Picture the scene: after two years of negotiation and procurement preliminaries the contract has just been endorsed in the boardroom of an influential government agency. The startup partners providing the solution are on video link from abroad. The media embargoes are in place, press releases ready, internal announcements drafted. And everything goes live at the addition of the wet ink.
Now it's really on! The Program team is energised and ready to move.
This cutting-edge technology delivery program lasts about twelve months before the budget-vultures finally take it down from the inside. In fact, it was plagued with issues from the first changeover in the agency's leadership.
The only thing getting in the way of delivering the exciting change this program represented was perpetual change.
Achieving the change programs that offer organisational growth while maintaining stability is impossible without a single, aligned leadership vision. Organisations often find themselves at this crossroad — how to expand ambitiously without jeopardising their fiscal health and standard operations.
Align, align, align. Leadership alignment is the answer and effective change management the enabler.
Recognising the Strategic Imperative for growth
Businesses crave growth. Exploring new markets, tweaking product lines, and expanding reach through technology are strategic imperatives that every business faces. However growth without aligned leadership direction can strain financial resources and upset the operational equilibrium.
For this, the practice of Change Management offers these points of advice.
Strategic Clarity: Define growth objectives with precision. Set realistic targets that account for inherent risks.
Operational Alignment: Ensure teams, processes, and resources are synchronised. Growth requires unselfish leadership. It requires leaders to align with the vision, promoting a culture of positivity towards the change.
Risk Mitigation: Anticipate turbulence, have contingency plans for unexpected shifts, review the risk landscape regularly and deploy contingency plans as soon as conditions are met!
The Backbone of Vision is Aligned Planning
Financial and operational stability isn’t negotiable. Existing budgets, cash flow management and operational priorities do not disappear when a great change program is conceived. Yet, rigidity stifles innovation and lack of understanding about the size of growth programs can create professional jealousy within operations. Once these seeds are planted, the balance b growth and stability becomes disrupted as operations can be tempted to seek a share of the growth pie.
To keep the balance between business as usual and progress, change management professionals would recommend:
Re-confirm Sponsorship: double down on gaining leadership commitment to the growth program. The senior leader must want the program! If they don't want the program, they will not champion it, and they may not care what happens to it.
Re-align financial planning: Financial plans need to be a living framework that adjusts as market dynamics and internal agendas evolve. Financial planning, budget allocation and expenditure policy and must be aligned to enable the change program to move ahead. Without the clear mandate and capability to engage in procurement, the change program will fall at the first hurdle.
Scenario Modelling: Document the current state and desired future state. Play out “what-if” scenarios. Identify where assumptions are being made and stress-test them to see if they hold up. If assumptions don't hold up, work hard to ensure you don't have to rely on them.
Engagement, Results and Resilience
The audience awaits. The organisation needs to know the vision and how we're planning to get there. Employees need the opportunity to contribute, comment and adjust their thinking. They will take the lead from the leaders who talk about the program. The resistors will group together and elect a leader if they possibly can. The supporters will come forward and the others may hold a cautious watching brief.
Change managers will tell you that before communication starts, it's essential that leadership is aligned in every aspect of the complex program the organisation is about to face.
Operational Resilience: Having a solid change strategy and breaking it down into change management plans will promote organisational engagement, and help ensure that growth doesn’t strain operations.
Sustainable Momentum: Growth isn’t a sprint, and it will not be achieved in a sprint. Change management recognises the need for sustainability and plans with the end in mind: adoption and embedment.
Harmony: When planning and leadership align, when the organisation is engaged in the growth agenda, then it's time to start communicating about the details. Aligned and engaged organisations face change with anticipation and positive support.
Striking the Balance: Growth and Stability in Business
By investing in change management, organisations can be lead through the work that will make the difference to it's ability to rapidly deal with growth. Change and financial functions need to work together to support the growth agenda, and core business operations need reassurance in the form of clear leadership direction, to keep driving those business outcomes that will remain stable into the future.
Discuss your change management needs with Agencia Change.
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