Ten ways to remove the roadblocks to change

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Ten ways to remove the roadblocks to change
By Michelle LaBrosse

A few weeks ago, we ran the first part of Brothers in arms: change management and project management. In that article, we explained how change management and project management work together to accomplish change. In this article, we'll look at ten ways to remove the common roadblocks that get in the way of change being realized. Since we want to change quickly, let's dive right into to our first suggestion.

Change roadblock remover #1: Engage
When you engage people from the beginning of a change instead of reacting case-by-case as they push back, you increase speed, improve morale and keep the focus on the results you want to achieve.

Change roadblock remover #2: One
Make sure your leadership team speaks with one voice and vision. Change is disconcerting enough, but even more so when the leaders are not on the same page.

Change roadblock remover #3: Peel
Make sure you peel back all the layers of the organization. As a plan moves from strategy to design and implementation it affects every level of the organization. So if you only focus on one layer or level, your change will get stuck.

This is where good project management skills are critical because project management principles build cross-functional teams that understand how to pull change through any size organization -- one project at a time.

Change roadblock remover #4: Answer
Don't tell people information like you're blowing smoke through a megaphone. Instead, answer their questions, and in a time of change, there are really three questions: What is the change? Why is it happening? How is it happening?

"Why" questions drive to the purpose and make it possible to find new and better ways of doing things. "How" gives people a sense of calm because they can see a way to participate in their own destiny.

Change roadblock remover #5: Incentivize
It's now common knowledge that most humans don't like change, so in order to keep them in the game, you have to make it worth their while. It's not necessarily financial, it may be more about recognition or lifestyle-based. Maybe one of your best people wants to work from home two days a week and in exchange for that will provide a higher level of commitment to meet the goals. Be creative.

Change roadblock remover #6: Over-communicate
When you're working on a plan and you've been living with it for months, it's easy to make the mistake that you think others will easily understand all the finer points. When in doubt, choose to over-communicate. I can't think of a case when a program failed because there was too much communication.