While both are similar, they each have a different focus and use case.

Below, we’ll explore the lean methodology, its benefits, and then we’ll see how it compares to agile thinking.

Lean Methodology 101

What is lean?

Lean is a business methodology designed to reduce waste and increase customer value. This method began in manufacturing but has spread to many other areas of the business world.

Today, lean principles are used in business functions that include:

• Business process management
• Product development
• Project management
• Supply chain management

The central principle of lean revolves around waste reduction, as mentioned. However, this core principle leads to a variety of other benefits, including:

• Shortening product development cycles
• Enhancing the product experience
• Increasing business process efficiency
• Decreasing product time-to-market
• Improving the overall effectiveness of the business

To better understand how lean works, let’s look at a mechanism popularized by Eric Ries in The Lean Startup – the Build-Measure-Learn cycle.

This cycle is a three-stage mechanism that can be used for continual improvement, regardless of where it is applied.

Here is a breakdown of these three stages.

• Build. Create a new product, process, service, feature, and so forth.
• Measure. Evaluate customer feedback, usage data, user testing data, and other relevant information.
• Learn. Analyze that information and apply it to future iterations of the product.

By repeating this process, lean practitioners can generate continuous improvements, create products and services that are more relevant to their customers, decrease waste, and ultimately drive revenue growth and improve organizational performance.

Agile vs. Lean

Both agile and lean emphasize the need to continually improve, learn from customers, and maximize customer value. However, the way they achieve these ends differs and will affect business processes and the organization differently.

Agile, for instance, revolves around responsiveness and flexibility, rather than waste reduction. The primary outcome of adopting an agile approach, therefore, will be increased adaptability.

That being said, the two methods do overlap, so it is useful to examine these commonalities in detail.

Let’s compare a few of these finer points in detail to understand how they differ:

• Speed. Agile is geared towards speed, adaptability, and learning from customers. Using a data-driven approach and operating in small teams allows agile practitioners to react, make decisions, and execute on those decisions quickly. In Lean, however, the same goal is often accomplished by reducing waste and managing the work-in-progress.
• Customers. Customers play a central role in both methodologies. Agile puts the main focus on customers and allows managers to change project criteria at any point in order to meet customers’ needs. Lean, however, with its focus on efficiency, may not be as suitable for volatile and uncertain environments.
• Flexibility. Agile, as we have seen, prefers flexibility over waste reduction. Though increased efficiency is often a byproduct of agile, it is not necessarily the main goal, as it is with lean. Agile, instead, generates benefits such as adaptability, nimbleness, and resilience.

Ultimately, both methods rely on user-centric insights to maximize customer value. As we have seen, however, agile tends to prefer flexibility over efficiency, but with lean, the opposite is true.

Which Is Most Suitable?

To sum up the general points made so far:

• Agile is a good methodology for staying adaptable and resilient in disruptive or fast-paced conditions
• Lean is a good methodology for ongoing business process improvement, waste reduction, and increased efficiency
• Both focus on maximizing customer value 

These general points aside, it is important to remember that each organization is unique. 

Therefore, when evaluating these methodologies, an organization should begin by assessing its own needs and goals. 

An organization that operates in a relatively predictable environment that changes little over time may prefer efficiency over agility. 

Another advantage of lean is that because it is more systematic, it can be integrated across the organization and may be easier to embed into organizational processes and the culture. According to some, lean can also help build organizational knowledge, since processes and mindsets are instituted and incrementally improved upon over time. 

With agile, however, this may be more difficult – by definition, after all, agile prizes rapid change and evolution, rather than long-term stability and static processes. One potential drawback: it is challenging to build organizational knowledge in an environment that changes too much.

Can Agile and Lean Be Combined?

When researching business methodologies, many managers find value in more than one approach. A manager who likes both lean and agile, for instance, may want an approach that combines techniques from each.

This need has resulted in a large number of hybrid business methods that include not only lean and agile, but many other methods as well.

Hybrid approaches combine various business methodologies, such as:

• Lean and agile
• Agile and waterfall
• Lean and Six Sigma
• Agile and Six Sigma

Hybrid approaches such as these are quite common. For many people, they may be more appropriate than simply following one “pure” approach.

The post Lean Methodology vs. Agile – How Do They Compare? appeared first on Digital Adoption.

In this post, we’ll explore some of the most important activities that CIOs, CTOs, and other IT leaders should focus on.

A CIO Checklist for Leading Digital Change After COVID-19

Whether you’re a small company, a medium-sized organization, or a large enterprise with a massive IT strategy, here are some of the most important items to include in your checklist of action items:

1. Review technology trends

Technology is reshaping the world, especially now – COVID-19, after all, has accelerated digital transformation across the globe. 

With these changes come new challenges, as well as opportunities. 

Those on the leading edge of technology have a huge competitive advantage, so it is important to stay up-to-date on emerging technologies, such as:

• Artificial intelligence
• The Internet of Things (IoT)
• Blockchain
• Cloud computing

Not only should CIOs stay current with these trends, but they should also to be able to anticipate how those technologies will impact their industry and their business.

After all, today’s emerging technology will become the norm in the post-COVID era.

2. Review your process and procedures

Digital-first business processes are quickly becoming prerequisites for success in today’s economy.

Businesses can realize significant performance gains, for instance, if their processes exploit:

• Data and analytics
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Enterprise-grade SaaS platforms

Companies that automate their business processes through the use of such IT solutions will see productivity increase, which in turn will lead to more better organizational efficiency overall. 

In other words, since technology is a cornerstone of business strategy and performance, every organization must become a technology-driven organization.

3. Review your employee’s skills and abilities

As businesses undergo digital transformation, they need more digitally savvy employees.

Digital literacy is therefore becoming more and more essential in order for organizations to meet their performance goals – and while many employees have basic digital skills, there are also many who don’t.

Many CEOs actually feel that a lack of key skills inhibits innovation, growth, and performance.

CIOs should therefore evaluate the current state of their workforce and what skills will be needed in the years after COVID-19.

4. Review your company culture

The workplace is becoming more digital by the day.

During 2020, for instance, the world adopted telecommuting practices on a global scale. And with more and more of us using smartphones, tablets, and laptops for our daily work, it’s time for CIOs to ask – should your company culture be digitally native?

It might seem like a daunting task, but creating a digital workplace culture will become critical for driving success in the years after COVID-19. 

When the company culture embraces digital technology, after all:

• Employees will be more willing to adopt and learn new digital tools, which will reduce resistance to change and software-related frustration
• Businesses will be able to adopt new tools more smoothly, efficiently, and cost-effectively
• It will be easier to drive digital transformation 

CIOs may not feel that culture change lies within their domain of expertise.

Gartner, however, feels otherwise. They have suggested, for example, that CIOs will lead culture change in the coming years.

5. Review customer-facing technology

Customers are changing their behavior, buying more digital products, and consuming more digital content.

Though this trend has been ongoing for years, COVID-19 accelerated many changes in customer behavior. 

For instance, many research firms expect customers to:

• Buy more digital products
• Consume more digital content
• Increasingly prefer online shopping 

In short, customer-facing IT will become even more fundamental to business models, regardless of the industry.

To adapt, CIOs should work with other executives to understand their audience’s shifting expectations and then evolve IT strategies accordingly.

6. Review your finances

Most industries experienced major financial difficulties during COVID-19. Solvency, profitability, and business continuity became major concerns for many organizations.

Yet many companies also recognized the need to stay invested in digital technology – or even expand their investments, despite financial constraints.

The recovery from COVID-19 will be digital, after all, and only innovative, digital business models will succeed in the years ahead.

To ensure that their organization continues to invest in IT, CIOs should educate other executives, such as CFOs, on the financial value of digital technology.

7. Review your IT resiliency strategy

As we saw during 2020, the most digitally savvy organizations were also the most resilient.

For instance, the companies that were most successful:

• Were able to rapidly implement remote working policies
• Had adopted cloud platforms and cloud-based IT infrastructure
• Were prepared to deliver online products and services to their customers

IT resiliency, in short, was directly tied to organizational resiliency.

While the worst of the pandemic is likely over, many research firms expect volatility and uncertainty to continue for some time. CIOs and other IT leaders, therefore, should maintain a solid IT resiliency plan designed to minimize business risk and maintain operational continuity in the face of disruptive change.

The post A CIO Checklist: How to Lead Digital Change After COVID-19 appeared first on Digital Adoption.

Including:

• What change management is and why it matters
• How change management differs from other forms of change management
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about change management
• Best practices, as well as pitfalls to avoid

Among many other things.

Beginners and advanced practitioners alike should be able to glean some insights from this article.

To start off, let’s cover the basics – what change management is and how it benefit organizations.

Change Management 101: Definition and Benefits

Change management is the business discipline that manages, executes, and optimizes organizational change projects. 

This discipline has several objectives, including:

• Managing organizational change projects and ensuring they meet their objectives
• Mitigating risk and minimizing the negative impacts of change on business processes
• Minimizing waste and maximizing productivity
• Streamlining project efficiency and getting the best results possible.

In short, whenever an organization undergoes change, organizational change management is tasked with ensuring that project run smoothly and profitably.

There are many reasons to manage organizational change, including:

• Improved employee motivation, support, and productivity.
• Projects are more likely to be successful and meet their outcomes.
• Minimization or avoidance of common obstacles to organizational change.
• Designing appropriate change solution, as well as strategies and plans to meet those goals.

To name just a few.

Change management, as we will see, is becoming more and more important in today’s world, which is driven by digital change and transformation

Change Management 101: Core Concepts and Approaches

In this section, we’ll cover an basic overview of how the discipline of change management approaches organizational change.

Among other things, change management:

• Focuses more on people than on processes, tools, or technology. The central focus of change management is on influencing, enabling, and driving change from the level of the individual employee. Unlike ITIL change management – which focuses on IT Services Management and IT service changes – the discipline of change management recognizes the central role of the individual in effecting organization-wide changes.
• Follows long-established frameworks, theories, and methods to effecting change. Change management has been well-established for decades. Below, we will explore some of the most important methods and frameworks used in change management today.
• Develops a systematic, methodical approach to achieving specific organizational objectives. Change management exists for a reason – it works. A systematic, methodical approach to change – one that is based in scientific research and data – produces more effective outcomes than change that is unmanaged or merely “mandated” by business leaders. See below for more details.

To summarize: change management is an organized approach to managing organizational change and fueling change by engaging employees and making them more productive.

However, these concepts just scratch the surface of change management.

Let’s look at some frequently asked questions about change management:

Change Management FAQ

These are some questions – and answers – that explain change management in more detail:

What is change management?

As mentioned, change management is the discipline devoted to managing and maximizing the returns on organizational change projects.

It is a business approach with a long history, established methodologies, and clear benefits.

The discipline itself is cross-disciplinary, requiring a mixture of people skills, as well as the ability to think strategically and logically.

Today, data and technology play an ever-larger role in change management.

Why change management? (What are the benefits of change mangement?)

Change management offers a number of benefits for organizations, not to mention employees.

Some of these include:

• Bettter project outcomes.
• Greater project efficiency.
• Risk mitigation.
• Improved stakeholder support.
• Reduced resistance and other obstacles.

To name a few.

In short, managed change projects produce better results than projects that are poorly managed … or not manage at all.

What are the pros and cons of change management?

Change management is like any other business process. 

It is an investment with risks, rewards, and potential returns.

A careful, strategic approach to change management is required to reap the biggest benefits.

As mentioned, the benefits of change management include:

• Better project results and outcomes
• Increase project efficiency
• Greater support and lesser employee resistance
• Greater chances of successful change

On the other hand change management does come with its own drawbacks and considerations:

• The wrong approach to change management can produce poor results … or even failure
• Investing in the wrong change management solution, consultancy, or advisory can generate poor returns
• Change management itself is an investment that can pay for itself – but only if an organization has enough resources

In other words, it is important to invest carefully in the right consultants, change mangement approach, and so forth.

Change management vs. change leadership: is there a difference?

Yes, the two are distinct.

And both are necessary.

Here is the difference:

• Change management is tasked with organizing, executing, coordinating, and managing change projects. The goal is to minimize waste, maximize outcomes, and maximizes returns on investment.
• Change leadership develops the vision for change. The change leader or leaders develop the ultimate vision and strategic direction for change – which acts as a beacon throughout change projects. This “north star,” as Deloitte calls it, can keep organizations on track, even through long and often difficult transitions.

Leadership and management go hand-in-hand.

Both contribute greatly to change management, greatly impacting the results and outcomes of a change project.

Who manages organizational changes?

Change management projects can be managed by different parties, depending on the organization’s structure, its size, and its existing functions.

Prosci advises forming a set of separate groups, each with its own roles and responsibilities.

Prosci suggests separating change management roles into specific functions:

• Executives and senior management. Prosci says that executives and senior manager must be intimately involved in change projects. They must act as the “voice” as well as the “face” of change. This falls in line with other effective leadership practices – the best leaders lead by example, embody change, and are the first to adopt new initiatives.
• Middle management and supervisors. Middle managers and supervisors support change efforts by assisting with communication, resistance management, feedback collection, and acting as local change advocates.
• The change management team. Large enterprises often have a dedicated change management department or team. This team may also be composed of existing personnel from various departments. They help guide the change effort, coordinate communication among other teams, and ensure that the project is well-managed and stays on track.
• The project team and project support functions. Project teams work behind the scenes to enable and build the necessary systems, functions, and capabilities. They create the infrastructure and systems that other groups need to execute change effectively.

Though this is just one example of the roles involved in change management, if offer important insight.

To be effective, change management must be methodical and systematic.

This includes the assignment of roles, responsibilities, and duties.

Change Management Frameworks

Change management frameworks – or change management models – are another fundamental aspect of change management.

Frameworks, like the assignment of roles and responsibilities, provide order and organization to change management projects.

And, as a result, they ensure that change projects follow goal-oriented roadmaps, plans, and schedules.

Here are some fundamental attributes that define change management frameworks:

• They are practical
• They are focused on driving organizational change at the individual level
• They improve the results of organizational change projects

Let’s look at a few of the most common change models:

Kurt Lewin’s 3-Stage Change Model

Kurt Lewin is often considered the forefather of change management (as well as other disciplines, such as organization development).

His research into group dynamics, group psychology, action research, and change processes have formed the foundation of how many business professionals view and approach organizational change.

Covering his research is beyond the scope of this article.

However, his 3-step change framework is widely known and applied in the field of change management.

Its steps include:

• Unfreeze – Uprooting old processes, procedures, habits, workflows, beliefs, and so forth. In other words, unraveling the structures that need to be changed.
• Transition – Transition is the state between the previous state of affairs and the future status quo. For those involved, it can involve uncertainty, fear, chaos, and upheaval, depending on the nature of the changes.
• Freeze – Finally, new processes, procedures, and norms must be established. These must be reinforced and instituted in order to remain permanent.

This model’s simplicity, in part, contributes to its effectiveness and power.

Originally developed in the mid-1900s, it has gone on to inform many subsequent change management models and approaches.

Prosci’s ADKAR Model

Prosci and its founder, Jeff Hiatt, promote a change management framework known as ADKAR.

Based on Jeff Hiatt’s personal experience working with transforming organizations, he recognized crucial factors to enabling individual change. And, as a consequence, organizational change.

The ADKAR change framework consists of five practical stages:

• Awareness. Building awareness of the need for change.
• Desire. Generating desire for change.
• Knowledge. Offering employees the knowledge of how to change.
• Ability. Giving employees the opportunity to demonstrate skills and behavior.
• Reinforcement. Reinforcing a change so that it sticks and stays permanent.

According to Prosci, this model is a straightforward, practical framework that can help organizations effectively enact and effect organizational change.

And, like most change management methods, it emphasizes changing the individuals first.

Changing individuals, after all, is among the most difficult and important aspects of organizational change.

John Kotter’s 8-Step Model for Leading Change

John Kotter, a leader in the change management industry, developed an 8-step model for leading and managing change.

Like Prosci’s model, it is a practical framework designed to be applied in the real world and the real work place.

Its eight steps include:

• Creating a sense of urgency. Explaining why a change is needed and why change is so urgent.
• Building a guiding coalition. A guiding coalition is an army of volunteers who guide and coordinate the activities of a change effort.
• Building a strategic vision and initiatives. Explain how the past will connect to the future and make that future a reality.
• Enlist a volunteer army. A corps of volunteers will be the driving force that moves change forward.
• Enable action by removing barriers. Barriers, such as inefficient processes and hierarchies, should be eliminated if they stand in the way of progress.
• Generate short-term wins. Short-term wins accumulate and build momentum among employees. To help motivate employees, they should be communicated early and often.
• Sustain acceleration. The first success increases credibility – change leaders should relentlessly pursue change after change until the final vision becomes a reality.
• Institute change. Like Prosci, Kotter’s framework advises reinforcing change, by articulating the connections between new behaviors and success.

As with the ADKAR framework, Kotter’s model focuses on driving organizational change at the individual level.

By motivating, enabling, and leading employees, a workforce is much more likely to successfully enact change.

The change models covered so far are some of the most common – but there are certainly others.

Other Change Models and Frameworks

The change frameworks covered so far are a few of the most popular.

But they are by no means the only ones.

Other change frameworks include models from:

• The Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP)
• McKinsey
• Deloitte

Not to mention a number of change approaches from other industry professionals and academics.

The History and Evolution of Change Management

Change management, organization development, and related disciplines began in the mid-1900s.

As mentioned, Kurt Lewin is perhaps the most influential figure in the field of change management.

His research focused on, among other things, areas such as:

• Group dynamics. Behaviors and psychological processes that occur within and between groups. A number of theorists contributed to this field, including but not limited to Kurt Lewin.
• Psychology. Lewin developed his own theory of how individuals behave and interact within groups. His psychological theories, such as force field analysis, provided a framework for viewing how individuals interacted with their environments, what aided, and what hindered their actions.
• Leadership climates. He also described various organizational climates in detail. Namely, he defined three types of climates: autocratic climates, democratic climates, and laizzes faire climates. Each has its own leadership style, culture, and operating procedure.

As mentioned, his research often formed the foundation of many subsequent change management theories and frameworks.

Even today these ideas still inform many change management practices and methods.

Best Practices and Recommendations

So far, we have seen a number of change management frameworks, ideas, and approaches.

But the frameworks mentioned above only cover part of what change managers do.

To maximize outcomes and the success of organizational changes (and transformations), change managers should follow a few best practices and principles of change management.

They should:

Assess

An organizational change or transformation usually stems from a self-evident problem. 

Change managers and relevant personnel – such as business leaders, department heads, HR managers, and so forth – should perform detailed analyses. 

They should assess areas such as change readiness, digital maturity, the workplace culture, the organizational climate, the problem, and potential solutions.

Strategize

A strategy acts as a guiding light for organizational changes and transformations.

This long-term vision and strategy should be:

• Goal-oriented
• Understandable to all stakeholders
• Achievable
• Forward-thinking
• Clearly articulated

Defining a strategy will help organizations in a number of ways, including:

• Offering a solid path and clear direction for organizational changes
• Act as a baseline when developing goals, milestone, and metrics
• Provide a sense of purpose for organizational changes and transformations

In short, a clearly defined, achievable strategy is crucial for successful transformation.

Create a Roadmap

A roadmap for change is a stage-based schedule that defines a transformation’s journey.

The frameworks mentioned above can serve as excellent roadmaps, or at least good starting points.

Good roadmaps should:

• Break down the journey into stages. Altogether, these stages will form a complete journey. The first stage, for example, should introduce the concept of change, its necessity, its benefits, and what it entails. Each following stage will achieve a series of goals that result in the final transformation.
• Define each stage’s goals, expectations, roles, and responsibilities. Roadmap stages should clearly define the goals and expectations of everyone involved … before moving on to the next stage.
• Act as a schedule. Also, like any project management roadmap, each goal and milestone should have a deadline. Without deadlines, after all, it is all to easy to put tasks off until later.
• Describe other pertinent information. Different roadmaps include different information. To make roadmaps more useful and relevant to employees, for instance, many roadmaps include things such as psychological descriptions, needs, or obstacles. If it can help stakeholders meet objectives, consider including it.

Like any journey map, the roadmap helps clarify expectations, aims, and responsibilities.

It also serves as a communication tool, helping to maintain accountability and ensure all stakeholders stay in sync.

Communicate

Communication is one of the most important soft skills.

In change management, communication is critical to successfully driving change.

However, it is important not to view communication just as a vague buzzword.

To be effective, communication must be strategic. And it must accomplish specific goals.

In change management, a systematic approach to communication performs a number of functions:

• Clarifying the purpose and aim of a change project. A documented strategy does no good if it isn’t communicated properly. Communication strategies explain the purpose of a change, the reasons for that change, the benefits of the change, and the consequences of not changing. Explaining the “why” of a change project improves employee sentiment and support.
• Transparency. Effective communication also increases transparency around a change project. Keeping stakeholders in the dark is a sure way to increase resistance and decrease support … not to mention the chances of success.
• Creating a dialogue between all involved parties. An open dialogue invites participation from everyone involved, from frontline employees to executives. Participation in such a dialogue helps employees feel included – as though they are participating in the change, instead of being forced into it.
• Explaining agendas, roadmaps, expectations, and so on. Communication also serves the basic purpose of explaining a change process – what will happen, expectations, roles, responsibilities, and so on.
• Earning employee trust and support. Finally, effective communication earns stakeholder trust. It can be used to earn the trust of employees, on the one hand. On the other, the right communication approach can help secure support from business leaders and executives.

At the same time, an effective communication strategy can minimize obstacles and mitigate risk.

For instance, effective communication helps employees understand the “why” of a change project – helping decrease resistance and friction.

Onboard and train effectively

Onboarding is a crucial phase of any organizational change project, especially major ones.

Onboarding involves:

• Introducing users to new tools, workflows, and processes
• Acclimating them to these new circumstances as quickly as possible
• Minimizing churn and transitioning users to the next stage quickly and efficiently

For instance, when introducing users to a new, complex software platform, the onboarding experience can make a difference in user learning, frustration, and retention.

Following on the heels of onboarding is training.

Effective training approaches and techniques offer several advantages, including:

• Accelerated time-to-competency. Users who learn to use a software more quickly can begin generating results more quickly.
• Improved user proficiency and productivity. Good digital training solutions – such as Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) – can dramatically increase users’ productivity with a tool or set of tools.
• Better adaptability when it comes to change and innovation. Effective training also helps workers adapt and learn more quickly. This is critically important in today’s era, which is driven by change and digital transformation.

In today’s digital, fast-paced economy, the right training solutions can make a significant difference in terms of ROI and employee productivity … as we’ll see below.

First, though, it is important to recognize that every change project comes with its own set of barriers and challenges.

These should be carefully addressed and considered when designing any change management approach.

Barriers to Effective Change

Here are some of the most common barriers to change management:

• Employee resistance. Employee resistance is a common roadblock to organizational change. That resistance can stem from a variety of factors, such as: fear of change, fear of incompetency, lack of trust in leadership, lack of trust in the change, and so forth. Understanding and addressing these issues at the outset can prevent them from becoming serious obstacles.
• Lack of executive support. Executive sponsorship and buy-in is a major factor that contributes to the success of any change project. Change managers and sponsors should make a solid case for the business value of change, then present it to appropriate business leaders before the initiative even begins.
• Organizational culture. An organization’s culture plays a large role in how employees behave and respond to change. Employees who are open to change, learning, and digital technology, for instance, will be more likely support digital change projects. In some cases, changing an organization’s culture is necessary to drive successful change.
• Resources. Resource limitations are another common roadblock to effective change. Budgets may be tight. Employees may have too little time. Technology resources may be maxed out. In short, resource constraints are another common constraint to organizational change.
• Obsolete processes, models, or technology. Entrenched, pre-digital processes can act as barriers to innovative change. If a process, technology, or even a business model becomes too entrenched, then changing those processes can become difficult and taxing.

During the early stages of a project, such potential barriers should be evaluated and addressed head-on.

Dealing with them correctly can greatly reduce their negative impacts … or even prevent them entirely.

Change Management in the Digital Age

How is change management changing in the digital revolution?

Today, change management is evolving, along with every other industry.

Here are a few factors that are impacting change management in the modern business environment:

• Digital transformation. Digital disruption – caused by the innovative use of technology – is upending and transforming entire industries and marketplaces. Today, many organizational changes and transformations are centered around digital transformation efforts.
• Digital adoption. Digital adoption – the adoption and implementation of digital technology to its fullest extent – is a core piece of the digital transformation puzzle. 
• Agile change management. Agile business processes are increasingly being applied to change management. This means an increased emphasis on collaboration, user feedback, responsiveness, and adaptability.
• Continual change. The digital revolution has just begun. Yet continuous change has already become the standard. In a future where continual change is the norm, businesses must build processes that are adaptable, agile, and able to continually change.
• Speed. Organizations that can deliver quality solutions more quickly will win. The faster and more efficiently that a company can prototype and release products into the marketplace, the better chances they will have when it comes to capturing customers and market share.

The fundamental principles of change management will likely never change.

Humans will always run organizations, meaning that their support is essential to succeed, regardless of how the digital future plays out.

The Future of Change Management

How will change management evolve in the coming years and decades?

It is likely that today’s emerging trends will continue to develop and become more standard:

• Perpetual change. As mentioned, continual change has become normal during the digital revolution. However, right now, there is no end in sight. New technologies will continue to emerge, grow, and change the way we do business. AI, AR, VR, IoT, among many others, will continue to reshape and change the entire global economy.
• Ongoing learning. Digital technologies are released constantly. This presents many opportunities for businesses and employees. But it also presents challenges – employees must continually learn to use those technologies productively. Lifelong learning will soon become normal.
• Digital-first, human-centric. Digital technology offers many competitive advantages, leading many organizations to adopt a digital-first business strategy. However, human-centered design will likely remain a main focus. Perhaps this is one reason why today’s businesses emphasize the user experience, the employee experience, and the customer experience.
• New technologies, new approaches. New technology will open many new frontiers in change management. The right combination of data, analytics, and change management methodology can create new approaches, innovative management methods, and competitive advantages.

These are just a few trends to expect as the digital economy continues to evolve.

However, given all of the information we have presented so far, where to go next?

Where to Go From Here – How to Be a Better Change Manager

For those looking to improve their skills as change managers, here are a few avenues worth considering:

• Change management certifications and training. Certifications in organizational development and change management abound. The right certification can help business professionals gain competency, lead effective change, and improve the results of their organizational change projects.
• Coaching. Coaching is another option. One-on-one feedback from experts can be targeted and specific for a given organization. It can also help professionals address their own personal needs and make improvements as necessary.
• Consulting. Change management consultancies offer advice, strategy, plans, and more. Hiring a consultancy is ideal for organizations with limited change management functions. However, note that this is best used as a short-term solution – organizations that plan to change continuously should consider developing in-house change functions.
• Workshops, seminars, and events. Events and conferences are another way to develop change management skills. These events often pack a lot of information into a short time period, making them ideal for the busy professional.
• Association memberships. Associations, such as the ACMP, offer a number of benefits. They can help members network with other change professionals around the world, for example. Also, they offer courses, certifications, workshops, meetings, online resources, and more.
• Continual research. Those truly committed to change management should never stop researching. There are countless change management resources online, from blogs to magazines to newsletters. A bit of research can help professionals stay up-to-date on the most relevant, current information.

Change management is always changing – and to stay skilled, change professionals should also continue to change.

Continuing education and development, after all, can only benefits one career … as well as change project results.

The post Change Management 101: The Definitive Guide for the Digital Age appeared first on Digital Adoption.

Every time a new technology enters the market, every time enterprise applications are updated, and every time new features are introduced, employees are faced with change.

You’d think that by now organizations would have gotten pretty good at implementing change, since it happens all the time. But no, on the contrary, 70% of change efforts fail.

When it comes to digital transformation, change managers must take a human-focused approach to technology implementation and learn to overcome the recurring barriers to successful change management.

2 major problems in change management

1. Poor communication

Lack of communication, unclear or inconsistent communication can destroy your change management efforts. However carefully laid plans are, they can be ruined by the rumour mill and employee gossip.

When digital change is on the cards, however minor, employees need to know what’s going on. Uncertainty is a great killer of workforce productivity.

Whether you coordinate regular meetings, set up brainstorming sessions, or conduct a CEO Q&A, communication should be transparent and two-way.

During periods of great change, the CEO often steps into the role of Chief Explaining Officer. The C-Suite must lead the charge in terms of promoting and embodying the vision for the future, and help employees to understand their role in achieving it.

But many business leaders mistakenly think change management is not their responsibility and leave the task of communicating the change vision to someone else.

2. Resistance

It’s common to resist change because naturally we’re more comfortable with the familiar. It’s usually synonymous with security.

Resistance needs to be addressed on a psychological level and a physical level by removing any barriers to action. Ways to do this are:

• Provide proper tools and training
• Allow enough time for employees to adapt
• Reassure people and boost morale by celebrating successes

Resistance is particularly common in situations of digital change, since studies show that at least half of your workforce are likely to be slower than average to adopt new technology.

Unless you take the time and effort to understand how digital change affects employees, you’ll battle with resistance.

5 change management principles for the digital age

1. Senders and receivers

Change can be looked at in terms of senders and receivers. Senders give out information about the change, and receivers take it.

Oftentimes, the message that is sent by senders doesn’t align with the message received. It’s often due to miscommunication, which results in misunderstanding.

One way to avoid this is to communicate to senders with a clear set of instructions, so they can pass on the correct information to receivers. Managers should then monitor what and how communication is being received.

2. Types of resistance

It’s important to expect resistance to change and try to identify its root cause. For example, it could stem from personal history, job stability, lack of skills, and so on.

Then there’s the difference between natural resistance and ongoing resistance. Issues will arise if ongoing resistance prolongs the change process and threatens its success.

3. Flexibility and vision

Flexibility is critical to digital transformation. There’s even a term for it now: digital dexterity. It’s important that even the biggest enterprises can be as agile as startups.

That said, long-term plans are also necessary. The way to achieve both is to progress towards a clear, strategic vision, rather than working through a detailed step-by-step plan. That way, adaptations can be made without halting your change efforts.

4. Celebrating success

The best way to get employees on board is to welcome their participation and feedback, and incorporate it into your change management process.

And while new technology is being implemented, make sure you share any successes, benefits, and improvements that have come about as a result.

According to Gartner:
“Since most users won’t be actively reminding themselves of the improvements they get with the new system, someone else needs to make the improvements visible.”

5. Take a user focus

Prosci’s ADKAR Model provides the foundations of successful change:

• awareness of the need for change
• desire to participate and support the change
• knowledge on how to change
• ability to implement the required skills and behaviors
• reinforcement to sustain the change

These five building blocks must be present in your digital users in order for good adoption to occur and your change management efforts to be successful.

The post 5 Change Management Principles For The Digital Age appeared first on Digital Adoption.

The CEO probably. In an institutional context, your old school principal maybe. But that’s actually quite a narrow-minded view of leadership.

Today, the traditional hierarchical approach to enterprise structure and organizational development is no longer fit for purpose.

There are — and should be — leaders within every layer of the organization. Particularly when it comes to the issue of leading change. And you need a change leadership platform that reflects that.

A world of influencers

The consumer world is now full of influencers. It’s no longer just the celebrities of Hollywood that people listen to and follow, it’s the micro-influencers of social media.

Consumers flock to YouTube and LinkedIn for thought-leadership on any given topic. The internet is full of “experts”, giving their advice on everything from household chores to complex business and legal issues.

The workplace is changing too. Businesses that operate holistically, without silos, and with less rigid structure are leading the way. It’s a core component of effective digital transformation.

It’s about being agile.

Because in the digital business world, change is happening all the time. And agility is the only to keep pace with it.   

An agile change leadership platform

So, in order to lead change, enterprises must put in place an agile change leadership platform.

Management Innovation eXchange founders Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini write that, “continuous improvement requires the creation of change platforms, rather than change programs ordained and implemented from the top.”

However, this isn’t how most enterprises operate.

“The reality is that today’s organizations were simply never designed to change proactively and deeply—they were built for discipline and efficiency, enforced through hierarchy and routinization.”

Hamel and Zanini

Instead, enterprises need to take a real-time, embedded approach to change. Why? Because change programs fail 70% of the time.

The problem with change

The main problem with traditional change programs is that they’re built on these three assumptions:

1. Change starts at the top.
2. Change is rolled out.
3. Change is engineered.

Believing that change starts at the top implies that executives have the sole right to initiate deep change. In reality, executives are often the last to know when change is needed.

By the time an issue is big enough to necessitate the CEO’s input, the organization is already on the back foot. Therefore, most change programs end up being catch-up programs.

When change is finally initiated from above, it’s rarely embraced. Traditional change programs often generate cynicism and resistance.

Genuine buy-in happens through involvement. So, for change to be embraced, everyone must have the right to contribute to it.

The term “change management” suggests that transformational change is something that can be managed. In actual fact, change takes on a life of its own. It needs the right change leadership platform in order for it to happen organically.

A change leadership platform for digital transitions

When it comes to digital change, a digital platform is needed.

Too many traditional enterprises still approach their goal of digital transformation equipped with analogue tools, processes and mindsets. This places prohibitive limitations on the organization’s ability to change.

Digital change is an ongoing process because new technology is always coming onto the market and causing disruption. Enterprises need to keep pace.

A digital tool is needed to manage employee adoption of new technology, ensuring it’s fast and successful. Using a Digital Adoption Platform can allow enterprises to behave in a more agile and innovative way because it facilitates this ongoing transformation.

What is a Digital Adoption Platform?

The Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) was pioneered by WalkMe. It’s an algorithmic layer that can be applied to any digital system, application, or tool.

The DAP is useful as a change leadership platform because it accelerates user adoption of digital tools and provides insights into user behavior to facilitate further change.

With the DAP’s insights, enterprises can drive transformational change better. They can discover where users struggle, what features are underutilized, and where inefficiencies exist.

The DAP is a holistic solution that enterprises can implement easily to drive adoption across all software platforms with minimal effort.

Absolutely no coding or R&D effort is required. Its intuitive drag and drop interface simplifies the management of digital change and its advanced artificial intelligence streamlines the user experience (UX).

Leading digital change for a digital future

Traditional notions of leadership are changing in both the consumer and business worlds. The idea of “how we do things” within large enterprises must also change.  

Analogue approaches to change leadership and management must be set aside in favor of truly innovative, digital solutions.

The Digital Adoption Platform is one such solution. As a change leadership platform, it has the capacity to bring your organization up to speed with the digital revolution.

The post A Digital Change Leadership Platform For A Digital Future appeared first on Digital Adoption.

However, for your employees, they are really certainly not on the same page. For some reason, not really everyone stocks and shares your loads of enthusiasm.

Actually, some staff members are even freely hostile regarding the modification. Whether it may be updating the vacation insurance plan or reorganizing the company’s entire revenue force.

Transformation is a transformation. And that can be distressing. With a little arranging, you can make the procedure smoother for all.

Sadly, various organization owners and emperors skimp on this task and anticipate their eagerness for the initiative being contagious. Is important to put away your own personal emotions and, instead, set yourself within your employees’ shoes and boots.

Prevent producing these critical mistakes.

Not Having The Tools To Improve

In any institution, people are inundated with daily duties. Rarely bombard associated with change management, as well. Make sure they may have enough time, as well as the skills, need to handle the change. This is in addition to the right equipment.

If the staff does not have the tools, they will stress towards the maximum. Do not be surprised should you see a few staff yield as a result.

Should you ask the employees to utilize a new accounting system, for instance, give them more than sufficient time to coach on that program and be into progressive in the situation. Remember that adjustment initiatives would not happen right away.

Not Articulating The Need For Transformation

Your staff needs to figure out the reason behind the change management. Commence questions just like will this help make these people more lucrative or perhaps get their careers less difficult.

If the cause of change is certainly not powerful enough, they will certainly not end up being moved to actions.

If you are not really careful, deficiencies in enthusiasm for the new project or perhaps coverage can quickly change into lackluster overall performance from your workers. That is not really the kind of swap out your clients or perhaps customers need.

To solve this kind of, start the communication attempts well just before you introduce the modification process. Try to use a good targeted mixture of conversation programs.

Email memos and group demonstrations are the best way to mention the reasoning and eyesight at the rear of the adjustment. Furthermore, you can utilize one-on-one gatherings where workers can share the concerns.

Shoot for a level of conversation that will bring the alteration on your employees’ radar. Yet, try not to whelm them.

Not Having A Apparent Vision For the future

Change management can get away to a quick start and generate a whole lot of primary experience. Nevertheless, if your staff members cannot see your holiday spot, that passion may disappear pretty quickly.

They may well not place their complete effort into making the change happen. Hence, they could put the effort behind the program or derail it entirely.

The post Top Common Mistakes In Change Management appeared first on Digital Adoption.

In addition, leaders of change administration fall into the trap of taking the first of all available opportunity. Moreover, they fail to study alternatives process which may prevent additionally challenges down the line.

Poor Interaction With Personnel

It is necessary that operators feed enough facts regarding approaching organization change pursuits to all stakeholders who will have change courses. This will help to lessen rumors and worker discontentment.

Furthermore, that should assure that your environment is correct for execution of modification initiatives.

State The Case To Obtain Change

An effective change management will constantly build a sense of urgency. That happens simply by arguing the truth for Modification through pretty much all stages of the change program.

Furthermore, this system ensures that adjust Initiatives are actually compelling enough to stakeholders. This likewise to make these people actively abandon the essential comforts of business.

No Technique

Setting vigorous change administration goals is a great thing to do. On the other hand, setting out an obviously defined procedure is a step toward the accomplishment of worthwhile change management.

Getting MuchHype But Fails To Deliver It

It is crucial that every project which can launch is feasible and lasting. Otherwise, personnel and additional stakeholders will begin to lose morals in Firm Change activities.

Lack of Mental Add-on

Improve Professionals should be passionate about the corporation Change attempts that they are telling implement.

They have to then impress within stakeholders a mental attachment towards the project. They will achieve that by advertising the real and daily advantages of change by using an individual level.

Shying Far From Resistance

That is really special to experience nothing resistance coming from stakeholders to be a change management. Either you like it or not, it will likely to cause an amount of resistance to altering during setting up stages and drawing up powerful tendencies that guarantee a sleeker transition.

 Technique For Extended And Short-run

A precise strategy is important to the achievement of Institution Change applications. Long-term desired goals are always great to have.

However, a good Improve management includes the setting up of breakthrough along the route by means of short-term Institution change goals.

Decide When Should You Pack  And Announce Accomplishment

A change and transformation course is certainly not an overnight process than as shortly as Transformation goals established at the beginning of the procedure have been attained. The long-term impacts of the process affect over a couple of months or maybe years. It also depends on the level of accomplishment that you want to attain.

Hence, the best to thing to do is to follow your Transformation program. If you take the focus away from results of the work, your company could slip back to old patterns and undo-options the benefits of the work.

The post Top Change Management Mistakes That You Might Be Doing appeared first on Digital Adoption.

Without experience and prep, businesses give in to pitfalls that happen to be commonly direct and preventable. Risks to prevent during company shift:

 Not Developing Change Management with Course Supervision

Company change management executed well is an essential component of the program’s achievement. For that reason, improving administration actions should incorporate into the program structure.

Practically speaking, this can be a split plan. This kind of takes places while using critical contemporary listed on the get good at a program or maybea project package.

The chance of plan success can greatly wane when the modify administration actions bolted. Furthermore, that occurs the modify management pros are not really given a good seat in the stand alongside other program workforce associates.

Take care of company modification administration to be of even importance mainly because of the engineering aspects of the addition.

Short-Cutting the Adjust Process

Modify is a procedure, not a solitary function. Company change may certainly not happen instantly.

Furthermore, this does indeed not really happen as the effect of a kick-off meeting, headline memo, or perhaps go-live night out. Individuals carry out certainly not improve easily since they received a great email or perhaps went to a training plan.

When people encounter change management, they will move out of what they got known and done. That is likewise by using a period of conversion to arrive by a preferred new means of behaving and performing their particular jobs.

Delegating And Adjust Control Responsibility

Good adjustments initiatives need solid fully commit executive support through the entire task. When practical executive support is losing, the risks will be manifold. The examples include stakeholders trusting the wrong folks are leading the effort.

We have experienced instances just where executive gives have expelled off pursuits and had been not really noticed or perhaps been told by again. Furthermore, sponsors who uninformed with their initiative’s improvement and not sure how to support.

Sponsors are actually as well unclear about what concern a great step got between multiple organization objectives. At least, there should be at least one particular senior acting designated as being the overall generate.

That person ought to as well give the task of the gumption.

Not Looking for Outside

Rarely carry out companies experience deep switch management competence, though many are seeking to build this ability in-house.

Frequently companies assume their community heads and personnel to engender stability. Consequently, eliminate method deviation, and minimize risk in institution operations happen to reward designed for doing so.

Alternatively, change management work with various companies’ working day in an evening away. This gives all of them a much wider perspective.

Different people visualize good transformation consultants when high-priced. Nevertheless, a good therapist can save funds.

This is because selecting an individual private with that competence could are more expensive. Also, the consultants currently have highly particular knowledge complicated to find a great worker.

The post Common Pitfalls And Mistakes In Change Management appeared first on Digital Adoption.

It was not really crucial to rely on out of solutions. However, leaders must view the resources that existed inside the establishment.

Most of the leaders want to increase the university daytime to provide college students with improving actions and affluence. Also, they want to advanced classes aligned correctly with their educational goals.

To achieve this, personnel collaborated to make a schedule that worked for anyone while adding five times of educational time to the week. Lecturers received a little stipend to achieve the added period.

However, this can cause a lot of confusion and difficulties within the academic. Fortunately, this post gives the best tip change management any schools and institution.

Build Your Staff

People prefer to change management if the cause is correct and this actually defined. My personal dean of students located community services that normally teach after-school programs. These to show during each of our extended mornings and help generate our innovative schedule function.

Do Not Hesitate To Ask For Support

An expert recognized that it would definitely take a workforce effort to help make the needed alterations. Hence, it is better to talk to everybody from lecturers, parents, network members, and board individuals to the superintendent to get the support needed for the school.

Usually, they would become less popular joining a team or perhaps committee, nevertheless instead provide valuable ideas, and other days they would simply just point me in the right direction to get what we should need.

Produce a Sense Of Urgency

Just ten percent of the students would definitely stay following school to be given extra support. Teachers must typically have to yank them away because of not completing their homework.

As a main, you have to review your data and possess an idea of exactly where you want to take those schools. This kind of issue cannot be completed alone. Hence, it is necessary to work with a staff.

Develop A Distributed Vision

It is better not to underestimate the value of denoting what you attempt to solve or perhaps become. Most schools regularly skip this task, which allows an attempt to go in several directions.

Therefore, the mission affirmation is the rule that courses decisions and keeps all of the schools on track.

 Not Let Up

Setbacks happen to be part of the switch. There were lots of times exactly where teachers inhibited the route and personal leadership expertise. However, they still need to pursue forward.

Whenever tough times are here, leaders must remind their own staff and parent market leaders that the objective is to maintain a shared eye-sight for how they can best help their students.

The post Change Management Tips For Academic appeared first on Digital Adoption.

Here are some aspects to consider before process any significant change in a school environment.

Value the Cynics

Whenever an individual is pondering a suggestion that replaces the first response, it can cause frustration or simply indignant. Take into account even though that it is constantly good to obtain skeptics inside, the consultation still gives difficult questions.

Whenever someone postures a fair dilemma that the majority cannot accept the solution, then they should rethink it. Moreover, even though it is great to be optimistic regarding new pursuits, but the cynics are the ones that retain us grounded in the reality.

Make Transformation A Part Of Culture

Much like some people are definitely secure with change than any other folks. Furthermore, several institutions are more leisurely with improvement.

For academic institutions, change is definitely anathema. This starts with tiny but noticeable change management which make a positive big difference is a key.

Hence, this mainly because these small wins pile up, personnel affiliates are a little more open to checking out new objects. If anything that not set up does not do the job.

Also, if it comes with unintended results, do not conceal it.

Dealing successfully with challenges is critical at any time. Moreover, change will likely be a great acknowledged part of a school’s lifestyle.

However, try to invest with both feet. This means that try to impose significant alter on a staff before it is members are actually comfortable with fresh concepts and processes will destroy the job before it even begins.

Always Be Mindful of Preconceived Ideas

There are many stakeholders in education, students of study course. These also include managers, professors, and parents.

Every member of the latter groups had been to school and a lot of them incorporate some preconceived thoughts as to what college should be.

After all, the structures of faculty have evolved little in the last two hundred years. On the other hand, retaining these circumstances brings more problematic issues, not to mention harmful.

Change management heads must consider and dignity individual ideas of what school will need to look like. Furthermore, this must happens while convincing individuals who are proposing to be better.

Control The Opinion

Various persons see the transformation as a thing that just occurs. They also view it as something that is done to them while not in their authorization and outside the control.

At times this is true, however, for most companies in school environment teachers and administrators incorporate some autonomy regarding how change normally effected. A lot more chance and enticement individuals should have the chance to incorporate some input.

Also, a lot more control buy-in will arise with the personnel. Furthermore, research displays pretty plainly that a better sense of ownership is likely to lead to effective alter addition in a great firm.

The post Change Management Strategies For Education appeared first on Digital Adoption.