The Middle Manager Problem Nobody Talks About
Ask most change practitioners where middle managers fit in a change effort, and you will get one of two answers. The first is that middle managers are a communication layer. They receive messages from above and pass them down to the people doing the work. They are, in this framing, a delivery mechanism: useful for […]
The Dashboard Is Green But Everything Is Wrong
Recovering Judgment: A Series on Practitioner Judgment in Change Management – Article 2 I was brought in after the second failure. A large global manufacturer had been implementing SAP HCM. By any formal measure, the project had been well-managed. Status reports were produced. Stakeholders had been engaged. Communications had gone out. Training had been planned. […]
Change Moves Through Contact
I was tempted to describe change as similar to “Brownian motion” but, well, that just felt too clever, a little too precious. And, besides, the point I wanted to make is much simpler than that: Change moves through organizations by contact. People talk. They interpret. They misinterpret. They compare notes. They test the official story […]
Communicating About Change with Clarity
Much is written about communication during change: critical communication by leaders regarding vision and strategic intent, general and targeted communication to stakeholders, the value of storytelling, even the notion that communication is the lifeblood of successful transformation. And, as we know, most communications are either read, skimmed, or ignored. But communication is both indispensable and […]