INNERGISE!

"All change! All change!"

How often have we heard it? It's the age-old cry from the conductor on the train, and it seems to have become the call to action in many organisations.

Most of us accept that change in the modern business world is inevitable, but how many of us are successful at it? Most of us will get involved in some sort of change activity that starts with great enthusiasm but find that our early enthusiasm is quickly replaced by stress, frustration, lack of commitment, lack of continuity, loss of priority and eventually it all falls apart.

For any change programme to be effective, no matter how big or how small, there are 5 key components that must be effectively managed, and the symptoms described earlier can normally be directly attributed to shortcomings in one or more of these key components.

Four of the five key components are easily understood and normally present relatively low risk. However component 3, "capacity" for change, presents the greatest challenge and is therefore the biggest cause of failure in programmes of change.

So, what do we mean by "capacity" for change?

In this context, our capacity for change includes such aspects as:

• The time to make change happen
• The budget to see change through
• The physical resources needed
• The skills of the people who are required to drive and implement change
• The support needed by the people being asked to implement change

"The budget to see change through" is clearly about money. Change does not come for free, and if there is no budget for change activities they simply won't get done.

"The physical resources needed" is closely linked to budget but not always. Change activities often require different techniques and are often better conducted at different venues. If the tools and equipment needed by these different techniques (the flip charts, the whiteboards, the venues, the information systems etc) are not available it just makes the job that much more difficult.

"The skills of the people who are required to drive and implement change" is a critical factor. The skills needed to plan and drive change are slightly different to standard leadership and management skills. Here we are talking about the ability to use appropriate improvement tools and techniques, facilitation skills, ability to engage with staff, the ability to manage resistance, communication skills and the ability to keep change as a priority.

"The support needed by the people being asked to implement change" is particularly important in the early stages. The change management skills referred to above can be acquired through training, but they only become really effective with practice.

This means that the early stages of a change programme will probably be "light" on these skills, so support is needed while these skills are being honed. Support is also needed in terms of communications in all its forms (team briefings, posters, booklets, progress tracking charts etc) as well as information systems. But, above all, unfaltering support from senior management is absolutely vital.

So, assuming that:

• the pressure for change in your organisation has been established
• you have a clear and shared vision of what you want to become
• you have a clear but flexible plan, and
• you have a measurement mechanism to monitor progress

the final question that needs to be asked is; do you have the capacity for change?