Managing Change

Making the Unknown, Known
By Bob McGannon

Change is the one constant element that must be faced by anyone with the responsibility to manage a project. It is the most exciting and most terrifying item that a project manager must handle. How one approaches this challenge will determine the quality of the product produced, and the project managers perception as a leader.

Changing approaches, procedures, organizations, tactical and/or strategic directions are a pivotal part of the work the project manager must handle in today's marketplace. Whether or not you're creating those transformations, or reacting to them, your success as a PM depends on your ability to process, communicate and handle the questions and doubts that come with change. Taking a structured approach to thinking through change will help you and your project team navigate swiftly.

The successful project manager articulates understandable objectives and delineates them through clear, succinct and measurable plans and goals. The astute PM also understands not only what the actual change itself implies, but the long term ramifications to the project team, as well as all of the stakeholders within the business. The implications and feelings the change will create in the hearts and minds of the team must be understood if the project manager is to successfully communicate, and be able to empathetically listen to the affected employees. Lastly, the project manager who consistently navigates through change understands what will follow the current change in process; what does it enable or restrict in future opportunities. We will explore the three elements of change management we have discussed thus far in greater detail. The key to all of these elements of change is to seek to make the unknown - the puzzlement and doubt that accompanies something new - known.

A Goal to Describe the Results - "Why?" is the first question each project manager must answer for himself and his/her team. "Why?" is a person's ultimate expression that something is not known or understood. Without the answer or answers to this, any change will flounder and the scrutiny of team members and stakeholders will inevitably follow. Your team will reflect your attitude about the change; your buy-in and ability to make the unknown known is fundamental. Fully understanding the motivations behind any change encountered, or creating and communicating the motivations behind the change you are sponsoring, in a supportive (and if appropriate collaborative) way, is paramount.

Closely tied to this is the ability to establish and communicate goals. Well-articulated goals will describe the direction and objectives of the project you are managing; change as part of a pathway to those goals will most likely not require extensive additional selling. Well-described goals will bring the action steps toward those goals into the "known" quickly and easily. Team members who understand that their actions and efforts to facilitate change will lead to a positive result will embrace them much more quickly. If the result is known, the actions proposed to get there will become known in the minds of your team members. The dreaded realm of the unknown will be avoided!

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