Change Team Support Small, self-managed Change Teams are vulnerable and their initiatives are easily killed or sidetracked. The work of transformation disrupts people's lives and makes people (including the Changers) feel insecure. This work challenges those who ruled the old processes. Effective Change Teams spend almost all their energy implementing change. Change Teams can be easily derailed by external or internal forces. For these reasons, the Change Team will rely on two essential support roles played by people who are not team members. The Champion assists with external forces and the Team Coach assists with internal forces. The Champion serves three purposes for Change Teams:
If Change Teams get drawn into battles with opponents, the initiative usually fails. Even if the team wins the battle, it has little energy left to do change work. Also, powerful opponents can easily dry up the resources needed by a Change Team -- they can starve the team's initiative to death. That's where the Champion comes in. The Champion is not a member of the team. S/he has no control over decisions the Change Team makes, nor is s/he the leader of the Change Team. It is important, though, to treat the Champion as a partner in the effort. Stay in close communication help each other avoid unwanted surprises. Seriously consider the ideas offered by the Champion, since s/he adds another dimension to the team's information. If the Champion strongly disagrees with the team's direction, s/he may decide to quit. On the other hand, the team may decide it wants a different Champion. Teams have the right to change Champions whenever they choose. However, replacing a Champion is a serious decision and should not be taken lightly. The problem is: no real work can be done until a new Champion is found, recruited and contracted. Teams that have fired one Champion, may find it difficult to get another to join in. Teams between Champions are vulnerable and in serious danger from external forces. If you lose your Champion, finding a new one must be the team's primary consideration. The Team Coach takes a special interest in the relationships inside the team. Team Coaches, like Champions, are not members of Change Teams, nor are they Change Team leaders. They offer vital support for the team and its work though they maintain a somewhat detached relationship. The Team Coach challenges the Change Team to push boundaries and to work more effectively together within the team. The Team Coach is not responsible for the success or failure of the team's Change Initiative -- only with how the team develops and works together. The Team Coach works for the entire Change Team, not for individual members of the team. Her/his responsibility to your Change Team is the overall health and well-being of the team, itself. Like the Champion, a Team Coach can choose to quit working with a Change Team just as a Change Team can choose to fire its Team Coach. Again though, Change Teams without Team Coaches are vulnerable -- to inside forces. And, if your Team Coach has quit, it is typically because your team refuses to take care of itself. Unresolved team conflicts or a lack of team growth can destroy a Change Team sometimes faster than any opponent could ever hope to. Replacing the Team's Supports: If a Change Team has to replace either its Champion or Team Coach, that must be its primary focus. Change Teams require the different kinds of support both roles offer. The team can begin this process by answering a few questions in very specific terms:
Finding a new Champion or Team
Coach requires a high level of energy from the team, energy that can't be used to work on
the Change Initiative. So finding the right replacement the first time is crucial. Your
Change Team doesn't have the time or energy to replace these people constantly. Choose
replacements carefully. © 1997 ChangeCraft™ Written by Heidi
Jeanne Hess Check Point (Please complete and submit the Form below) When you are finished
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