I’ve worked in services based consulting in the past 20 years. When looking at changes in corporate and operational change management, you see that the way we operate and think is changing fast. In the traditional business cases the key focus often is focussed on competitive edge, market opportunity and risk mitigation (yes yes… there is more but I’m trying to keep this simple)… A business transformation strategy and the success of the objectives you set, are in direct relation to your operational rigor. I wanted to share some simple tips to involve the whole  company in the strategic direction you are taking

Keep the message simple and clear

Simplicity is everything. Sometimes we overcomplicated things and as a result your team members get lost. Keep it simple and clear

Tailor your message to your audience

Some of you may think “Duhhhh”. We’ll in practice I have seen answers be too long, overcomplicated, and even more risky, not tailored to the audience.

Not everyone has to/will follow

In organisational change we soo often want to change the world. When making a change effective, first do your due diligence. Ask yourself who you need to make the change effective, What triggers your team, and ensure that

you remap the team towards the objectives based on skills, willingness and competence. If there are gaps, you can initiate a streamlined training and coaching plan for the ones who need this.

Be Curious

Curiosity is one of the most important elements of change. The more curious you are in investigating impact and tenor. The more you will find out over the course of the implementation. An openminded approach is key. And again the trust part is key.

Be Generous

Be generous to the people who follow. Be even more generous to the people who can’t. Help them to success and be happy. Even though they cannot follow the change, there is always a place for the stable team members in your organisation. Never enforce… That will backfire. But find common grounds.

Be Data Inspired

Ensure you have simple KPI’s which are tangible. But never overanalyse the data. When you have build the change process via agile methodology, you will be flexible and able to steer around possible challenges.Even more important, ensure that you start gathering the right data points to answer the questions you have. Big data is everywhere, but making sense of it in relation to your strategy is another. A SMART approach is required to capture and make sense of the information gathered.  Especially the less normalised information can make a difference when running through this. Easy way’s of gathering an outside in view, is the use of surveys. They are cheap and will give you direction, the challenge however is that on average 10-15% response rates (when you ask customers) is quite low so a you will need some volume to actually make this measurable. `But also internal survey’s with your team members are important to capture their uncensored feedback.

Bring fun in to the game

Change is often perceived as scary. It can bring processes and people to a hold.  Make it fun. Enjoyable and use the right stimulation tactics. If people are having fun, they will do what’s asked. If people have trust… They will follow even though they have an initial disbelieve. Every change should be perceived as a fun thing, where mistakes are used to learn, not to prosecute.

Be a coach, not a story teller…

As you may have noticed in other blogs, team members come first. I have a strong believe that when you coach them well, and they have the capability, you can make any change successful. Test and learn, preferably via an “agile approach”. Without having the right team in place, every project, change e.g. implementation can fail. As leader and coach you should keep focussed on their development. Do less yourself and ask the right questions. Make them come up with the game plan, and do not step in and give free advise. Ofcourse you can give direction, but in general what you can use is the AWE question (And what Else). That will keep the creative thinking going.

Transforming your organisation, team, processes and services take time. Rome was also not made in one day, so take your tim

e and keep focussed on your team members. Make sure they stay onboard, and own the change. You are there as leader to guide and support, not to actually deliver.

About the author: @Rahim Gulamali Strategic Customer Experience focussed Transformational Leader with outstanding track record across BPO, Strategic Change Management, Corporate Risk Management, Information technology, Technical and Financial Project Management. Proven track record in; designing, guiding, clarifying and completing (international) strategic programs; motivating teams and individuals to deliver; streaming and energizing existing business processes where People drive/own the success