Over the last few months, I have read some interesting articles on LinkedIn regarding new ways of approaching change, as well as articles on many of the same old challenges that have always been there.
Having started work in 1982 and having been in change management since 1990, apart from making me old and moving towards the end of my change career, it also gives me unique access to a huge database (my brain!) of experience and actual examples of what works and what doesn’t.

The truth is that in human nature we all move towards a way of doing things that we are comfortable with. We take experiences and adapt our way of managing change from what we have found works for us, or learn what definitely does not work. This results in a unique way of operating that we all have, which matures over time and shapes the professional person we become in our careers.

Even though I am arguing that we all have our own ways of doing things, one thing is true for all of us: some things always work and some do not. Over the years I have come to realise that if you strip away all of the noise and fluff, there are two main pillars of managing change successfully that everything else stems from: having a mandate and communication. Without these two foundational pillars, all change will either struggle or fail.

One saying that I am famous for in the circles I operate in is “you can always have a plan.” I designed this saying to disarm stubborn colleagues who refused to give delivery dates because they had too many variables to be certain. The truth is, providing a date gives focus. It’s a planning assumption, so it can change as the facts become known. As a true Project Manager, I hate “TBCs.” I am allergic to them — they bring me out in a rash, lol.

However, even if you have the best plan in the world, changes can and do still fail. In my experience, two things impact this: you can find that the change doesn’t really have the backing of the true decision makers (a mandate), or the fundamental communication mechanisms of the environment you are working in are deficient or ineffective. Both of these factors can kill change delivery stone dead.

You have probably guessed by now that I am a traditionalist. Give me any project, provide me with a strong mandate and a sound communication approach and framework, and you massively improve your chances of delivering the change. It is true that circumstances change which can end change initiatives overnight, but barring some fundamental change to the environment — like a takeover, insolvency, breakdown of relationship between client and provider, or world events — my approach always works. (And if the worst scenarios happen, you could argue the communication was flawed anyway!)

Show me any scenario where a change initiative failed and, barring the above or unforeseen events at the outset, I will show you where a mandate was not truly there for the change or where the mechanisms of communication throughout the organisation were so ineffective that they impaired your ability to make change happen.

A strong sponsor on a project — one who has true influence and is decisive in decision making — is gold dust and makes my life as the project manager/programme manager so much easier. Conversely, if you have a sponsor who procrastinates or is not truly able to influence senior management decision making, you will have a real problem and probably fail. I have been lucky in my career to have worked with some world-class sponsors, but I have also experienced the other end of the spectrum as well. No prizes for guessing which type of sponsor I prefer.

So, in summary, a lesson for all aspiring young change managers out there: my advice would be to identify at the outset that you have a true mandate for the change you are undertaking; insist on having the true decision maker as your sponsor; and ensure the part you control has clear and effective communication from the top to the bottom. If either of the above are not in place, be prepared for a bumpy ride…

In future articles, I will tell you how to test an initiatives mandate before you commence the change and communication is set up for the best chance of success.