Change Course

Resistance is a fact of change. But, blaming people for "resisting change" is the easy way out. I recently wrote on the subject of resistance and how Connected Change (TM) handles this very differently. Personal resistance absolutely happens. But we need to be managing the sources of resistance before they become an issue, by identifying where the change will conflict with the existing s...

So many people have joined us at the Change Course podcast over the past few months, and even more in the past few weeks! Welcome! I think you'll like it here. So, given that the podcast has been going over a year now, I've come to understand that some of you are curious... about me? A friend, who is also a listener encouraged me to record this episode, although I am a very private person...

Well, I don't want to disappoint you, but it it actually isn't a secret! If at first you don't succeed... Try, try again. In this episode we follow up on our saga of discovery on this persistent statistic and touch on how we got here. Much of what I find in this episode is that the secret of success is figuring out how to define success in the first place. I tell an amazing story of my...

Part two of an adventure to discovering the source of the claim that 70% of change management efforts fail. Missed part 1? Check it out here : Picking up where we left off last week, I’m continuing my quest to find the origin of the claim that 70% of transformations fail. And things start to get… curiouser and curiouser… We get to go back… way back to the 90’s.  Since everything 90’s is back again...

Part one of two on an adventure to discovering the source of the claim that 70% of change management efforts fail. How many of you have heard this statistic? I’ve heard it probably a million times, and I’m sure you have too! In fact, It makes me feel pretty competent because none of my change projects fail, so obviously I must be a genius! In all seriousness, when I talk about this with other chan...

Power in organizations can be collected, and concentrated in a few different ways. Having information, being able to use it and being the gatekeeper of data and information capital or assets is how I'm seeing power being concentrated in organizations today. So what does this mean for a change manager and change leader? Listen to the episode to find out! Want more amazing content? Sign up for t...

Whoops! I made a technical error and this is the actual episode for "Tastes Like Crow". Previously, episode 55 played a repeat of "I'm not here to make friends" Thanks to the listener who pointed it out to me, and thanks to all of you for your patience! I wrongly judged someone and then someone else wrongly judged me.  How are these two things related?  Well, it has to do w...

Donut stop believing A critical part of making a transformation successful is your team.  The transformation team is an essential element to making the change happen, and one of the ways to get a cohesive team, is building a subculture. You're leading a group of disruptors, and sometimes that disruption is going to chafe against prevailing culture. Your people need a safe space to come back to...

Sometimes the problem you want to solve isn't the problem that you need to solve. Despite what we want to do, we can't change everything, everywhere, all at once!  I tell you a story about a CEO I met last week who is taking on the family business.  It's an amazing opportunity and of course, when there's family involved, it can get complicated. I share what I've done with other...

I'm here to make change When we meet with very resistant individuals, sometimes we have to go outside the regular change playbook, especially when these people hold a lot of power and influence.  I update you with a story about one of the execs I'm currently coaching that talks about how they finally were able to get a very resistant individual in line with the coming change.  Its an updat...

I'm hoping in this episode that you can learn from my mistakes!  In this one I talk about one of the red flags I encounter when starting out in an organization.  Whenever you're the new kid on the block, you'll inevitably meet people who tell you that they "Love Change".  Usually they will say that they want to help you and be part of the initiative because they think change...

When we're reached implementation day for change (day 0) and we're ready to go, we're done right?  If you've ever tried to change, you'll know that the decision to change, or the big "implementation deadline" of the first day of change is only the beginning!  In this episode I talk about the Messy Middle, what it is and strategies to get through it, and why we're...

Have you found that some organizations just do change so much easier than others?  I have.  Part of Connected Change (TM) is understanding how group dynamics, relationships and organizational systems affect change, but I've also found that there are aspects of culture that make change easier or more difficult.  Culture is driven by the purpose of the organization, but there is also the factor...

Ok. so you're a new change leader and this new job you have,  is overwhelming!  In fact you've never felt more uncomfortable in your life!  Pair that with fear (failure is not an option) and you've got the perfect storm for a very bumpy ride.  In this episode I talk about the power of coaching and how delving deeper into understanding yourself can really help you become a stronger chan...

To work from home or not work from home... that is the question. We're updating the story of our resistant executive and where we are with the changing office norms, both individually, in this story, and more broadly with how trends are more broadly playing out.   We also get into generational impacts, why this might be happening and how it helps to explain some of the behaviours we are seeing...

It's about that time of year when the wheels fall off of our New Year's resolutions and we face the cold hard reality of our holiday excess.  January 24th is called "The Most Depressing Day of the Year" for good reason! But what can we learn from our mistakes around New Year resolution failure, and what can it tell us about how we actually change?  This episode is a warm hug, as...

That's a wrap on season 1 of the Change Course Podcast.  Can you believe it's already been 1 year? Thank you to everyone who has listened, sent me your feedback and asked questions.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I've got an update on the leader who I talked about in "Employee Engagement" and what I think will happen when this person gets back from some well...

Listen all y'all it's a sabotage!   Seriously though, sometimes it feels like change resistance is intentional.  I once had a leader in an organization intentionally sabotage the project I was working on, not only that, but they got their whole team involved. It felt like overnight, it went from hard to impossible.  The truth of it was that this leader had shared a very old but stil...

Is it ever a good time for change?  Based on my experience and the clients I work with, when asked... is this a good time for a change? The answer usually is "no!".    One of the things that makes change successful is finding the right time to implement change. Sometimes this can mean looking for or using opportunities that come up to help you.  Changing course happens, and it can happen...

Sometimes we come across really difficult change resistance.  If there is a person involved in the change, who holds a considerable amount of power, and is resisting or worse, sabotaging change, what can you do?  Alternate titles for this episode were:  "I'm not here to make friends", and/or "Don't hate the player, hate the game".  but really, this episode is all about...

What does a transformation office actually do?  If you're new to the game of change, you might be wondering about this.  I break down the ways transformation offices are structured and why, and how the focus changes for different types of change.  Importantly, we get into how change actually happens.  We talk through the 4 phase Connected Change (TM) model, and what you and people involved in...

Digital transformation,  technology transformation,  we get into what this is all about and how this type of change differs from org changes.  I tell you a story of a client example, of what this actually looked like and how we approached the change.  We break down how to lead this type of change if you're a functional leader or executive and talk through how the transformation office differs...

In this episode I break down the first type of transformation, organizational change.  We talk about the 4 types of org changes and what that looks like, and the critical role of the transformation office.  I break down the roles and what each bring to the transformation effort, and how you, as an executive and sponsor play a role in transformation success.  show notes at www.connectedchange.com W...

Organizational transformation -- what a big word. If you're a manager, leader, or new change manager you've probably heard this term tossed around.  In this episode I break down what org transformation is, and what the different kinds are.   We get into the role of change leadership vs. change management and how different types of transformation require different skills.  show notes on www...

Have you been asked to fill out an employee engagement survey recently? Have you heard the term, quiet quitting? How are these related? Quiet quitting is a new term for something that has been around for a long while… and the uptick in organizational activity around employee engagement and engagement surveys is trying to address the wrong problem with the wrong tools. What we’re seeing is resistan...