Peter F Gallagher

"Sponsorship is the single most important factor in change success"

Very few leaders understand why sponsorship is so important, who the sponsor should be or what the main responsibilities include. It is important because without a proactive and effective change sponsor, most change programmes or initiatives will fail achieve the targeted objectives. The leaders of organisations typically associate the role and traits of a change sponsor with those of a change leader. However, while these leadership traits are important foundations, the role of the sponsor goes beyond the role of a change leader.  There are three critical sponsorship responsibilities to successfully implement change:

The three critical sponsorship responsibilities to successfully implement change are:

Say: Communicate the change

Support: Provide resources, engage and coach

Sustain: Intervene, reward and embed

“Without effective and proactive sponsorship the change project will eventually fail, the change will not be adopted by the employees nor be sustained, and it will not deliver the intended benefits”

“We enable the Leadership of Change^®”

Find out more:

https://www.peterfgallagher.com/single-post/change-management-sponsorship-say-support-and-sustain

#LeadershipOfChange

#ChangeManagementSponsorship

#ChangeManagement

Effective business communication is at the heart of successful organisations, it acts like the blood in our bodies, but instead of supplying vital oxygen and nutrients, communication supplies information and motivation. Everything you do in the workplace results from communication. Business Communication is fundamental within an organisation to bring about coordination between the leadership, managers, employees, teams and departments, allowing them to focus on their customers. Communication provides the feedback that enables a cycle of continuous improvement.

“When I find business problems, I find communication failure, and when I find communication failure, I find business problems”

As a Business Improvement consultant with over 30 years’ experience, delivering operations or projects in over twenty countries, I recognise that at the core of nearly all business problems there is invariably some communication failure. Employees may not understand the strategy or how they fit because it was not communicated properly. It can be the lack of communication between two functions, Head Quarters and Division or two individuals at logger heads. It can be Operating Procedures not communicated properly across an organisation or insufficient communication of a change. The result is usually the same, poor financial performance, damaged relationships and disgruntled customers.

Important Elements of Organisation Communication:

~ Leadership: Communication of the strategic and operating plan will align the organisation’s resources towards the vison, goals and customer requirements. Failure to communicate this effectively will undermine the entire strategic effort and will erode trust in the organisation’s leadership. This failure will have a direct impact on the employee, the organisation culture, the ability of the organisation to satisfy customers and, more importantly, stakeholder value. Leadership must implement a proficient communication system and process that sets the organisation up for success.

~ Management: Management’s ability to effectively communicate with their team will help them in performing their responsibilities and successfully execute them. Managerial tasks such as planning, organising, directing and controlling cannot be conducted without communication. Good communication within an organisation can help foster cooperation between members of management, functions, team and individual employees. Communication is a motivational tool for management to influence the performance of employees. Management’s communication skills will define success in their role, strong communication skills could lead to promotion but if you don't like communicating with your people, you're probably in the wrong job.

~ Employees: Communication should motivate and align employee roles with an organisation’s vision, goals and direction. It empowers the employees, the organisation’s greatest asset, to deliver customer satisfaction and organisation value. Communication should create transparency and a trusting culture. Individuals will feel valued, listened to, an important part of a cohesive team and will work towards a common goal. Regular internal communication will lead to an improved work ethic if an employee’s achievements are recognised. These highly motivated employees will be empowered and understand how their role delivers customer requirements and organisation success.

~ Customer Focus: Communication with the customer is essential to satisfying, if not surpassing, their needs. Having a proficient internal communication system and process is the foundation to building strong external customer communications and focus. Effective Communication will support the organisation in getting to know your customers and better fill their needs. The organisation can then focus their resources and expertise on supplying customer needs and in turn become a trusted supplier. Continuous communication and feedback gathering will build a long-term profitable business relationship with your customers.

~ Improvement Culture: Continually improving the organisation’s communication systems and processes will provide the information and data to continue the value cycle from developing more challenging strategic goals through to more satisfied customers. Again this starts with leadership communicating the organisation mission, values, vision, strategy, and measurements. Managers plan, organise, direct, control and motivate employees. Employees understand their role and are empowered to surpass customer expectations. As a result, the customer remains local, the market recognises the expertise and new customers join to deliver organisation value. Thus, proficient communication enables step improvement towards a culture of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Summary: Communication is at the heart of the organisation, supplying the life blood to operate. Hence, one cannot overlook the importance of communication in delivering organisational value. As usual, it starts with leadership putting in place a proficient communication system and process to create a culture in which effective communication can flourish. It means ensuring that communication flows through the organisation from the top to the bottom and with the customer. It communicates the strategy and operating plan, clearly articulating how each person has a role in delivering value for the organisation. It should have a proactive feedback loop to allow for questions and challenge.

“Effective business communication is at the heart of successful organisations, it acts like the blood in our bodies, but instead of supplying vital oxygen and nutrients, communication supplies information and motivation”

Article source: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/single-post/communication-business-communication-delivering-organisational-value

#LeadershipOfChange

#ChangeManagement

#ChangeManagementGamification

#a2BConsulting C-Suite Change Consulting

Change agents can be an organised group, leaders or individuals that undertake the task of leading, communicating and facilitating change in an organisation. Change agents embrace and lead change, moving the organisation towards adoption and sustainable change. They can play a vital role and an invaluable contribution to the organisation’s change especially if the change is being implemented across the organisation. The can be the conduit between the leadership and employees cascading the change message through every level of the organisation. The leadership should see them as a change business partner in the line selling their change vision. They can be a feedback loop how the employees are reacting to the change, they will be able to detect resistance, as well as what change tactics are working well and what tactics are not working. “Change agents with organisation credibility and change skills can be leader’s business change partner, providing a conduit to the employees to enhance change adoption” Change Agent Role: Change Agents can play a pivotal role in organisational change, especially in supporting the sponsor and communicating the change message to the employee groups involved in the change journey. These three groups of employees can be classified as: ‘Advocates’, ‘Observers’ and ‘Rebels’. Each group will react differently to organisational change and the Change Agents will provide different levels of focus, change readiness and implementation support. 1. Advocates: Change Agents are very much aligned with the ‘Advocates’, their positivity and energy should be captured and become part of the Change and Communication Plan. The coalition of Change Agents and ‘Advocates’ can have a massive impact in the organisation. 2. Observers: ‘Observers’ will monitor the ‘Advocates’ and assess if the change is benefiting them. If this appears positive, they will tend to move towards being receptive to the change. To facilitate the transition of the ‘Observers’ from the current state “a” to the desired and improved state “B”, the Change Agent and ‘Advocates’ should work together to create employee desire to move towards the ‘Tipping Point’. Communication, direct engagement, targeted messaging and events such as socialising the future state will help the ‘Advocates’ to adopt the change. 3. Rebels: They tend to resist change blindly, even if the change is to their benefit. The default reaction is that change is a bad thing and will put them at a disadvantage. While this can, in some cases, be put down to bad experience, there is also fear of the unknown and the new skills required. The Change Agent can help greatly in this area by directly engaging this group or the individuals face-to-face. They should listen with empathy to understand their concerns, communicating the organisation change business case. The concerns and communication feedback should be recorded and fed back to the Change Team and Sponsor so the change approach can be modified to reduce resistance and increase change adoption. “Without trust you will not change people" #ChangeManagement #LeadershipOfChange #a2BConsulting offering: C-Suite Change Consulting, Change Leadership Alignment and Change Management Gamification Source: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/single-post/change-agents-as-business-partners

The six-step process for developing the new employee skills and behaviours is outlined in figure below. The change management team should work with the human resources department (HRD) and the organisation’s training department throughout this process. The objective is to facilitate the creation of corporate training that delivers the change objectives by providing the employees with the skills and behaviours to deliver the new way of working. A training needs analysis (TNA) can be used in this process. A TNA typically identifies gaps at the organisational level, the group level and the individual level. “A key enabler to employees adopting the new way of working, is to provide the opportunity for them to develop the new skills supported by coaching” The six process steps for developing the new skills are listed below in the (a2BDNS) Model: 1. Define: Define the new skills and behavioural training objectives and align them with the change programme. 2. Identify: Identify the new skills and behaviour objectives. 3. Evaluate: Evaluate the existing skills and behaviour traits for the impacted employees using structured analysis to establish gaps. 4. Assess: Assess available courses or design new courses to close gaps in skill levels and behaviours. 5. Deliver and Coach: Deliver the skills training programme to close the identified gaps and follow up with coaching. 6. Appraise: Appraise the new skills to establish the effectiveness of the training and coaching that prepares the employees to operate at the future state ‘B’. "While adopting change it is important to learn the new skills, but sometimes the new behaviours are critical" #LeadershipOfChange #ChangeManagement #ChangeManagementGlossary a2B Consulting offering: C-Suite Change Consulting, Change Leadership Alignment and Change Management Gamification Blog Source: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/single-post/change-implementation-developing-the-new-skills

A typical question asked by the organisation’s C-Suite and leadership team is, “How long will the change take before we start to see the benefits?” The project change plan and the benefits tracking plan, if accurate and up to date, should provide a very good indication. The next question is usually, “Is there anything else we could be doing to speed up adoption and benefits delivery?” If all the a2BCMF steps are being adhered to, then the simple answer is, “Yes, by reducing or removing resistance to the change.” The best way of doing this is to work with the three groups with the support of the change agents to find the ‘Tipping Point’. “Nothing negatively impacts organisation performance quicker than employees who resists change and who believes that the way they work today is the way they will work tomorrow” Once the tipping point is reached, an amazing phenomenon takes place, whereby more and more people start adopting the new way of working as well as embracing the change at an accelerated pace. There is no greater delight than to see a ‘Rebel’ accept the organisational change willingly and even becoming an ‘Advocate’. Employee Groups involved in a Change Journey There are three groups of employees in any change management journey: ‘Advocates’, ‘Observers’ and ‘Rebels’. Each group will react differently to organisational change and will have different levels of resistance. Advocates: Tend to embrace and lead change within the organisation as they are more comfortable with it. They have a positive and growth mindset and see this as an opportunity to grow and improve. The coalition of change agents and ‘Advocates’ can have a massive impact in the organisation, positively enticing the other groups to adopt the change. Observers: The change agents and ‘Advocates’ should work together to create employee desire to move the ‘Observers’ towards the ‘Tipping Point’. Communication, direct engagement, targeted messaging and events, such as socialising the future state, will help the ‘Observers’ to adopt the change at a faster rate. Rebels: The change agent can help greatly in this area by directly engaging the ‘Rebels’ face-to-face. The change agent should listen with empathy to understand their concerns whilst communicating the organisation’s change business case. A typical question that comes up is about how much effort you spend on this group. The answer varies from organisation to organisation, with cultures and local laws all having an input and impact on the approach. “Without employee resistance, you will not achieve organisational change" #LeadershipOfChange #ChangeManagement #ChangeManagementGlossary a2B Consulting offering: C-Suite Change Consulting, Change Leadership Alignment and Change Management Gamification Blog Source: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/single-post/change-management-resistance-finding-the-tipping-point-for-employees

Thank you to everyone who read my blogs in 2020 and especially for the engagements, sharing your insight and the likes. Please feel free to access this comprehensive change management glossary that contains more than 170 terms providing clear and simple descriptions to boost your organisational change management knowledge. ***Happy holidays and best wishes for 2021*** Web link: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/change-management-glossary Sample: Change History Assessment (CHA): This can be used to assess and review the outcomes of earlier change programmes and initiatives. It provides organisational insights that may increase the likelihood of successful implementation through the analysis of lessons learned, mitigation of previous weaknesses and enhancement of future success. Change Impact: How employees, processes, systems and the organisation are affected during the transition from the current ‘a’ state to the improved future ‘B’ state. Change Initiative: The name given to an organisational change programme or improvement project. Change Leadership: Is about being a proactive growth mindset employee who has the knowledge, skills and ability to successfully transition an organisation from the current state ‘a’ to the future ‘B’ state, ensuring adoption and benefits realisation. This transition involves planning the change, executing the change so that the organisation and its employees sustain the change or transformation. The change leader has three key responsibilities for the successful leadership of change, they are ‘Articulate’, ‘Model’ and ‘Intervene’. Change Management: A field of management focused on organisational change which is the practice of applying a structured approach to transition an organisation from the current ‘a’ state to the improved future ‘B’ state to achieve change adoption and the expected benefits. Change Management Framework: See ‘a2B Change Management Framework’. Change Management Gamification: Is the new trend which helps to engage your employees by using gaming methods. We use gamification so that your employees can learn, test and prepare for your organisational change. Change Management Handbook: A book containing instructions or advice about how to do something, or the most important and useful information about a subject. A reference book, in this case, practical change management implementation. This handbook contains the ten-step a2B Change Management Change Management Pocket Guide: Typically, a small paperback that can be carried in the pocket which provides help on change management. The pocket guide contains the ten-step a2B Change Management Framework (a2BCMF) and is supported by over thirty concepts, models, figures, assessments, tools, templates, checklists and plans, as well as a roadmap and glossary. #LeadershipOfChange #ChangeManagement #ChangeManagementGlossary a2B Consulting offering: C-Suite Change Consulting, Change Leadership Alignment and Change Management Gamification

The purpose of the change readiness step (a2B Change Management Framework (a2BCMF) Step 6) is to establish if the organisation is ready for the change. Having data and insights from readiness assessments or interviews can help to ensure the organisation and employees are prepared for the change. They can identify potential implementation gaps so that corrective actions and plans can be executed to close the gaps and improve change readiness. The change readiness assessment evaluates if the key elements are in place to support change implementation. The ten key elements are typical enablers to support the change implementation by reducing resistance and maximising adoption. They start with ensuring that the employees understand the business case and vision for the change. Finally, they assess if there is a new desired organisational culture to support the change. Change readiness is typically performed using a survey or structured interviews. The likely outcomes will: ~ Identify Potential Change Implementation Gaps: The assessment will provide data and insights to identify gaps that will impact change adoption and benefits realisation should the change is implemented (organisation and employees). ~ Execute Corrective Actions to Improve Change Readiness: Corrective action and intervention plans should be prepared and executed to close the gaps in the applicable readiness elements. The a2B Change Management Framework (a2BCMF) is a structured and disciplined approach to support organisations, leadership teams and individuals going through a change, the transition from the current ‘a’ state to the improved future ‘B’ state. The a2BCMF has three phases and ten key process steps. Each phase provides change strategies, principles, analysis and tactics to move from one phase to the next. The framework is based on over thirty years of international change experience and brings together leading practice in change, people and programme management. The structured programme approach, processes, techniques and tools focus on overcoming the failures of previous change by incorporating ten key steps and success elements for achieving organisational change. It supports strategic change implementation in terms of context, content and process. The framework is a comprehensive management model that allows executives, managers and change practitioners to successfully deliver and achieve organisational change. It requires a holistic approach, and some steps can be performed simultaneously. Note: This article was posted on Peter’s Blog 25th Nov 2020 - https://bit.ly/3o1Bqyj Peter speaks on the Leadership of Change, change management, change leadership and the benefits of change management gamification. For over 30 years Peter has been helping organisations, leaders and employees change, improve and transform through keynotes, master classes, change management gamification workshops, projects and programmes. You can find out more at: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/speakerservice.

Following on from my last two blogs on the ‘Plan’ and ‘Execute’ phases. Lots of statistics show organisational change and transformations failing to deliver their intended benefits, and few fully sustain the change. Even if the change programme starts off well in the Plan and continues into the Execute phase, by the time it reaches Sustain it has lost momentum. There are many reasons for this, another change or business priority has come along and key employees in the original change team get promoted, move to other roles or even a different organisation. Whatever the reason, this loss of momentum and focus in the Sustain phase often leads to all the previous good work being undone and the change not being sustained. Sustain Phase: Change Management Framework (a2BCMF) Steps 9 and 10 9. Thinking Employees will Adopt the Change: Employees will need to be supported throughout all the change phases by the leadership team. “For change adoption to be successful, leadership needs to ensure employees are supported to develop the new skills, behaviours and motivation that delivers improved future organisation performance” 10. Not Transferring Ownership: Not closing the change properly by using a structured process to ensure sustainment and benefits delivery. “One of the most difficult tasks in change management is to sustain the change, continuing adoption and aligning new behaviours with the organisation and individual score cards to ensure benefits realisation” Note: This article was posted on Peter’s Blog 20th Nov 2020 - https://bit.ly/3lO3MLr Peter speaks on the Leadership of Change, change management, change leadership and the benefits of change management gamification. For over 30 years Peter has been helping organisations, leaders and employees change, improve and transform through keynotes, master classes, change management gamification workshops, projects and programmes. You can find out more at: https://www.peterfgallagher.com/speakerservice.

One of the most important considerations for a change practitioner is that, without trust you will not achieve improvement or change through people. As a change agent, you are selling a change to the organisation. The person you engage with will ask one key question when you introduce yourself, “can I trust you?” The Trust Equation provides a model to show the key elements of a change agent as a Trusted Adviser. The objective is to build trust by increasing credibility, reliability, intimacy and to lower self-orientation. “Without trust you will not change the employees or the organisation” The success of any change or improvement depends heavily on the relationship between the change agent, the sponsor, leadership team and the employees of the organisation. It matters less if the organisation appoints internal change agents or hires outside consultants. To be successful, change agents develop relationships built on trust and commitment. Again, getting the right person with right behaviour the required growth mindset is extremely important. Characteristics and Traits The success of any change or improvement depends heavily on the relationship between the change agent, the sponsor, leadership team and the employees of the organisation. It matters less if the organisation appoints internal change agents or hires outside consultants. To be successful, change agents develop relationships built on trust and commitment. Again, getting the right person with right behaviour the required growth mindset is extremely important. Other characteristics and traits include: ~ People Skills: Change is about people. Change adoption and success will be achieved when employees embrace it. ~ Credibility: Must have credibility within the organisation, both in knowledge and character to lead by example. ~ Tenacity: Not giving up easily when progress is strained, being patient yet persistent. ~ Listening Skills: Ability to explore different employee perspectives and take them into account when looking for solutions. ~ Good Communicator: Ability to communicate to people in a non-threatening manner and define what is expected of them within a diverse culture. ~ Positivity: Using positivity when communicating with employees can make a huge positive impact on their emotional well-being and their future adoption of the change. "Without trust you will not change people"

It doesn’t matter which continent I am working on; I typically encounter three-employee change standpoints: Advocates, Observers and Rebels. However, to successfully implement organisational change management, we must engage, communicate and entice these three employee groups to get buy-in, change adoption and benefits realisation. Rebels: Tend to resist change blindly, sometimes this can be a natural reaction even if the change is to their benefit. The default reaction is that change is a bad thing and will put them at a disadvantage. Observers: Monitor the ‘Advocates’ and assess if the change is benefiting them. If this appears positive, they will tend to move towards being receptive to the change. Advocates: Similar to the change agents with their positivity towards change. Their energy should be captured as they can play an effective role in leading and rolling out the change. The coalition of change agents and ‘Advocates’ can work together to lower resistance in the other groups. Source: https://bit.ly/2Zj36or

Lots of statistics show organisational change and transformations failing to deliver their intended benefits. You can argue about the true percentage of success, but the fact is that many organisations do not achieve full benefits realisation, and in many cases, they fail to attain a return on investment (ROI). Equally unacceptable to shareholders is that the vision is not realised, meaning the organisation’s strategy has not been executed. Even when the organisation and its leadership team agree the changes are necessary for the future of the organisation, they still face challenges. Change Implementation Challenges - Plan Phase: 1. Too Many Change Initiatives: Not enough capacity to deliver ongoing and new change programmes. 2. Inactive or Invisible Sponsorship: Lack of visible support usually leads to change failure. 3. Poor Previous Change History: This increases the likelihood of repeating past mistakes. 4. No Detailed Project Change Plan: Implementing change with only a communication plan and not aligning it to the master project plan.

Location: At client site    Date Available: April 12th, 2021    Fees: Per request

Submission Date: May 23rd, 2020    Service Type: Service Offered

Location: Edinburgh    Date Available: April 11th, 2021    Fees: 95000

Submission Date: May 23rd, 2020    Service Type: Service Offered