Change Management Myths: Myths of Change Management

As per the Change Management awareness program, here are the answers to those Myths which we have faced since the process was implemented :

• Myth 1 - "I’m responsible for the ‘hard’ side of the project, not the ‘soft’ stuff."
• Myth 2 - "I have a communication plan, isn’t that enough?"
• Myth 3 - "We are introducing change and managing the project, so aren’t we managing change?"
• Myth 4 - "We don’t need change management."

"I’m responsible for the ‘hard’ side of the project, not the ‘soft’ stuff."

• If your project requires people to change the way they do their jobs, then the ‘soft’ side is also your responsibility."
• Research shows that change management directly contributes to projects meeting their objectives and achieving theROI they expect.
• Think about a recent project you worked on that did not meet its expectations. Were the root causes related to the 'hard' side of the project or the 'soft' side?

"I have a communication plan, isn’t that enough?"

• While communication is important, change management does not equal effective communications. Change management also includes sponsorship, coaching, proactive resistance management, training and reinforcement.
• It is great that you have a communication plan - but make sure you customize messages for specific audiences and think through the right timing, mechanism, content and sender. Also remember that employees prefer to get change messages from two senders - senior leaders and immediate supervisors.
• You may be telling employees what you are doing, but these are not the only messages they want to hear. The top reason for resistance among employees is a lack of awareness of the need for change - why is the change taking place. Are you answering this question in your communication?

"We are introducing change and managing the project, so aren’t we managing change?"

• Just because you are introducing a change does not mean that you are managing the people side of that change. Change management is a systematic approach to accelerate adoption and mitigate resistance.
• Change management is the process, tools and techniques for managing the people side of change. It is a proven management process for leading people through change.
• There are five 'levers' you can pull to encourage effective change - sponsorship, communication, coaching, training and resistance management. These are the tools of organizational change management. Effective change management uses all of these tools in the right mix to achieve the desired outcome.

"We don’t need change management."

• Change management helps to increase the speed of adoption of change, the ultimate utilization of the tools and the proficiency of employees in the future state.
• There is a direct correlation between how well you manage change and whether or not you meet project objectives. If you want to deliver on the potential value of your project to the organization, you need to manage the people side of change.
• In an empowered workforce, change can no longer be mandated. Change must be managed - by the senior leaders who initiate and sponsor change, by the front-line supervisors who manage and coach employees impacted by change, by the project teams who manage change, and by others in the organization who support employees during change.

If you have any suggessions/queries, please leave a comment here.

SOURCE: www.change-management.com