This session is ideal for people who already have some knowledge and expertise in change, who have a change toolkit and want to add to it, and want to:

• explore how context and environment impacts upon the outcome of change;

• understand why and how to manage stakeholders;

• increase confidence in using a number of key tools;

• gain confidence in engaging a broad span of stakeholders;

• build a network and connect with like-minded individuals.

Methodologies work when change is predictable, but what happens when its not?

When embarking on a new project or change effort, we are often prescribed a methodology to follow as the answer to effectively managing the process. This works well when change is predictable and when it is clear exactly what we want to achieve and exactly how we will achieve it. Yet in reality these levels of certainty are rare. Our projects and change efforts involve people, and as complexity increases the prescribed processes, documents, tools, techniques, templates, steps and so on become far less helpful unless we adapt them to the environment we are working within. 

What can help us to be more effective?

In our worlds the course that we actually follow is dictated by the context that we are operating within, and to be effective we need more than a process or methodology to help us. 

The good news is that we can greatly increase our effectiveness by identifying and understanding the type of project or change effort that we are delivering. This allows us to identify the common pitfalls as well as adjust our approach and leadership style to the differing circumstances, ensuring that we are using the right tools for the job at hand. 

In the morning part of this session we will explore the conditions for effective change:

 - Experiences of when the conditions and environment have impacted upon the ability to effect change

 - Explore a lens to view the different types of projects/change initiatives

 - Explore different approaches to leading change through this lens

In the afternoon, we will explore stakeholder management and develop confidence and skills in using tools:

 - Understanding of stakeholder management and engagement

 - Explore a range of stakeholder management tools

 - Gain experience in using the identification and analysis tools

What previous participants said…

... left the session feeling more confident in my capability and felt that the session had provided an opportunity to look at [subject] in a multi-dimensional way. I felt enthusiastic to go back to work and try out the framework we had developed…

It really helped to see that despite the scale of a change we all faced similar issues, concerns and challenges. It gave me an opportunity to do some reflective learning and to think about some of the assumptions and limitations that I may be creating.

The Session:

Open space – We’ve moved away from traditional top down lecture sessions to more informal environments to create an energising and freewheeling exchange

Driven by participants – We know that the sum of the expertise of the people in the room will be greater than the sum of the experience of those at the front. The session therefore redefines who is an expert, and empowers people to share their expertise 

Responsive, engaging and interactive – Effective learning comes from doing and collaborating with people in a safe environment. Our approach is to use a framework that helps participants to explore tools in a collaborative and respectful manner.