Do you have the right capability to deliver change successfully

As we emerge into the new post-Covid 19 era the change agenda is thrown into stark relief.  Pre-Covid business models and strategies are probably out-dated and, at least, need to be revised where they still have validity.  At the same time as thinking through and refocusing strategic change, many organisations will also be taking stock of how successful change management capability can be developed and aligned in light of their new strategy and altered environment.

Assessing capability is not only about what you do know, but what you don’t know too.  Poor analysis can lead organisations to put a lot of emphasis on areas that won’t give a good return whilst neglecting simple but non-obvious routes to better performance.

It can be reminiscent of the golf player whose handicap remains obstinately in the mid-teens; no amount of rounds and time spent on the driving range bring this down.  Sometimes the round is slightly better, but sometimes slightly worse.  A superficial analysis suggests that it must therefore be the common denominator in both situations, it must be the equipment at fault.  The solution is a better set of clubs – very expensive, but bound to improve the situation.  With new clubs duly procured and pressed into service, surprise ensues when handicaps still refuse to decrease.

Then someone analyses the detail of each round to discover that it is the short game that suffers the vast majority of dropped shots; of course complete rounds and driving range time will have a very diluted effect on addressing the capability gap of ‘soft-hands’ and a steady temperament on the greens.

At CITI we’ve repeatedly helped organisations that, unwittingly, do the same thing.  They know that part of the ‘successful change management equation’ is project delivery capability and that this can be tested, measured and improved.  So there is often a call to develop project and programme management expertise; however it is less frequently the case that an analysis is done of the whole system of change which can often result in the identification of crucial failures in capability that don’t sit with the project and programme managers.  The answer to the question “what is our greatest impediment to successful change management?” is seldom likely to be “the competence of our project managers!”.

A Change Diamond ™ assessment of the nine inter-related systems at play in any change environment looks at all the dimensions of change, not simply the delivery aspect – familiar to all as projects and programmes – and can provide some highly valuable insights into which aspects of organisational change would be best addressed to achieve the greatest wins at the lowest cost.

If you’d like to know more about the Change Diamond ™ or would like to discuss successful change management capability analysis in depth please contact CITI at 01908283600 or via email at info@citi.co.uk