DEVELOPING CHANGE AGENTS

Session 3

Change Agent

Definition : Someone who "alters human capability or organizational systems to achieve a higher degree of output or self actualization.“

Change agents are leaders who cut across the organization and its business units without regard to the traditional hierarchy.

Often these men and women are freed from day-to-day tasks in order to focus solely on leading and driving change.

Directly or indirectly, they implement new processes, train employees on new procedures, and act as role models to demonstrate new and better ways to work.

For example, change agents might spend more than 50 percent of their time visiting areas undergoing change, auditing progress, or advising managers on how to improve performance.

Key Competencies of Change Agents

Objective & Futuristic

Sensitivity to changes in key personnel, top

management perceptions and market conditions, and to

the way in which these impact the goals of the project.

Setting of clearly defined, realistic goals.

Flexibility in responding to changes without the control

of the project manager, perhaps requiring major shifts

in project goals and management style.

Key Competencies of Change Agents

Roles

Team-building abilities, to bring together key stakeholders and establish effective working groups, and to define and delegate respective responsibilities clearly.

Networking skills in establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within and outside the organization.

Tolerance of ambiguity, to be able to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain environment.

Key Competencies of Change Agents

Communication

Communication skills to transmit effectively to colleagues and subordinates the need for changes in the project goals and in individual tasks and responsibilities.

Interpersonal skills, across the range, including selection, listening, collecting appropriate information, identifying the concerns of others, and managing meetings.

Personal enthusiasm in expressing plans and ideas.

Stimulating motivation and commitment in others involved.

Key Competencies of Change Agents

Negotiation

Selling plans and ideas to others by creating a desirable and challenging vision of the future.

Negotiating with key players for resources, for changes in procedures, and to resolve conflict.

Managing up

Political awareness in identifying potential coalitions, and in balancing conflicting goals and perceptions.

Influencing skills, to gain commitment to project plans and ideas form potential skeptics and resisters.

Helicopter perspectives, to stand back from the immediate project and take a broader view of priorities.

Change Agent Program

It comprises of 3 elements:

Designing the Program: two most important things when creating a change agents team are defining the roles of members and establishing a reporting structure

Team Members Roles:

Executioners

Experts

Custodians

Coaches

Controllers

Change Agent Program

Reporting structure:

Centralized – core team reporting to the top management

Encourages new ideas, thorough development of new

thinking, standard solution for the organization

Decentralized – foster greater skill building, quicker

dissemination of program’s values, better customization

Determinants :

Short term priorities

Long term roll out plan

Organizational Culture

Recruiting & Developing the best team:

Identifying credible candidates

Making a compelling case for team members

Integrating with the front line:

Line managers need to actively participate in the

process

Conducting joint sessions to remove communication

barriers and build support