As I went through my Prosci Change Management certification I realized most of the work I was doing as an internal communicaitor was focused on persuading people to do something or make a change. While I’m certified in the Prosci Methodology and those tools are helpful, I find it’s more important to be flexible in my change management practice.
My approach to change management, much like my communications approach is people-focused listening that remembers outcomes.
People-Focused
When I have the ability it’s important to take time to get to know my audience. This is best done by listening. Going out into the organization to spend time with and get to know the audience by listening before making a plan for action. You may think you know what needs to be done, but by listening to your audience, something different may surface. Or, it may reinforce your original intuition. Either way, listening will built trust.
Learning-Focused
For me, this means coming at a project or change with curiosity by using questions with the intention of learning. This works for the change manager and for the audience. When you can cultivate a culture where people are focused on learning something rather than moving from one task to the next, you will see more engagement and more ownership of the processes.
Outcomes-Focused
Most changes or projects are started with an end goal in mind. Achieving those goals are very important for the success of the change or project. The way in which you get to the end goal should be flexible to accommodate being people and learning focused.