Three Types Of Change Agent

A big challenge for being an effective change agent is to change their own mindset and behaviors to ride above the learning curve, allow their teams to do the change that is needed. 

Change is an unspecific way of saying the transition from one to another state. Business Change Management is about managing everything that is necessary to get people to adopt new ways of working. Change is inevitable, and the only differences are the reasons and goals behind the change, as well as the scope, depth, and breadth (why to change, what you need to accomplish, what does it consist of and what does it impact) of change. There are incremental changes and radical changes. Good practice of organizational change should be a full lifecycle approach, not a tag on at the end, especially for the large scale of change such as digital transformation, which should not be undertaken lightly because it must align diverse and divergent stakeholders' interests toward a common goal. A Change Agent is not just a title, but a means toward reconciling all the different factors toward a unifying and driving motivation. It’s a set of fine-tuned skills and a gaming changing mindset. Here are three types of Change Agents.

Change specialist: Business Change Management has a broader scope, including such as stakeholder management, communications, process or organizational change, training, or digital readiness etc. There is also technical change management which includes changes to business environments, configuration management, or software releases, etc. Whether these changes are related to IT, business processes or models, the right change specialists provide knowledge about change scenario, transparency about the tools used and the factors to be managed. They present the technical skills to manage change, set interactive procedures to keep the process moving forward and initiate effective communication to engage people. They are the professional change agent with a set of tools, apply change mechanisms to make change happening and bringing about behavior change to achieve objectives which can truly make positive progress in either an organization or beyond.

Change managers: During the implementation of change initiatives, be it software, re-organization,  new regulations or rules, managers are confronted with leading change. It represents the political desire to go for the change. In almost every case, if this role was not functioning, change failed or was at least delayed in a very costly way. They have to internalize the change and its effects on their team, organizations, and their world. No one person knows enough to always have the perfect solution. Work with the informal opinion makers as much as the formal structure. Change managers should know what they want (a clear vision), provide clear directions, bring the cohesive change process, and stand by their word, motivate and drive changes, to achieve the relevant Change Management deliverables.  Periodic assessments are necessary to track initiative-steps. You must show 'progress' as you go along. Change managers present the organizational knowledge, have built trustful business relationships, and have established their credibility to lead business change initiatives. They are the voice upward. It is their feedback that can result in modifications to the implementation process to ensure change success continuously.

Digital transformers: Change the game is the mindset. Transformational change needs resolute leaders who often first to realize the threats and appreciate the opportunities, and have the passion for making things happen. What a transformative leader most often does is to convey the vision, harness the skills, talent, drive, passion and enthusiasm of the whole organization and direct that to a unifying and shared goal. People can be resistant to change for several reasons namely for being taken out of their comfort zone and it should be unequivocally understood. People fear what they don’t understand. People make assumptions based on their own experiences and perceptions. People naturally resist change. Change requires the management of people’s anxiety and confusion or conversely stimulates their excitement and engagement. Change leaders are fundamentally concerned about the human/emotional aspects of the initiative, which is very hard to specify in terms of deliverables. They intend to change psychology and mentality, try to fix things at the mindset level. They must truly listen to what their people have to say about solving the issues identified, and not let their own prejudices and preferences get in the way. Change leaders make a significant impact on the invisible, but the most critical change ingredient - culture. Culture is the collective mindset and attitude, a cultural change through the change lifecycle enables everyone, wherever they are in that cycle, to accept the direction of change and focus on benefits realization.

Change is the new normal with increasing speed. All sorts of change agents are in demand. A big challenge for being an effective change agent is to change their own mindset and behaviors to ride above the learning curve, allow their teams to do the change that is needed. Change is never for its own sake, it's about making the improvement or creating synergy in the multitude of its impact across the organization or the society. People-centric change methodology is an evident reinforcement and proof of "best practice" of change leadership and management.

Posted in: Change Management,Digital Master,Leadership Master