change management process change management plan
"If you're coasting, you're either losing momentum or else you're heading downhill." ~ Joan Welsh
Once you decide to make a change you have bought into a vision of what it will be like in the future; you have identified the compelling reasons to make the change; you have set clear goals; and you likely even have a plan to make the changes you want. The challenge is keeping momentum, the energy and focus, to achieve your goals. And if you are changing a system or something within an organization then you also have to consider what they need to keep momentum as well.
What can you do to sustain momentum once the journey of transformation has begun? Here are three suggestions:
1. Celebrate Success - time and effort are the natural barriers to successful transformation. They can dampen the motivation needed to succeed. Everyone needs to see progress and know that his or her efforts are not wasted. No matter what the change, set small milestones and celebrate once you have reached them. Celebrate the unexpected successes as well.
2. Connect the dots - Remind yourself and your organization about why you started this journey in the first place. Keep your vision and your goals visible. Get clear on the pain or cost of not making the transformation and the pleasure or benefit of succeeding. Spend more time then you think is necessary to communicate to your organisation.
3. Issue resolution - It could take many, many months to achieve your vision and goals depending on how big the change is. There will be hurdles and roadblocks to overcome along the way. If not managed these can be momentum killers. Think about what could get in your way and how you could overcome the issue before you even start your journey - be prepared. For those issues that you couldn't possibly prepare for, have a process in place to resolve. You can do this by answering a few key questions - what will happen if you don't keep moving forward? What opt ions do you have to resolve this? What resources do you have available to help?
Momentum is necessary to achieve optimum results for any change. It helps to create the path of least resistance. It helps to reinforce all the reasons for making the change in the first place and enables employees to deal with any obstacles that occur along the way.
Therese Wales is Managing Director of Up to You http://www.up-to-you.com.au/ providing Leadership Coaching and Organizational Change Management Services.
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