Change and the Organisational Strategy

Every organisation should have a clear vision and strategy. The Change Managers’ role is to ensure the organisation strategy is linked to the Transformation Programme to the appropriate organisation, business, IT and/or customer strategy. A clear strategy and purpose empower people. Empowered teams participating in the transformation and decision-making process have a lot more ownership with the opportunity to directly impact strategy execution, business benefits realisation and improved business performance.

Check out “Questions to Ask” in the Facts, Rules and Stories section.

Not the Change Managers Role

It is NOT the Change Manager's role to develop the organisation, business, or strategy. Some organisational Change Leaders may have the skills, knowledge and experience to develop the strategy. However, the success of any change initiative is wholly dependent on the organisation defining and owning their organisation’s strategy and the transformation programme’s strategy, goals and benefits.

Read our Post – Five Roles Change Managers Should Not Perform

The Change Strategy

As noted above, the Change Strategy is defined by the business. However, a successful Change Strategy may require the involvement of managers and employees early in the Change Programme. Facilitating this bottom-up process is not the Change Manager's role. However, it is essential to engage with the process. Engaging at this early stage will provide the Change Manager with critical information for the stakeholder analysis. And bottom-up goal setting is great for innovation and provides an opportunity for early engagement with key stakeholders.

Linking the Change Initiative Strategy

The Change Programme must link to the appropriate organisation, business, IT and/or customer strategy. The programme needs to consider three dimensions:

The organisation strategy for the core business initiatives.
The strategy for the transformation programme is to complement the business and generate the agreed benefits.
The need to consider and plan for possible interactions between the business and the Change Programme. This must include both opportunities, such as planned synergies, and risks, such as potential cannibalisation and/or disruption of the core business.

Document the Change Strategy

However, the proposed change won’t go anywhere without executive buy-in and ongoing support. So, get it and get it early. The Change Manager will work with the Sponsor and Business Stakeholders to confirm and document the strategy in the Change Implementation Plan.

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