In our change management training programs we are often asked what the difference is between a Change Champion and a Change Agent. Are they the same thing? Aren’t they responsible for essentially the same tasks? The answer is no. They are not the same, but… the two roles often overlap.
We say that “Sponsorship” is the most critical success factor in ensuring a fast and successful implementation of any type of business change. But as a Change Agent, do you know who your Sponsors actually are, and maybe more importantly, what they are doing to ensure the success of your change project? These are critically important questions, but their answers may not necessarily be all that obvious.
If you are part of a project team assigned to enterprise-wide change you will need to have Change Agents to support the implementation. Yes, members of the project team will likely be Change Agents, but you will need to build a network as well.
As change management and project implementation consultants, we’ve seen our share of unsuccessful attempts at change. These failed implementations happen for a multitude of reasons. Most commonly, organizations just don’t apply the same business-discipline and rigor for managing the human elements of their change as they do the timeline, the budget, and the technical objectives for the project.
The 5 W’s. Who, what, where, when, why and how. These are the questions journalists ask when they are researching their next story. But in the Change Management and implementation worlds, asking these same questions can be just as important. An excellent example of this is in gaining clarity around roles and responsibilities during an organizational change. Yes, this seems basic, but it is a critical step for implementation success.
Getting all Sponsors to express, model and reinforce their commitment to your change is the single most important factor in getting a business change implemented at speed. What is the best way to do that? By developing Sponsor contracts for every Sponsor whose commitment is critical to the project’s success.
Let’s face it...if you are attempting to implement change, whether it is transformational in scope or a minor procedural adjustment, resistance is going to happen. It’s inevitable...someone somewhere is going to let it be known they don’t like what’s happening.
If there is one thing we know for sure, it is today’s organizations are busy! Busy making changes that is. From Mergers and Acquisitions to Shared Services to IT implementations, changes are happening at an alarming rate of speed.
Company X is about to implement a new ERP system (feel free to insert any change project into this scenario). They have been down this road before, and know it is important to appoint Change Agents who will be responsible for implementing the change at the local level. They know the job will continue from the initial planning stages through the execution of the change. A management meeting is held to decide who is going to get this important job.
Getting the Sponsorship you need is the single most important success factor for any project implementation. The fact is Sponsorship is the most critical success factor in ensuring a fast and successful implementation of any type of business change, but it is also largely misunderstood.
