Monitor

The Monitoring section of the model represents the ongoing meeting process of the leadership team to monitor the overall process and make changes as appropriate to ensure that the plan works and the Vision is achieved. This is the most important section of the model.

This is typically a monthly meeting for half of a day. The meeting starts by reviewing the KPI graphs and comparing current performance against goals. Should progress toward goals not be adequate either the appropriate Active Initiatives have not been selected or Implementation of the Active Initiatives is not progressing appropriately. Leadership should determine which it is and take the appropriate action. The list of Initiatives should be reviewed to see if list of Active Initiatives is appropriate. Leadership could decide at this time to start another Initiative. However, remember to not start more initiatives that you have resources to support. A small number of things done well is better than doing an incomplete job on many. Many organizations are not effective with Managing Change because they attempt to make too many changes at once. The majority of the time in the meetings is spent reviewing the Implementation plans of each Active Initiative. The Sponsor for each Initiative is responsible for providing the update and should include a review of the updated Gantt chart. The Sponsor could determine to have the team leader provide the update. Leadership must hold the teams accountable for accomplishing their objective. Should leadership feel they are not on target for accomplishing the concerns should be shared with the team. Discussions should take place to determine what needs to be done to get on track.

Effective teamwork on the part of the leadership team is critical. Training is usually needed but the leaders frequently feel that it is not important. Having a consultant or facilitator is also critical. The leader needs to be engaged in the discussion and that is difficult to do and also manage the meeting process. Meetings should close by conducting a Process Check. This is a technique to determine the effectiveness of the meeting. The process works as follows. Each team member is to silently make notes in the following three areas. 1) Rate the overall effectiveness of the meeting from 1-10 with one being a waste of time and ten being an outstanding meeting. 2) Identify 2-3 things that were good about the meeting. 3) Identify 2-3 things about the meeting that could have been done differently to have made it a more effective meeting. Then the information should be gathered and discussed with conclusions made regarding how what will be done at future meetings to improve their effectiveness. Conducting a Process Check is most effectively done by a facilitator. Should the leader attempt to do this, the members are less likely to be honest.

How could the overall process for Managing Change fail if this step in the process is working properly?

Implementation

Implementation is how to go about successfully implementing an Initiative. We are finally to where change actually takes place. The following are the steps in the process:

1. Leadership develops a “Charter” for each Initiative

2. A team is formed and the Charter explained

3. The team develops a “Plan”

4. The plan is presented to leadership for approval

5. Team Implements the plan and achieves objectives

6. Team is recognized, rewarded and disbanded

Now more details will be offered about each step:

1. Leadership develops a “Charter” for each Initiative

a. A Charter is a document developed by leadership that makes it clear what is expected, by when and who is to be involved for Implementation of the Initiative. The following are the sections of the Charter to be filled out with a brief definition of each.

i. Initiative: A small number of words that can be used as a reference to the project

ii. Objective: One or two sentences that describes at a high level what is expected

iii. Scope: What is to be included or excluded

iv. Boundaries: Guidelines regarding time and finances

v. Deliverables: A list of what is to be provided upon completion of the project

vi. Measurement: How success will be measured

vii. Team Leader: The person that will lead the team

viii. Team Member: 6-7 people that represent the appropriate groups needed for a successful project

ix. Resources: Persons or organizations that could be of assistance in some way to the team but will not be on the team

x. Sponsor: A member of the leadership team that will oversee the team’s activities and serve as a link to the leadership team

xi. Facilitator: A person with skills for assisting groups with achieving their task

xii. Date: The date the Charter was developed or updated as sometimes changes are made

2. A team is formed and the Charter explained

a. The Sponsor meets with the team to ensure expectations are clear. Team members are to ask any question they might have and share any potential barriers they could anticipate.

3. The team develops a "Plan"

a. The facilitator plays a very active role. The plan works best to be in a Gantt chart format which lists all actions that must be done to accomplish the objective along with who is responsible for each and by when.

4. The plan is presented to leadership for approval

a. Leadership either accepts the plan or makes recommendations for changes

5. Team Implements the plan and achieves objectives

a. The team establishes an ongoing meeting process that will accomplish the task on schedule. Updates on progress are to be presented to Leadership on a regular basis.

6. Team is recognized, rewarded and disbanded

a. The closure process should include having the entire team make a final report to the entire leadership team.

The reward should not be of significant financial value. Now is the time to consider starting a new Initiative.