Many big change projects end immediately after the change is made. The project team is disbanded and the leadership moves on to the next big change. This approach assumes the operating business will take on the work of supporting and nurturing the change, still in its infancy. Critical closing procedures such as assigning responsibility for ongoing support, documenting lessons learned, and providing formal recognition of the project team are either done casually or not at all. Too often the operating teams are not sufficiently trained to take on this work, do not have time for it, and are rewarded only for accomplishing other tasks. It’s not surprising, then, that these organizations tend to repeat mistakes, have mixed reviews on their capacity for change, and have colleagues who resist joining change project teams.
As a change leader, your role is to ensure that plans are in place so that the change lasts. If this doesn’t happen, it’s likely that old ways of working will seep back into the business, you will lose some of the benefits of the change, and the project will not be deemed a complete success.
Part 4:
Making Change Stick
The Plan
- How do I prevent the return of old ways of working?
- How do I hand over responsibilities to the business?
- How do I record lessons learned?
- How do I Reenter the business?
Resources
Getting Results
