Making Change Work

From new management and corporate restructuring to updating processes and improving workflow, change is inevitable in the workplace. The "status quo" continues to disappear as organizations compete for market share and scramble for new customers in an environment that's changing technologically by the minute. Consequently, new ideas for organizational improvements are everywhere. Is your company adept at taking these ideas and making change work, or are you crumbling under the pressure?

You've seen it happen time and again. You or someone you work with comes up with an excellent new idea to implement in your organization. It's logical, sensible, and has the potential to make a strong, positive impact toward helping you reach your organizational goals. Just when you think everyone is ready to move ahead, the idea receives pushback. Some managers and supervisors choose to ignore it, while others openly fight it. You're locked in a standstill, wondering why progress has come to a complete halt.

Change is one of the most common challenges faced by every organization. Even when companies pinpoint the results they're looking for, they often have neither the tools for measuring progress nor a good understanding of the precise actions required to achieve the desired outcome. The fear of the unknown can be paralyzing, and can cause tension, frustration, and lost opportunities to gain a competitive edge.

Once change does get the go-ahead, does your organization suffer from:

• Employees set in their own ways who refuse to cooperate, collaborate, or communicate appropriately?
• Individuals who put their own personal desires ahead of supporting the change?
• Coworkers who fear their jobs may be in jeopardy if they support controversial change?
• Managers and supervisors who communicate (either verbally or nonverbally) their reluctance to change, negatively swaying their direct reports?
• Organizational paralysis due to a fear of how to properly enact change in a manner that achieves positive results?

If these situations sound familiar, you're not alone! Now, with the techniques and how-tos taught in this information-packed program, you can develop the skills needed to become an agent of change and really make change work for you, your employees, and your organization. You'll begin to understand the effects change has on people, how to communicate it in a way that gets even the biggest skeptics on board, and exploit the positive opportunities that often accompany change. You'll discover how to get rid of habits that are hampering success and develop a comprehensive replacement strategy — built around best practices — that will make change work.

Workplace change has the potential to deliver remarkable results — providing you know how to orchestrate it properly.

This program isn't a pep talk; it provides you with a proven systematic approach to continuous organizational improvement. You'll uncover strategies for converting your hold-outs into partners for progress and watch productivity soar. As a manager, supervisor, or team leader, it's imperative that you aid your employees in taking ownership in change, become an ambassador for progress that upper management expects, and successfully align your team, group, or department with your organization's visions and goals.

If change is inevitable during these turbulent times, you and your organization should implement incremental positive change that keeps you ahead of the pack.

Don't spend another day in a stagnant work environment where fear has taken hold and progress has stalled. This insightful one-hour program will give you and your colleagues the skills needed to introduce, implement, and encourage change. Take full advantage of the opportunities at hand and gain a competitive edge on the competition by making change new, making it positive, and making it stick. The program will pay for itself many times over!

• Analyze the "performance gap" by examining your organization's current state (what isn't working) with the desired future state (the results you're looking to achieve)
• Brainstorm ways in which the progress of desired change can be quantified and measured
• Identify target actions that, if performed on a consistent basis, will have the strongest influence of desired change
• Differentiate among those in the organization, department, or team who are willing, reluctant, apathetic, or resistant to change
• Identify the three essential questions necessary for co-developing change-directed vision statements that link the employee's role in making the vision a reality
• Prepare concrete performance goals that reflect new proficiencies, behaviors, and ways of interacting essential to implementing change
• Create a step-by-step action plan including anticipated challenges, possible preventions, and definite timetables
• Formulate compelling stories about why forgoing change can generate negative consequences while enacting change can provide positive results
• Evaluate your physical — and psychological — workspace based on its ability to positively reinforce change