Learning and Change Management Articles
Our expert staff is well known throughout the industry for its breadth of knowledge gained through years of practical experience. The following articles, written by members of our staff, have been published in industry journals and Web sites.
Unearthing Resistance to Change: Why it Matters
“We tried it before, it didn’t work.” “I don’t have time, I have too many other responsibilities.” “They won’t use it.” “They don’t need it.” “They already know how.” “The system can’t handle it, it’s already too slow.” On and on rolled the excuses until I heard these words: “Management only wants this change so they can get rid of us.” There it was, the underlying reason why this group of employees was resisting change.
Change begins with answering why
By Jeffrey S. Nevenhoven, Senior Consultant, Life Cycle Engineering
During a recent trip to my pharmacist, I experienced a change that came out of nowhere and like most people, I resisted the change. My unwillingness to change almost resulted in leaving $300 a year on the table. Why? Because I was not made aware that a change was happening and why it was being made.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
By Jeffrey S. Nevenhoven, Senior Consultant, Life Cycle Engineering
English explorer William Edward Parry and his crew were exploring the Northwest Passage and needed to go further north to continue their chartings. They calculated their location by the stars and began a treacherous march. After many hours they stopped, exhausted. Parry discovered they were now further south than when they started. He and his crew had been navigating through constantly moving ice floes and against a southward current. At one point they realized they had only progressed one mile in five days due to the ice moving four miles south per day. Parry had expected to be on an unbroken ice plain but instead found that they were on an ice floe that was traveling faster south than they were walking north. In a manner, Parry was taking one step forward, two steps back.
Encourage the Hidden Coaches
By Tara D. Holwegner, PMP, CPLP, Life Cycle Engineering
A major competitive advantage for a company is its employees’ ability to learn, grow and change so they can discover, improve, innovate and meet the challenges of today’s marketplace. An additional challenge many process organizations struggle with is how to harness the intellectual capital of experienced employees and use it to benefit new employees and inform enterprise initiatives.
Coaching Executives to Lead Change
Executives and senior managers now know that they need to apply a structured change management approach to organizational change initiatives so that organizational objectives and sustainable change can be achieved. Thanks to thought leaders, conferences and publications, organizational leaders are equipped now more than ever with information on how to guide and lead their organization through change. However, these same business leaders are struggling to fulfill their critical role of being personally active and visibly engaged throughout the life of their change initiatives.
Coaching Employees Through Change
Spring is in the air and so are the welcome sounds of spring: the crack of the baseball bat as it hits the ball high into the sky, vendors shouting out their treats for sale, and cheers and jeers from the fans. High school, college and major league baseball teams have once again begun their quest for a championship season.
A real-life project manager – with very human tools
Do you want the truth? I’m not a shiny, super-polished project manager with sophisticated processes and tools for managing a portfolio of projects. I’m just a real-life project manager keeping it all together. This is not a stock photo – it’s my real desk, with pictures of my real kids, my real unwashed coffee cup and real dust bunnies
Communication Intervention Part 2
A picture really is worth 1000 words. Our eyes and brains can process an image in as little as 13 milliseconds. The impact and usefulness of images isn’t really news to us. Early mankind and our predecessors recognized the value of imagery some 40,000 years ago. Before Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, humankind used imagery for communication, entertainment and even as magical offerings for an increase in food sources.
Trainer Mistake 5: Managing questions in the classroom
Many subject matter experts and managers are asked or required to deliver training. Most have little training experience so they make mistakes. At the 2015 Association for Talent Development conference Bob Pike, a widely respected learning authority, presented The 7 Greatest Mistakes Trainers Make and How to Avoid Them.
Only YOU Can Prevent Project Apocalypse!
We’ve all had project meetings that start off with momentum to complete a specific action item. After a litany of meeting waylays, this same meeting ends with a halting “Wow. We still aren’t there. We need to schedule another meeting.” These unnecessary follow-up meetings delay your project, costing time and money. Not to mention the toll these meetings can take on stakeholder engagement (or disengagement).
Reflections from PMI Global Congress 2015
The PMI Global Congress 2015 in Orlando, FL was a great experience! Stakeholder Management was a common theme in many of the sessions. Although this knowledge area is new to the PMBOK® as of the most recent fifth edition, it resonated well with those in attendance.
Trainer Mistake 4 – Poor Use of Evaluations
Many subject matter experts and managers are asked or required to deliver training. Most have little training experience so they make mistakes. At the 2015 Association for Talent Development conference Bob Pike, a widely respected learning authority, presented The 7 Greatest Mistakes Trainers Make and How to Avoid Them.
Communication Intervention! Converting a Process Guide to a Communication Map
A communication map is a simplified, visually organized method of communicating information. It clearly and concisely defines what a person is expected to do in an easy-to-follow step-by-step format. Communication maps can include links to other documents and reference material, or even contain embedded documents. They allow the recipient to access all the information in one place rather than having to open multiple documents.
Trainer Mistake 3 – Failure to Chunk Content
Many subject matter experts and managers are asked or required to deliver training. Most have little training experience so they make mistakes. At the 2015 Association for Talent Development conference Bob Pike a widely respected learning authority, presented The 7 Greatest Mistakes Trainers Make and How to Avoid Them.
Trainer Mistake 2 – Too Much Content
Many subject matter experts and managers are asked or required to deliver training. Most have little training experience so they make mistakes.
Are you a Champion of Change?
The company has embarked on a new change initiative. It could be Lean Manufacturing, Safety Excellence, Operational Excellence, or improving Asset Management. Having a great initiative that you want to implement is only part of the equation.
Trainer Mistake 1 - No Transfer Strategy
Many subject matter experts and managers are asked or required to deliver training. Most have little training experience so they make mistakes. At the 2015 Association for Talent Development conference Bob Pike, a widely respected learning authority, presented The 7 Greatest Mistakes Trainers Make and How to Avoid Them.
What attributes should you be looking for when hiring a change practitioner?
By Chad Albanese, Life Cycle Engineering
When organizations look to hire someone to lead the people side of their change initiatives they usually have a set of criteria or attributes that they deem desirable. Identifying the top attributes of a great change management practitioner is a critical step in mitigating the risks associated with your project or initiative.Rules or Principles
By Bill Wilder, M.Ed., Life Cycle Engineering
In my last blog we discussed the fact that an Asset Management Policy is a set of principles that must be communicated by leadership and supervision repeatedly through various vehicles.Are Your Employees Resisting Change? It May Be a Good Thing
By Dave Berube, Life Cycle Engineering
As appeared in Learning to Change
& published in Fleet MaintenanceThe fleet maintenance sector is experiencing many of the changes currently facing industries nationwide, including “green” initiatives, downsizing and equipment reliability initiatives. For vehicle maintenance shops embarking on a major change transformation there is one key activity that is paramount to success: coaching senior managers how to both recognize and manage employee resistance.
