Navigating a transformation programme is no mean feat and whilst technical and business skills are of paramount importance, the softer side of change should never be overlooked.
Major change programmes often span over a period of at least 2 years sometimes longer but what can you do to prepare yourself and your team for the challenges that will inevitably present themselves during the journey?
A good start is to understand in advance the organizational and cultural landscape in which the change will be implemented. Has the organization implemented a similar change before? How recent was it? How was it received? What were the consequences and are there any scars. If so, what are they and will they have an impact on the change that you are trying to implement? If there was a similar programme that failed or the benefits were not realized, how has this affected the mindset of the employees and stakeholders? Are they happy to receive your change programme as an effort to rectify the failures of the past or are they so fed up with how the previous change went that they are resistant believing that this time, it won’t work. Focus groups with a selected sample of the relevant stakeholders can glean useful qualitative data on where the land lies and steps that can be taken to address these concerns if necessary.
The demographic of your stakeholders is also a key variable in a successful transformation. This is particularly true in global organisations and where the implementation itself is of a global nature. It’s important to bear in mind that what might work effectively in one country or region, might not be so in another. I recently rented a new BMW 3 Series. Aside from the street cred that driving this sort of car brings, the technology built into this car heightened my awareness of the Germans love of automation. This might not necessarily be the case in other cultures where a more manual approach may be favoured due to the sense of control that it provides. Therefore, instead of using a ‘one-size fits all’ approach, spending some time researching the cultural context will go a long way to achieving success.
A defining driver for success is the ability to build rapport with your stakeholders regardless of their level within the organization. Signs of resistance are very often due to a lack of rapport. This ability comes naturally to some people but to others it does not. How do you establish rapport? I find that the most effective way is to take a genuine interest in that person or group of people. Ask questions about them and their life. Their family, their interests, time in the company etc. Most people like talking about themselves and if you show that you are a good listener, they will immediately feel comfortable around you. Not only that but by getting to know someone, you will more than often find a common interest which will help to solidify and maintain the relationship going forward. When people feel comfortable around you, they will approach you with any issues that they have with your change programme giving you useful information that you can act on for success.
Another great way to establish rapport is by making attempts to speak the other’s language if your language is not their first language. Ask questions – ‘How do you say this in French/Spanish/German etc?’ I have never once met a person who wasn’t happy to help me get up to speed with the local lingo. Don’t worry about getting things wrong. Being able to laugh at yourself will endear people to you even more.
There will be times when no matter how much you listen, how much you try and build rapport, some people just won’t budge. You still have to work together so how do you move forward? Regardless of how it might seem, everyone is doing their best with the resources they have available. Accept the person, not the behavior. Sometimes the more you try and change another’s behavior, the less the behavior changes. In this situation, the only thing that you can do is change yourself. Change how you react to that person; change how you think about that person. Don’t take anything personally. You have no idea what internally that person is going through. Rather than thinking negative things about that person, think about the things that the person does well and tell them where possible. There is a saying that ‘What you focus on expands’ so focus on the positive attributes about that person. You will find that in time, the tension decreases.
With major change programmes, with numerous stakeholders, systems, processes and integration points, it’s inevitable that there will problems. Being a change agent on such a programme requires a strong will. Many times when things have gone wrong, people run for the hills, bury their head in the sand or fade into the background. It’s times like this that you need to do the opposite, dig deep and find that warrior spirit within you. The person that never gives up. Stay calm. When fires are burning around you, people will appreciate the voice of reason that can take a calm, rational view of the situation and come up with practical solutions. Always look for the silver lining. If the system keeps on crashing during testing, it may seem like a big disaster but it gives you the room to investigate the problem and ensure that it doesn’t happen post go-live. In fact, although testing can be stressful period, the more problems you have during this time, the better equipped you will be to avoid, identify and or react quickly to the problem in the future. So when problems come up ask yourself: What is good about this problem? After all, everything happens for a reason so instead of panicking, look for the bigger picture. This will keep you in the flow. Most importantly, always remain positive and have faith that everything will work out in the end.
Author: Lesley Davis, HR Implementation Project Manager
