Change Team SupportSmall, 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 team members) 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 relies 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 the
Change Team: 1.To assist the Change Team in getting the resources (including funding, things, people, time, etc.) it needs to complete the initiative. 2.To win important friends throughout the organization for the efforts of the Change Team. 3.To neutralize powerful opposition to the initiative. If a Change Team gets 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 to 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 -- for any reason -- 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. 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. A team in need of a Champion is vulnerable and in serious danger from external forces. The Team Coach takes a special interest in the relationships inside the team. Like Champions, Team Coaches 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 for 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 the 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 replace its Team Coach. Again though, Change Teams without Team Coaches are vulnerable -- to inside forces. 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 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: What caused the Champion/Team Coach to quit or be dismissed? What does the team require from a Champion/Team Coach? What does the team refuse to accept from a Champion/Team Coach? Finding a new Champion or Team Coach requires a lot of energy from the team, energy that can't be used to work on the Change Initiative. Your Change Team doesn't have the time or energy to replace these people constantly. So finding the right replacement the first time is crucial. Questions? E-mail Heidi Hess at: hess@changecraft.com Written by Heidi Jeanne Hess (Doug Wesley contributed, James Lloyd edited) Check Point (Please complete and submit the Form below) When
you are finished Updated: July 5, 1998 |
