Phil is joined by communication and corporate affairs leader Saira Absar to discuss responding to praise during change. Change initiatives can be gruelling and can feel like a succession of uphill battles characterized by tight deadlines, difficult challenges, stretched capabilities, and long hours. Giving and receiving recognition energizes individuals and teams and builds momentum to tackle the next tasks and activities.  There is a lot of advice on how to acknowledge people’s efforts but little on how best to receive this recognition. It can be an opportunity to acknowledge those who g ..read more

Phil is joined by change and business transformation expert Cathy Brown to discuss negotiating deadlines during change. Setting realistic project timelines requires a thorough understanding of the change and the context in which it is being made. The level of change complexity, resource availability, and operating environment are inputs into creating a fact-based calendar for the timing of deliverables.  Negotiating deadlines requires aligning leader and project team expectations with your assessment of the transition work and the time needed to complete it. So, how do you negotiate deadl ..read more

Phil is joined by change capability development and change execution expert Michelle Yanahan to discuss handling mistakes during change. Mistakes are inevitable when managing change. There are too many moving pieces on different schedules, and run by different people to avoid missteps. Given the stress that major change initiatives inevitably produce, people can default to responses that deflect ownership, compromise resolution, and obscure learning when something goes wrong. This behavior often adds risk to the project and damages relationships. A better and more difficult approach is to expe ..read more

Phil is joined by senior engineering and organization change management professional Denis Kelly to discuss competing for resources. Securing adequate resources to implement your plan is one of the most important negotiations impacting your success. Most companies take on larger change agendas than the resources available to implement them. This can lead to insufficient or misaligned resources supporting your change initiative. A large portfolio of change projects can also limit the capacity of those impacted by the change to implement your plan and transition to new ways of working. So, how d ..read more

Phil is joined by business transformation and change management leader Jennifer Rhodes to discuss reporting against a timeline. At the center of every change initiative is a project plan that maps the activities and tasks required to transition people from current to new ways of working. It functions as a work back schedule from the post-launch support to the project kickoff. Teams supporting a change spend significant time reporting against the timeline. Being “ahead of” or “on plan” is the goal, but often, falling behind is a reality. The ability to communicate progress against a timeline is ..read more

Phil is joined by executive and change leader Stephen Sotto to discuss defining change support. Preparation activities are key enablers of change readiness and adoption. The options are many, including, training, coaching, ways of working sessions, job aids, and simulations. The types and amounts of support need to be appropriate for people’s needs and circumstances. It's a fine balance between too much and too little change assistance. If you provide too much, people get stressed and may choose to opt-out of activities; if you provide too little, people won't have the required mindsets, routi ..read more

Phil is joined by Professor of Organizational Behaviour Dr. Jamie Gruman to discuss overcoming a blocker during change. Blockers are people who raise barriers to organizational change and your success. They either oppose what you are doing or want it done differently. This form of resistance is challenging because it is intentional and leverages the blocker’s influence through authority, relationships, and organization knowledge. Inaction is not a good option because the barriers will remain, and the wrong type of action can lead to escalation and more setbacks. So, how do you overcome a block ..read more

Phil is joined by change and innovation leader Tim Creasey to discuss how to close a change project. A project team’s effectiveness in transferring responsibilities to operating groups often dictates the level of long-term adoption of new ways of working. Managing the closing of a change project can be challenging because most leaders and project team members may have physically or mentally moved on to their next roles and challenges. Building awareness of the importance of the project's final steps is necessary to ensure people fulfill their roles. If they don’t, a poor shutdown will negative ..read more

Phil is joined by HR and change management expert Kathy Repa to discuss how to identify your lessons learned during change. Understanding how our experiences impact outcomes helps build change capacity and skill, and dramatically improves organizational knowledge on how projects work within our cultures.  So, how do identify, record and learn from your experiences during a large change initiative?  Kathy can be reached at: Email: kathy.shanley@yahoo.com EPISODE TRANSCRIPT PHIL: Hello everyone, welcome to the change on the run podcast, where we discuss common change challenges and way ..read more

Phil is joined by board member, breakthrough consultant and executive and team coach Stephanie Wilkes to discuss how to make decisions during change. Most transformation post-mortems uncover decisions that led to success or failure. Facts, options, assessment criteria, available time and risk all play roles in the decisions made and the ability to implement them. During large change initiatives, decisions are often made quickly in response to new conditions or information. They require focus, process, and at times, management intuition to make the best call and align leaders and their teams on ..read more