Forming the Change Team Once all team members are chosen, it's time to get the Change Team together. Set up a meeting with the people you have selected to go over the change initiative in depth. At this meeting, team members will have a chance to meet one another face to face and they will get to meet the Champion you have chosen. As Change Agent, you must provide the team with a detailed description of the of the Change Initiative and a report of what you learned during your investigation. The team must understand the plan you have prepared and be ready to fully commit to work on it. Provide the recruits with detailed report of your investigation, the conclusions you drew and other pertinent information. Team members will be curious about why THIS group of people was chosen out of all the people in the organization. This meeting is the perfect opportunity to give everyone a short explanation about why each team member was chosen for this particular Change Initiative. You might do this by describing each team member and your impressions of their skills, strengths and, perhaps, weaknesses. Introduce the Champion to the team and explain why this person was your choice for the role. This meeting is also the perfect opportunity for you to field questions and explain the implications of the Change Initiative. Both the Change Team and the Champion must be prepared for the resistance the initiative will create. The Change Team must know who to involve throughout the process of developing the initiative and reinventing the process. Team members must be ready to work with all the people who will be affected by the change and to include them in the changes. What are the Success and Failure Indicators? What are the implications to the organization? As Change Agent, you provide the Change Team and Champion with a road map for the initiative as you see it. It's up to them to decide how they will use it. Preparation must be intense and exhaustive. Both the Champion and the Change Team must understand everything that you have done and know the contacts you have made. Initiatives can live or die on the strength of the preparation and research that has gone into them. Change Initiatives can also die if the Change Agent fails to adequately prepare the team. Don't be surprised if, after hearing the details of the initiative and meeting other team members, someone you chose wants to withdraw from the team you are forming. If this happens, it's best to honor the decision and let the person go. You have an obligation to the team to replace the important skills and other contributions that person took away. Once members of the Change Team leave their first meeting together, they should be prepared to do their own presentation of the initiative. Each and every member should work on it. The vision of the initiative must not only be understood, but also shared. The initiative may become something different from what you saw as a result of your work, but building the right foundation can help it grow from accurate and factual information. Take care to assure that the Champion knows and understands the team. S/he must have a feel for how it will operate and where it is headed. The Champion should have an idea about how individual team members may work together on the team. Are there going to be surprises? Absolutely! There always are. It's your job to cover as many bases as you can and anticipate as much as possible. Surprises should slow the team down, but not destroy it. This is the work of the Change
Agent. The way you communicate to the team will have a profound and lasting effect on the
success or failure of the Change Initiative. © 1997 ChangeCraft ™ Written by Heidi
Jeanne Hess Check Point (Please complete and submit the Form below) When you are finished
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