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This came top of the list. This is understandable of course due to the nature of the role and the potentially volatile situations a change manager may find themselves in. Change may be a good thing for the company, but it isn’t always welcome.
According to Tuckman (one of the many change gurus you will encounter on the APMG Change Management course), Change in an organisation can be parallel to grief because it is so emotionally charged. Knowing how to read the room creates an environment of psychological safety (a big topic in V3) for those affected by the change.
The Learning Guru covers this expertly in its eBook ‘Emotional Intelligence and empathy in project management,’ available on Amazon kindle, audible and kindle unlimited.
Send a message to the team on sales@spoce.com if you would be interested in receiving exclusive free access to this book.
Top of the list too came strong communication skills.
Getting the actual point and getting it across so everyone is on board, is a skill requirement of Project and Change Manager’s alike. This is particularly important when handling stakeholders, including those who will be most affected by the change and feel most emotional about it. If the Change Manager can communicate the benefits effectively to the right people then they are on the path to success.
Change Managers are constantly met with new challenges and bumps in the road. Resilience to this can inspire confidence in the team to do well.
A great Change Manager will always look at the bigger picture, making sure that what they are implementing is still in line with what the organisation needs. Understanding the broader business goals enables them to assess the impact of change correctly and stay on track.
Change Managers need to lead teams and provide them with self belief. An interesting read in the Harvard Gazette suggests that this may not always be what it looks like. Self-appointed leaders can often be the least effective in the job and sometimes good leadership is the unassuming motivator at the back. A very different skill to the ones above.
Great Change Manager’s often have their skills and expertise formalised in the form of a Change Management Qualification such as the APMG Foundation & Practitioner qualification. This covers a whole host of theories and research into why people behave the way that they do and what makes change successful.
Experience not only makes it easier to convince others that you have the skills to do a good job but also allows you to feel you are making the right decision for your career. Her are some roles that are great precursors to Change Manager:
Project Management: Do great project managers make great change managers? It would seem so, the skillset required can be very similar. Project manager roles can sometimes be considered to be intertwined as project managers often find themselves overseeing elements of change initiatives and transformation.
Part of a change team before? Change coordinator and change analyst can be a great starting point too.
Organisational development specialist often facilitates change initiatives.
HR Partner plays a crucial role in the people side of things and ensure that employee concerns are addressed.
Transformation manager is specifically tasked with leading large scale transformation (another word for ‘change’).
So, great change managers are often characterised by a combination of emotional intelligence, resilience, leadership, strategic thinking and adaptability. Their experience often includes project management or previous change roles and is supported by the relevant training and certification.
For more information or to chat to the team call 01202 736 373.
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