How do you create urgency for change management in your organization?

I'd start with "Why?" following it up with "What's in it for me (the individual)"? These 2 are surprisingly powerful tools that have worked for me in the past. Next, create a minimal instruction set. In my experience, the rate of change is inversely proportional to the complexity of change. Thereafter, socialize it in every possible way. Here, I'd form a team of champions, who are generally respected and popular. I'd win their confidence and motivate them to drive the rest. Finally, publish the rate of change periodically. A dashboard is by far the single biggest tool to drive any change.

"In any organization, change is crucial for growth and adaptability. Creating urgency involves clearly communicating the risks of inertia and the benefits of timely action. Leaders must paint a compelling vision of the future and demonstrate the consequences of not changing. As John F. Kennedy said, 'Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.'"

Before pushing change, take a good look around. What's working, what's not? Happy customers? Engaged employees? Are goals met? This helps pinpoint areas for improvement and shows why change matters. It's like knowing where you're at before choosing a new route. This also builds trust by showing you're aware of the current situation and not just throwing out random ideas.

The well-known statistics is that 70% of change initiatives fail. The importance of understanding the current state can not be overemphasised to improve the success implementing change. In my Change Management course I start with an analysis to understand the root causes of the problem. Only then, you can begin to engage the organization in the process of change. First, one thing I find helpful is to gather information from internal and external stakeholders to understand the underlying causes of the problem and not just the symptoms. Second, I consider important understanding the key stakeholders involved in the change. Try to undersand their motivations to support or resist the change.

Pesquisas funcionam. Por meio delas, é possível identificar o termômetro do clima organizacional, do sentimento dos colaboradores em relação à empresa, o que enfraquece ou possibilita a comunicação entre departamentos e com as lideranças, barreiras que comprometem o desempenho e muito mais. Apresentando dados, é possível levar ao board mudanças urgentes a serem realizadas e uma análise de como essas mudanças estão interferindo na produtividade das equipes. Em relação aos clientes, as pesquisas funcionam da mesma forma e podem ser implementadas para levantar informações valiosas sobre o serviço/produto oferecido. Com dados, é possível levantar as urgências e seguir com as mudanças para as melhorias necessárias.

Defining the current state of your organization involves a detailed analysis of both internal operations and external influences. A significant step is evaluating key internal aspects such as financial health, operational efficiency, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction. There are many tools, such as surveys, interviews, and performance metrics, to gather comprehensive data. Another critical step is assessing the external environment, including market trends, competition, and regulatory landscapes. This thorough examination helps pinpoint where your organization presently stands and uncovers critical insights for strategic planning. A final tool to consider is to use SWOT analysis.

When setting the goal that you want accomplished, be specific. Seek input from the team and be ready to explain the need and reason for the change. A generic goal for juts a larger result of the same thing is a waste of change management. Improving a process to reduce waste and be more efficient, while providing an increase to the bottom line will result in more revenue and wages. The desired state needs to be something the team can get behind and help drive forward.

To make change happen in your organization, first, understand where you are now. Then, paint a clear picture of where you want to be and your vision for the future. Show how change will get you there. This helps make a strong case for change and gets your team on board with the plan.

Make CHANGE a key element of your core values. 🗝 A great example is the 1% Better Every Day approach from Atomic Habits. Making change a daily endeavor will create a sense of urgency in growing and evolving the business, such that you don't get your lunch eaten by others. 🐟🦈 It's also important to set goals, objectives, and deadlines to aim for. 🎯

Communicated urgency can sound more like a directive than opportunity, and doesn't equate to getting buy-in and commitment. Start with your early adopters of change and empower (and allow) them to be the vocal champions of the change initiative influencing those who are more hesitant or resistant.

One thing critical from the Influence Model for organizational transformation is to provide a compelling story for change. In this sense, I've seen that using the Hero's Journey framework works very well.

"Why oh why must we change?!" How often have we heard that, but the challenge to growth is to know how to answer that question. If you sought input from the team in the planning process, included others in the decision, then the TEAM will be able to take ownership of the change. Start with change training of leadership, then prep the teams for the change. Change that is a surprise will struggle to be successful. It is possible to change an entire process without losing member of your team and getting their buy-in to the process - if, you are willing to make them a part of that process.

A team that is a part of the change, because they helped to create the change or agree with the change, will be engaged. Make champions of change, get a reward for making the changes, answer the questions about WHY, and be open for discussion, you will be able to empower your team to make the changes. Top down can work formats can work, but there is more push back and going back to old processes when no one is looking. Once the change starts, it must be stuck to and realize that the team is looking at their leaders to ensure that they are following through too.

Find key players who can support and lead the change. Give them what they need to make it happen, like resources and training. Encourage teamwork, innovation, and learning. This way, your team feels part of the change and takes ownership of it, creating a culture that embraces transformation.

You should involve your team and ask for their opinion as early as possible. This will help you to identify their sorrows and fears up front. With this information, you can arrange, schedule and provide necessary training and resources. Team members who are afraid will get more time to adapt and learn the skills they need. Already excited team members will quickly become experts and can help others who struggle. But make sure that people can also participate during the change and to celebrate even small achievements. This will allow people in your team to identify with the process and let them become co-creators. As a consequence, the change will be more accepted.

Find ways to celebrate. Stickers for hard hats, pins for lapels, stuffed animals for desks, whatever recognizes growth, create a team that can set progress goals and recognize the change as it goes along. Perhaps it is a party at the end of the year to cheer the success together. Much like gamification, break down the achievements into pieces and make them fun. The hard work can then be recognized

Recognize people's efforts and celebrate milestones along the way. This keeps everyone pumped and shows change is worth it. Share the positive results to reinforce the new way of doing things. Make the change "stick" by integrating it into everyday routines and systems. Celebrating success keeps motivation high and paves the way for even bigger changes in the future!

In my experience you don't create urgency for change management. There should be a constant urgency instilled in the organisation to be and to remain at least relevant tomorrow. Therefore, growth, adaption, innovation or any other form of change is necessary.

A organização precisa ter a clareza do por que a mudança é necessária, então é importante utilizar dados, fatos e evidências para mostrar os riscos de não mudar e os benefícios de abraçar a mudança. É fundamental engajar líderes formais e informais para que eles sejam porta-vozes da urgência. Inicie a implementação da mudança com projetos que possam gerar quick wins, ipois sso ajuda a construir e comprovar que a mudança trará benefícios tangíveis. É muito importante manter uma comunicação aberta e transparente durante todo o processo, permitindo que as pessoas expressem suas preocupações e dúvidas. Reconheça e recompense aqueles que abraçam e impulsionam a mudança. Isso incentiva outros a fazerem o mesmo.

Meet with those impacted by the change, listen to their concerns, and be honest about the benefits and challenges of the change. Take your time to create clarity and alignment around the change, and ensure that everyone understands the urgency behind the shift. Ensure that the change is communicated honestly and that leadership demonstrates the urgency, need, and enthusiasm for the change.

With few exceptions, every organization, regardless of its business nature, is playing a catch-up game with technology. The pace at which organizations are undergoing change will only increase going forward. Individuals within organizations need to have the tools, training, and resources to feel empowered. The existing tools and practices might no longer be relevant. In the future, the overarching objective of leaders will be to create workplaces that are agile and adaptable to change and innovation in the truest sense

For a start don't call it something like change management! In today's world of work, everything is changing all the time, it's a continuous state and although some change can be planned (projects, innovations), some change happens and you must have the psychological flexibility in your team as well as the awareness (practical and human) to understand your ability to deal with it.