26.11.2008

How to Become a Change Maker or Master

Yesterday, I gave a 90 minute presentation to 88 HR Manangers in Milton Keynes.  The session was part of the professional development of a group of committed HR and Change professionals all united by being associates and members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

High Degree of Interpersonal Skill

The focus of the session was on examining the core skills that underipnned the effective change maker.  My contention was that a high degree of interpersonal competence with a flexible style of communication is central to effective change makers working in a conflict laden environment. 

Change is Political & Behavioural 

Coupled with this is my firm belief that change is a political as well as a behavioural process - so the flexible more spontaneous change maker is going to have the scope to adapt to varying viewpoints and the ambiguity of the change itself.

The reasoning behind this statement is that the most flexible communicator is likely to be the person who has the ability to respond to a variety of competing parties, attitudes and players in the change arena.

The Change Arena

We focused on the core players, the catalyst for change or consultant, the sponsor who is hosting the change, key stakeholders whose opinions are valued and the target audience who have to adapt to and encapsulate the change.

My contention is that the consulatnt or internal change agent has to have the ability to work seamlessly with these characters and to ensure that ideas are implemented as part of the change agenda.

Style of Change Management

To aid the process we used Jungian 'Type' analysis to examine the core elements of the change style of each of the 88 people present. Using a varient of a personality instrument we carved our way through the Jungian model focusing on the core dimensions on Energy, Perception, Decisions and Life-Style.

By identifying our particlar 'type of change preference' who could identify those people we would have difficulty working with as well as those with whom we would feel at ease.

Handling Objections to the Change Agenda

My belief is we can never do enough preparation when we have difficult issues like managing complex organisational change so with this in mind I constructed a model examing how to identify objections of others by understanding the factors that drive their personal preferences for handling change.

the 90 minutes passed quickly and from audience reaction the vast majority thought the process was valuable.

I Loving Presenting

From my personal experience I loved the experience - any opportunity i get to present  is a good experience for me to test my ideas, my values and beliefs about what works in change and talk with a highly intelligent group of people.

How to Improve Change Management & Presentation Skills

I think the more opportunity that everyone has to present the better one becomes at change management. Only be exchanging a variety of views, opinions and experiences with others  is it possible to hone one's repetoire of change skills.  Long may it continue.

See Powerpoint Presentation on Chnage Mastery››

	Commercial Partnership

16.11.2008

Enabling Colleges & Enterprise Units Pitch For New Business

As part of our 2009 strategy to support organisations, we have committed to working with Colleges and educational units who provide business services to commercial clients

Partnership with Colleges to drive up Income Streams

Colleges need to increase their commercial and other income streams in order to reduce dependence on grant support arising from its core activity.  Our proposition is geared to raising additional commercial income for the college through increased knowledge transfer and existing Consultancy revenues. 

Colleges’ Niche Products and our Commercial Acumen

We understand Colleges have their own range of highly valued niche products.  However, I wonder if they take advantage and leverage themselves to winning new business. The obvious benefits are that we who are experienced, problem solvers and researchers will work together to generate and deliver profitable educational services with commercial credibility.

Partnering Prosperity with the FE Sector

We work with the client’s top team on a range of clients that include large scale blue chips and small SMEs.   I also have some publishing success as a writer on organisational issues, with seven published books and over 300 Journal articles.

College Commercial Partnership in Pitching for New Business

There are numerous options and proposals which could arise from any proposed partnership.  For instance, there may be opportunities to leverage additional commercial work through existing clients, and adding to a College’s own credibility and delivery coupled with our commercial experience. This may be valued during initial negotiations with clients or when first meeting new prospects.

We see the key benefit being the mix of trusted educational input and commercial credibility together.  Dr Iain Grieve and I will be driving this process out in 2009 and we believe it should have a large take-up with the more commercially aware FE & HE Colleges and Universities.

Dr Grieve’s expertise is in the development of commercial knowledge transfer products and services.  My area of expertise is change management, with a focus on designing change strategies that resolve organisational problems ranging from customer retention, strategic analysis to cost reduction and quality improvement.  All our work is tailored to the needs of the client.

10.11.2008

Integrity: When Matrix Management is not the Answer

Well it is the answer to most organisational problems but not the immediate solution depending on the relative state of your culture.  Let me tell you about a client who was very keen for me to visit his business in Northern Europe in Early November.  He wanted me to talk with him, his boss and his peers about making Matrix work.  His peers were very resistant to Matrix and their empires were built on budgets, projects and quality and quantity of staff reporting to them.

Prior to the visit I became uneasy about the relative readiness for change and the likelihood that the client’s interpretation of the solution was the right one. 

As the final weeks approached I clearly understood from our very specific discussions that no amount of evidence , reference to case studies or verbiage, presentation power would convince the clients cynical team that matrix would work for them.

This would be another consulting case of a solution chasing a problem!

In a hugely hierarchical organisation we would have to identify the benefits of matrix over traditional ways of working – work through product and process flows and demonstrate through life and customer service could be radically enhanced.

Initially, I agreed to the project but then decided it was not in the client’s best interest.  Implementing such an advanced strategy when there was so much cynicism in the culture and active resistance form the top team would have been foolish.  It would have been the wrong solution at this time.  Matrix may well be the best way for this organisation but not currently.

So I lost a client and the fees that go with the work – but I have preserved my integrity and honesty.  That client if he ever comes back will get a 100%+ service.  The solution will be tailored to where the organisation is – not where we would like it to be.

Or did I lose the client?

We have agreed that we can work one on one to devise solutions to the issues they are experiencing.  A staged relationships working with the client and his boss will work because we are tailoring a solution to a problem – not hammering a ill fitting square solution into a round hole.  Once we have some options firmly formed we can then win the support of others on the team to reviews the best options.

So we will work on business strategy and customer relationships and service excellence.  If that throws up a matrix solution – as it may we have at least given all parties the opportunities to become engaged in implementing a solution.

Readiness for Change

This experience tells me about using experienced change agents.  I could have located a Consulting Firm that would have been happy to implement the work – but the solution would have been partial and short lived.  That would have been wrong – but there are plenty of consultants out there ready to do it.

Consultant Client Relationship

The Trusted Associate is my role model for partnering with clients.  I want to partner with clients for a very long time – I want to grow more mature and old with them.  I want to know them and their issues so well that I am the natural person they call at 2 am in the morning when the problem will not go away.  And you cannot get a buzz better than that.

1.11.2008

Virtual Teams & Matrix Management

I was talking a management group through an hour presentation on Virtual Teams working and covered the unsual hisory of Matrix from pre Nasa days.  I was delighted to explain that many cases abound of seamlingly traditional business actually applying innovative Virtual Team solutions.

Airport at Cliffe Scrapped

One such example I talked through was the work of a £90 million turnover business, withi 1600 fte's staff and 15,000 volunteer staff.  Yes, I am talking of the RSPB - the Conservation Charity geared up to the protection of Birds and conserving wildlife species and the environment.

I used the example of how the RSPB galvansied the work of specialist  to stop the building of the third London Airport at Cliffe on the North Kent estuary.  Further, by capitailisng on the merging of specilist teasm with a strong over-riding focus of conservsing the area and the wildlife the RSPB was able to organise a  demonstration in London marching to Downing Street to hand in a petition for the Prime Minister demanding the Airport be scrapped. 

Cross Society Working & Matrix Mindset

You will be impressed that 150,000 attended that event in 2003.  This does not happen by accident.  It takes a great deal of effort to breach the boundaries of functional areas and get everybody working in the same direction.

RSPB - for Birds, for People, for Life

This only happens by sharing business goals and developing  win-win relationships across the business.  Budgets are no longer sacrosanct and reporting relationships appear blurred - but this is not the case.  People are working to multiple agendas which the RSPB calls 'Cross Society Working'.  this is one of the 7 key principles which are enshrined in the RSPB business culture.

I can be proud to say I have worked with the RSPB for four years embedding a culture change programme and I am glad to say ther are shining example of what organisations can achieved whether they be in the private, public or the third sector.

Copies of the presentation ion Virtual Teams is available here to view  Further details contact me Phil Atkinson philip@philipatkinson.com