Tag: Change management

The Importance of Trust . . . It’s Not What You Think

August 28, 2020

A few weeks ago I was talking with a project manager who wanted an assessment of his team’s capability.  The project was moving along without significant problems, but was approaching an intense period with several critical milestones.  The project manager felt unsettled because his team was not providing the analysis and insight he expected. “I don’t think … More The Importance of Trust . . . It’s Not What You Think

The Missing Part of Change Communication

January 30, 2017

Maybe it’s time to reevaluate the effort project teams put into change communication. Pick any study that examines the effectiveness of organizational change and somewhere the results will say that communication is one of the most essential ingredients of success. Some recent examples include: A 2016 Robert Half studyreported that 65% of senior manager respondents said that “communicating … More The Missing Part of Change Communication

What Is Change Management Anyway? (Repost)

September 18, 2015

  A marketing exec friend of mine gave me a call the other day to catch up.   After swapping stories about families and our current work, he finally asked after years of knowing me, “What exactly is change management anyway?” I had to think for a moment before answering him for a couple of reasons.  First, because he’s … More What Is Change Management Anyway? (Repost)

Revisiting Failure as a Secret to Success

September 11, 2015

Nobody likes to fail.  We think failure is the opposite of success.  In organization life, failure is unacceptable.  It demands action.  It requires a response.  It gets you fired.  It is better to maintain the status quo and achieve mediocre results than to take a risk and fail. Unless you are an effective change leader. … More Revisiting Failure as a Secret to Success

Profile of Change: Thulani Madondo

August 28, 2013

In January I visited Johannesburg, South Africa to speak at the Academy of Management’s first-ever Africa Conference.  The conference brought together leading organization and management scholars as well as social entrepreneurs, service providers and change agents interested in the many theoretical and practical problems presented in Africa.  The continent is home to some of the world’s … More Profile of Change: Thulani Madondo

Words Mean Everything

April 17, 2013

Most change leaders are highly aware of the need to manage their messages. Unfortunately, even when helped by outside consultants with green shoes (I couldn’t resist!), most leaders rarely put into practice everything we know about engagement, communication and managing emotions during times of change. Why? Because dealing with the human side of projects is … More Words Mean Everything

The Truth About Paying for Performance

March 15, 2012

One of the great myths of corporate life is that incentive pay leads to better performance.  Corporate leaders often speak with great moral conviction of creating pay for performance cultures that only reward people when they meet performance expectations.  The logic suggests that if organizations provide a big enough carrot, people will work harder to … More The Truth About Paying for Performance