Dispelling change
management myths
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| The first of the "Dispelling change management myths"
tutorials released by Prosci and the Change Management Learning
Center presented the four major objections to change management often heard from project team
members and senior leaders. This tutorial looks specifically at myth #1:
"I’m responsible for the ‘hard’ side of the
project, not the ‘soft’ stuff."
Root causes of this myth:
There are a variety of reasons that you might hear the
objection: "I’m responsible for the ‘hard’ side of the project, not
the ‘soft’ stuff." Below are some common reasons for
this objection to participation in change management followed by actions you can take to
address the specific objection.
1. The connection between the 'soft' stuff and
project success has not been made in the organization. This
signals a lack of awareness of the impact
and role of change management.
| Action
Steps |
Help people in the organization
make the connection. First, bring in external, industry research that shows the connection
between effective change management and meeting project objectives.
Two examples of this industry research are the McKinsey Quarterly article "Helping Employees Embrace Change" by LaClair and Rao and Prosci's 2005 Best
Practices in Change Management Report. Use these two research publications combined
with specific examples from your organization to show that the inability
to manage the people side of change is one of the leading causes of failed changes. Second, present the ROI of
change management. The ROI of change management is calculated
based on three human factors - speed of adoption, ultimate utilization and proficiency. For more in-depth
information on the ROI of change management register for the free "ROI
of change management" webinar on April 19th. |
2. There is a lack of senior sponsorship relating to the importance of change
management. Best practice research shows, the number
one contributor to successful change is active and visible
sponsorship.
| Action
Steps |
When you ask a project team to apply and
engage in change management, you are asking them to alter the way they
do their jobs (similar to asking employees to use an
online form for their expense and benefits process, or a new project management software
application). This means that to get project teams and leaders to begin
using change management on their projects, you need to use the same proven
change management process you are asking them to apply including communication,
sponsorship, training, coaching and resistance management. **You must apply change
management processes and principles to implement the change - this specific change is "using
change management on your project".** Active and visible sponsorship is
the number one success factor and therefore must be present if you expect your project
teams to begin integrating change management activities into their project activities. A
breakdown in project teams' willingness to take responsibility for the soft side of change
can be a result of a lack of sponsorship. Coach your primary sponsor on
their active and visible participation in this process. |
3. There is fear, lack of comfort, or lack of the knowledge
needed to manage the people side of a project.
Many project members and leaders may not have the knowledge
of what it means to manage the people side or 'soft'
side of the project.
| Action
Steps |
A common misconception
is that change management is the "fluffy stuff" or the "soft side" of
the project where the starting point is vague. You need to show project managers that
change management is not chaotic, it is a proven management process with specific
actions, tools and techniques for accelerating change within an organization. Change management has a defined structure and methodology very similar to
project management. The most effective way to demonstrate the definition of change
management is to actively engage the group in change management training - but not generic
training on change management philosophy. The training should include actual work on a
specific project that project teams bring to the course. Have the team develop the change
management strategy, conduct assessments and develop plans for their specific project.
This immediately enables the group to grasp the effect change management will have on its
project, experience the structured change management process and leave with the knowledge,
ability and framework to jump start application to their project. Click here for more
information on Prosci's change management training. |
4. No one has been made accountable for the 'soft' stuff.
| Action
Steps |
In some organizations, even if there has
been an acknowledgement of how change management contributes to project success, the
accountability for managing the people side of change has not been assigned to anyone. In
order to ensure effective change management is applied to new initiatives and changes,
there must be explicit accountability. In
the preparing for change phase of Prosci's methodology, multiple models are presented for
the structure of the change management team. Be cautious if you are looking at separating
the accountability of the project and change management aspects, as the two are very
closely connected. |
5. Responsibility for the 'hard' and 'soft' portions of
the project have been split.
| Action
Steps |
It may be the case that the responsibility
for the 'hard' and 'soft' portions of the project have been split - so the objection is
actually true. In this situation, there must be a very close relationship between the
people who have the 'hard' and 'soft' responsibilities. The two need to work together to
integrate their plans and ensure that project activities are supporting the change efforts
and that change management activities are supporting the project
implementation. Note: be sure to analyze why the responsibilities were
split - splitting the responsibilities may not be the best approach and may have resulted
from someone not making the connection between
the 'soft' side of the project and the project outcome. |
6. The organization has not applied change management in the past.
| Action
Steps |
Change management, as a structured
methodology for managing change, is still gaining momentum. Most likely
if your organization has not applied change management in the past, you will be able to
provide specific company examples of changes that could have been more successful if the
people side of the change was managed - this will help your case for gaining buy-in within
the organization. Prosci's 2005 Best
Practices in Change Management Report showed a huge jump in the number of
people using a structured change management process from 34% to 55% of participants, but there are still many
organizations and projects that are approaching change management in an ad hoc or
incomplete manner. For details on a
structured and complete change management methodology to begin using with your projects
see the Change
Management Pilot. |
| Reader comments: "I
find in our organization the 'good' project managers/leaders understand that the hard and
soft side of the change are two sides of the same coin and both are necessary for success.
But, there are still some who only focus on the processes, not on the people and wonder
why their project flounders. The most successful project team I've been on had two
co-leads - one who focused on the processes and numbers, and the other looked at the
'soft' side of the change. They were practically joined at the hip for 2 years and their
good working relationship and shared accountability played a major factor in the project's
success."
|
Recapping Myth 1: "I’m responsible for the
‘hard’ side of the project, not the ‘soft’ stuff."
| "I’m responsible for the ‘hard’ side of
the project, not the ‘soft’ stuff." |
- "Project teams are ultimately responsible for delivering value to the organization
through their project. If your project requires people to change the
way they do their jobs, then the ‘soft’ side is also your
responsibility."
- "The value your project ultimately delivers to the organization is tied to how
quickly people adopt the change and how effectively they use the solution - just as much as it is tied to the 'hard' side of
the solution design."
- "Research shows that change management directly contributes to projects meeting
their objectives and achieving the ROI
they expect." 1
- "Think about a recent project you worked on that did not meet its expectations.
Were the root causes related to the 'hard' side of the
project or the 'soft' side?"
- "A perfectly designed solution that no one uses is ultimately of little value to the organization."
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| Share
your thoughts - Prosci will post reader comments on all of the myths - tell us
what you think "I'm working with a Fortune 500
company on a project involving behavioral change, culture and competitive advantage. The
company has done everything 'normally required.' They've provided the necessary resources,
time, space, and all normal forms of support typically found in a project such as this.
We're focusing on what needs to change from a behavioral standpoint. At the same time,
we're addressing a very important process that currently runs across all departments and
leads directly to the customer. It is a highly visible and important project. However,
Myth 1 is definitely an issue. We have progressed in our organizations on the 'soft side'
of change. The problem, I believe, is our inability to both understand and address the
'soft side' of change as indicated / taught by Prosci. We have
management currently looking at how their behavior directly contradicts most of the
valuable investment of resources, time and energy to date. In their mind, they were
providing the support and involvement required. Needless to say, they were initially
dismayed to realize that they were not addressing the soft side of change. Although they
thought they were, they came to see that they were unwittingly allowing the teams to
figure it out. From the teams standpoint then, they viewed the managers as uninvolved. It
was a powerful learning point for all involved in the project."
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Share your thoughts
For the change management myths tutorial series, Prosci wants to hear
what you think. Click the link below to
provide comments on one of the particular myths, a strategy you used to deal with one of
the myths or a general comment. The Change Management Learning Center will update this
page, and add your comments on upcoming tutorials. Be sure to bookmark this page so you
can return to see what other Learning Center members have to say.
Share
your thoughts
* * * * * *
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Summary
Download a handout for
the dispelling change management myths tutorial
Remember, when you ask a project leader or project team to apply change
management, you are asking them to make a change to how they
do their jobs (the same is true when asking senior leaders to be sponsors of change, or
supervisors to be coaches of change). The ADKAR model can be applied to understand the key
building blocks for individuals to make the change (i.e.
"applying change management") successful.
Awareness of the need to apply change
management process and principles
Desire to participate and support the
application of change management
Knowledge on how to fulfill my role in
change management
Ability to implement the skills and
behaviors of my role in change management
Reinforcement to sustain the use of
change management
Project teams are a key source of information related to the details of
the change, and they will be crucial partners in efforts to integrate
change management and project management activities. Understanding the most common change
management myths and objections will help you facilitate the individual change of "applying
change management" with your project leaders and team members.
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Resources for developing your change management plans
Utilize research-based, holistic, easy-to-use materials from Prosci and the Change
Management Learning Center:
Email a Prosci analyst or
call 970-203-9332 with questions about the methodology, its application, or finding the
right resources to support your change management activities.
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