8 Critical Components when starting your Change Journey

1.    People - It is not leadership that implements change but people.

Questions to consider:

·         Do you have the right calibre of people?

·         Do they have the competencies to implement the change?

·         Are they motivated to do so?

2.    Business Case - The emotional and numerical rational for adopting the change.

Questions to consider: 

·         Why is the change centre stage?

·         Do your staff members know what to do differently on the Monday morning after implementation is announced?

·         Do they have the right tools and techniques to implement the change?

3. Communication - People can only adopt change if they know about it and understand it.

Questions to consider:

·         Do all your staff know what the new change is and why it has been adopted?

·         Is the change communicated in a way that it comes alive?

4. Measurement - You must inspect what you expect. Have the right measures in place.

Questions to consider:

·         Do you have the right measures for the change?

·         Are the measures being leveraged to guide the implementation?

5. Culture - You must change the day-to-day activities of your staff members and have a culture that support and fosters change.

Questions to consider:

·         What needs to change in the fundamental way you are working so as to encourage the adoption of the new culture?

·         Are we using the language of the new change?

6. Process - There must be alignment between what you say you are going to do (the implementation) and what you are doing (the process).

Questions to consider:  

·         Do your processes support or hinder the change?

·         Where can you redesign the process so it is more supportive and effective?

7. Reinforcement - You must reinforce the expected behaviours so that they are continuously repeated.

Questions to consider:

·         When staff members step in to the unknown and demonstrate the new behaviours, are they recognized and rewarded?

·         Does the reinforcement encourage them to continue to demonstrate the desired new behaviours?

8. Review - The weakest of the eight points among leaders. You must constantly review to make sure the right actions are being taken to deliver the right results.

Questions to consider:

·         Do you know if the actions being taken are producing the right results?

·         Do you know what has been learned from the implementation in the last 90 days?

·         Do you know what you need to start doing differently from today?

By paying attention to all of these areas and assessing the organisation strengths and weaknesses against each one, the organization can prepare itself with a realistic perspective of the challenge ahead and leaders can identify the actions to take to deliver the new strategies anticipated results.