection of Kotter's 8 Steps.

It appears that many have got past Kotter, to recognise that change is infinitely more messy than the 8 steps that Kotter espouses. I've been a proponent of this view, and said as much in my keynote - but I feel I need to clarify. I noted that one of the problems of change is a rigid adherance to 8 step programs of change.  I see great change managers as like great cooks. We start with a recipe, but we often adapt, substitute and change the recipe depending on the audience.  Now, on reflection, here's the thing - I think Kotter's 8 steps of change makes much more sense when the outcome is less than desirable, it is a useful framework to analyse what went wrong with the change, as you would revisit the recipe to see what you did differently, to make the cake flop! I just don't think it is as useful as a strict change plan.

• Increased appreciation for the linguistic change interventions (eg story-telling, narrative, appreciative inquiry).  It appears that the tools are being used much more, and perhaps in response to point 3.
•  A recognition of emotion as an "input" to change programs, as opposed to an "output" to be managed (eg fear, anxiety, distress).

A hat tip to Rich Hirst of 3 Australia who took us through a super engaging preso on how they have focused on the "Heads, Hearts & Hands" to drive culture change and impressive performance outcomes.

• A serious identity crisis about what it means to be a change manager!

When I asked how many in the room identified as a change manager, there were two. Yet others were managers of transformation, or managers of business improvement and perceived this as different.  Fascinating stuff - and really worth unpacking. Is the title change manager career limiting? Or is there a reluctance to use the term without qualifications?The top ten learnings from the room are as follows:

1. Considering the change manager as stability agent
2. Ensuring that the right message is communicated at the right time
3. Communicating what is not changing (closely related to #1), also covered in a previous post
4. Change managers create the bullet, but don't fire the gun
5. The importance of heads, hearts and hands
6. A reminder that many organisations are full of 4 year olds (referring to one of Piaget's experiments), people don't always see things from the viewpoints of others
7. The necessity for a clear consistent message and purpose
8. The interdependency of change management and communication
9. The importance of research and understanding your audience before you prepare the change comms plan (Hat tip to Bronwen Ciolli of DHS for the really pragmatic and honest presentation of what they had done)
10. Change management is more than project management / Kotter.

Tomorrow, I'm working with those at the conference at a workshop on how to create great change comms in times of turbulent change. There's a couple of attendees who are repeat offenders and I can't wait to hear what they have done in the 18 months since I saw them last!