Secure Management Commitment To Change In Business - Five Steps You Can Take Today

By taking the five steps set out below, managers can maximise their chance of change success.

Why is 'lack of management commitment' cited so frequently as a cause of change failure?

Often, it is because no-one articulates the commitment needed of managers to have the change succeed. In my experience, the only sustained way to show commitment is to continue to pay attention, not only at the start, when you release the resources and give a big speech, but during the change, when the real work is happening. With this in mind, here is a five-step commitment plan for managers involved in change.

1 Explain what the change is and why it is needed - Spell out what change is needed, why it is important, and how it will work. Do this at the start of the change and throughout the change process.

2 Require milestones that show what has been delivered - Demand a plan that shows what is to be delivered at regular intervals (four weeks at most). For each deliverable, seek evidence of how it is taking you closer to the goal.

3 Set standards - In change, a key role for managers is to set and maintain standards for behaviour and performance, not only for the outcome, but also for the milestones. Remind people of these standards and immediately pull up people who fail to meet them and praise those who meet the standards early or well. One personal standard to set is to include the change project as an item on your weekly management team agenda so that you review it frequently.

4 Go and look - When change is delivered, go as early as you can to see it in action with the people who are affected. Make sure they know you are paying attention, and that you want them to tell you what is working well -- and what is working less well. Follow up your visit straightaway with a note to those you met outlining what you learned and the actions you will take.

5 Remove barriers - Change projects do not run smoothly. Any time you talk to those involved, ask them to tell you the barriers they face, and help to overcome them -- be it a phone call, additional resources (within reason), or to bring conflicting parties together.

If you are a manager, follow the five steps above to maximise the prospects of change success. If you are on a change team and need to ensure management commitment, walk these steps through with the relevant manager, and build the associated activities in your implementation plan. As a manager, commitment is demonstrating that the change matters to you. Do these things and you will greatly increase your chances of success.

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