Business Skills Managing change classroom

This course is only available as an in-house option.

How do you react to change? How does it impact your projects?

It depends on the change, of course, but sudden unexpected change of scope, personnel, responsibilities, budgets, resources, time available can have an adverse effect on projects unless handled well.

Change can generate a range of responses in project team members and stakeholders:

Enthusiasm
Acceptance
Anxiety
Denial
Reluctance
Resistance

About the course

Project leadership means enabling others to embrace change and to become energised and motivated. Understanding your own and others’ psychological responses to change and understanding how to manage those responses will bring greater project success.

This course provides all the understanding, practical skills and approaches you need to manage change in projects and project teams to achieve excellent results.

Duration

1 day

Pre and post workshop exercises can be developed for this course at a small additional cost.

What's covered?

Indicative content:

Practical change

Practical introduction to change: how it feels
What is change?
List the changes affecting you right now.
Why do we need it in business?

Psychology

What people think about change - status quo and return to it.
How I experience change - at my best and at my worst…
Status quo bias
Lottery ticket exercise
Status quo bias in practice
Loss aversion - a negative bias
Regret-based status quo bias
What are the implications for managing people in all of this?

Habits and behaviours

Personal status quo? What sock you put on first
Personal identify is built around habitual behaviours
Habits and habit theory
What are the implications for managing people in all of this?
Assess yourself

Emotions and responses

What triggers change?
Common reactions to change…
Why do some people resist? Natural pessimism
What approaches/behaviours and attitudes enable and facilitate change?

Change theory and process

Kübler-Ross’ change curve (grieving cycle)
Change process
Kotter’s change model
Nudge theory
Do we need models and if so why?
Create a framework for yourself to guide you through change as leader

Essential requirements for effective implementation/management of change

Preparation (self): commitment, intelligent analysis, remove 'spin', honesty.
Sponsorship: ensuring there is active sponsorship for the change at a senior level.
Buy-in: gaining buy-in for the changes from those involved and affected directly/indirectly.
Involvement: involving the right people in the design and implementation of changes.
Impact: assessing and addressing how the changes will affect people.
Communication: engaging and informing everyone who's affected about the changes.
Readiness: preparing everyone affected to adapt to the changes (information/training/help)

Change project

Change project: identify a project (past/present/future), identify the people likely to be involved. Develop a change management framework and plan for the project

Change in a project context