Who is the change project team? Those chosen to lead the change project in the company. In many cases, this does not mean that they have the right training or experience in change management or internal communication. But they have been assembled together because either they are the topic owners or have the right knowledge on the topic or for their leadership or efficiencies etc. As I mentioned in Welcome 1.1, this book is specifically written for people who have been selected and tasked to lead and support change projects but lack the necessary change and communication knowhow. If you belong to this category of people, then this book is for you.
Can a professional change project team deliver a successful change result? The project can be a success and yet the change can be a failure. If the results coming out of a project is not sustainable, there is no lasting success. Anything that is “forced” will not last for a long time. True change has to come from within. The project status updates, templates and PMO best practices are all good. They can help to track the change measures and support the change situation. But whether that situation remains in an improved way long after you have gone depends on the people. Did you change the people or did you change the process? Did the people’s mindset and behaviors change after the project? I was once part of a change project in which one of the best consultancies in the world were brought it. The scope was to improve some of the internal processes in the company with a very large workforce. They ran a very a impressive project management office and delivered excellent projects results. However, soon after they left the project and the company, the project waned in focus and importance after one to two years. There was no lasting change in people.
What kind of a leader is needed? A person with PMO experience would be great but more importantly it has to be a people-person. From my experience this is quite mutually exclusive. Meaning that if you find someone who is an highly experienced PMO person, he is often not seen as a great people-person. And if you find someone who is a great people-person, he/she is simply not task-oriented enough to get things done. But if you do find that rare optimum mix of talent and skill, he would probably be the best person for the job. Someone who is able to take set-backs and failures and is willing to bounce back and press on. Someone whom the people are willing to talk face-to-face to explain their concerns and feelings. Someone who is forgiving and as Elvis once said in a song, willing to “Walk a mile in my shoes”.
Should the leader be a foreign expatriate or a local? This is in the context of international companies operating in Asia Pacific. You should always choose a change project team leader who represents the target audience he/she is facilitating to change. Unfortunately this is not the case in many companies in Asia Pacific. The management normally selects a foreign expatriate to lead local change. In fact it is so common that it has become a best practice.
Most expatriates will leave the company and the Asia Pacific region after a three year contract, plus or minus one or two years. The expertise and experience gained by the expatriate as a project leader in the change project will be gone when the expatriate leaves. But it would have continued to stay in the company if it was given to a local. Therefore I have never really understood why some companies never consider putting good and talented local staff at the helm of projects, especially involving change.
What should be the culture of this project team? How about never-give-up? The project team should be closely knit and willing to take the tumbles and thresholds of a change project. They don’t have to be hardened change project veterans. They can be people who have just started learning the ropes. But they must be willing to be hardened because they will be.
Does the team has to be all local? Not necessarily. As long as there is a clear and strong team culture, the cross-cultural mix of the team is immaterial. Which means it can be a team of expatriates as well as locals. I would actually recommend in addition, that the team is cross-functionally mixed as well to generate a diverse range of views and solutions.
What kind of challenges can a project team face? Let’s see. That can a fairly long list. I can only highlight a few common ones below that I have actually witnessed or experienced in my change projects:
Leadership
- Leaders who do not do as what they say and say as what they do
- Leaders who do not have time to offer visibility or support but are project sponsors
- Management circles that rubber-stamp decisions without discussion or debate
- Management that does not offer sufficient resources in time or in the right quality
- Management that micromanages the project team
Project Team
- Project leader who pushes or does not push the project team too much
- Project team did not adequately manage stakeholders’ expectations
- Project team did not manage the project risks well
- Project team frustrated because of unclear roles and responsibilities
- Project team members not attending meetings or coming late, not updating status, not following up, not prepared etc and not motivated enough to go the extra mile
- Senior manager hands over to manager, manager hands over to specialist, specialist hands over to an intern. End of the day, the change requirements of a department in a project team is eventually represented by an intern who leaves after 6 months.
What kind of crisis situations can the project team run into?
- Too much pressure from the sponsors, steering committee etc
- Lack of sufficient support from stakeholders
- Internal squabble within project team
- Project leader unable to fullfill the role
- Insufficient resources
- And sometimes all of the above
Who can “protect” a project team? In many cases, the project team will be in unchartered waters and needs a strong sponsor from the management board to steer through the dark waters. In some cases high-ranking stakeholders who are impacted by the change can offer some resistance to change. Sometimes there is a wall of red-tape that you have to battle through. Sometimes the change journey is so hard and so long that the project team is physically and mentally exhausted and needs constant motivation and support. My recommendation would be: if it is an important change project, please get a sponsor from the management board to support the change project team.
How should the project team deal with people?
- Be polite and friendly but firm and professional
- Respect the company’s culture, organizational hierarchies and staff tenures
- Avoid using powers of authority, threats, pressure tactics, urgency etc
- Leverage the company’s corporate core values
- Be transparent and share information
- Motivate and engage people with inspiring words and actions
- Recognize and reward small and big successes consistently
How do you keep this project team going?
Intangible recognition
- Allow the project team to share updates in various management meetings
- Mention and quote the project team whenever talking to management or staff
- Ask them to stand up and give them a round of applause whenever possible
- Have one-to-one conversations with them and thank them personally
Tangible recognition
- Special bonuses and off days
- Appreciation awards
- Nominations for advancements and promotions
- Recommendations for overseas training
- Overseas business trips
Best Practices & Take Aways
- Project Team. Project team can often be a group of people assembled because of their subject matter expertise but could lack experience in change management, communication or project management and therefore have to be trained or enabled to lead change.
- Project Vs Change. The project can be a success and yet the change can be a failure. The results coming out of a change project must be sustainable, else there is no lasting success.
- Project Leader. The best person to lead a change project in an international company in Asia Pacific is a local with PMO experience but more importantly is a people-person.
- Project Team Behavior. Project team should be friendly but firm, respect the company’s culture, avoid using power tactics, motivate and recognize people for their efforts.
- Common Challenges. Some of the challenges that a project team can face can be leadership-related such as leaders not performing their sponsorship roles, management circles that rubber-stamp decisions etc. Others can be a lack of resources, lack of commitment and ownership from stakeholders etc.
- Typical Crisis Situations. Typical crisis situations for the change project team are: too much pressure from management, insufficient resources, internal squabbles within project team etc.
- Project Sponsor. If it is an important change project, please get a sponsor from the management board to support the change project team. There is no other way.
- Recognition. Keep the change project team going with intangible recognitions as well as tangible recognitions.
For Those In-Charge of Change 