Phases of Real Time Strategic Change

Each time organisation undergoes real time strategic change, situation is unique. Key players, issues and opportunities are different with each situation and hence the technology used for real time strategic change can be different each time even for same organisation.

To understand the Real time strategic change what are phases that involved in the process need to be understood:

Phase 1 –

Clear Contracting:

This phase is very important. This phase helps develop solid relationship and mutual understanding between the leader and change consultant. Three important things leaders of organisation and change consultants consider based on following principals.

1.       This relation is partnership and a based on fifty-fifty collaborative working agreement

2.       Honesty and openness including sharing assumptions you have of each other, your needs, roles you need to play and the work to be done

3.       Doing work that will have impact on the organization, its members, customers, and other stakeholders.

The core work in this phase is done by defining the scope and boundaries of the process and of the organization affected. What is addressed and who is involved is decided, what success will look like is also discussed. The particular roles the leader and consultants are also discussed and decided through lengths.

How to measure success of this phase?

Change moves forward with the leader involved, informed, and committed as key issues arise, are decided, and the process unfolds.

Phase 2 –

Building Alignment, Ownership, and Commitment

The purpose of this second phase of work is to give all the necessary information and get buy from the top leaders in an organization so they can make informed decisions about the real time strategic change process, they will have knowledge of their respective roles in it, and how they will need to work together in order to ensure success.

How the success will look like for this phase?

Instead of being protectionist and saving their own turfs, leadership teams will act as one team instead of groups and coalitions. Top leadership team will be observed more congruent, launching and being part of cross-functional teams by the organisation. Over time leadership team will become aware of system wide issues and engage in dialogues of removing those issues. And most importantly leaders will be ready to step up for almost everything to make the Real time strategic change a success.

Phase 3 –

Developing an Organizational Strategy for the Change Effort:

The purpose of this phase is to ensure that an appropriate organizational strategy is developed and leadership team is capable of providing the direction needed to focus the organization's energy on doing things right way at right time.

Sometimes it’s desirable that not all the members of the organisation are involved in making large scale change outcomes, but sometimes to involve everybody to revisit or even develop a strategy of large change efforts may have its own benefit.

These Strategies can be developed with six steps:

1.       Identifying and clarifying the basic, important issues

2.       Agreeing on an overall purpose for the change effort

3.       Deciding which people need to be involved in the change effort and how

4.       Determining how much influence these people need to have

5.       Clarifying to people that they are responsible for the success

6.       Exploring the methods, processes, and approaches that will best support people

Phase 4 –

Designing the Real Time Strategic Change Event:

The purpose of this phase is to design an event that is responsive to the issues, considering challenges and opportunities. It is schema of where organisation is and where it needs to be in the future. Two major tasks define the process:

1.       Revisiting and, if needed, refining the overall plan for your organization's change process developed in the previous phase.

2.       Designing the cornerstone of that process.

How success will look like for this phase?

A clear plan of action both at the macro and micro levels that will serve as organisation's guide for the event and the rest of the process

Phase 5 –

Meeting Planning for the Real Time Strategic Change Event:

The purpose of this phase is to establish a collaborative relationship in between the people in charge of managing the event's logistics requirements to successfully plan, stage, and execute. Consultants need to partner with teams logistic head to ensure innumerable actions that need to be taken by logistics teams to ensure the smooth and effective delivery of the actual event. Team building is an important aspect of this phase.

Phase 6 –

Planning Follow-up Initiatives

The purpose of this phase is to create follow-up initiatives that will support people across an entire organisation. This will build the momentum required in the event and support the cause of real time strategic change. Basically these are parallel initiatives which are running along with real time strategic event. These follow-up initiatives offer great value and give an edge to organisation in making change and optimizing results. Once the scope of the overall initiative is known, there are many areas in which follow-up planning can begin and these initiative run parallel to main event of real time strategic change. Continuing these throughout the change process is very important. These initiatives help in creating an organisation in which people are fully involved, feel valued, and know that the contribution they have made is part of a larger whole.

Phase 7 –

Staging Day

The purpose in this phase is to ensure that the leadership, logistics and consulting teams also the staff from the facility where your event is being held, they are prepared to respectively lead, support, and facilitate a successful event. Staging day is final check point before the real time strategic change event begins and hundreds of people begin finding their tables on the event day. This is great time for leaders to get feedback which they have planned on event day. Consulting, logistics and facility teams play a vital role and they can review step by step design of the event. These teams will know how much prepared they are and also roles and responsibilities of the each member become clearer. This is a practice day before event.

Phase 8 –

Holding the event:

Purpose of this phase is to maximize the positive impact of the event. There are tremendous opportunities as large number of people come together and agree to implement the system wide change.

There are handfuls of outcomes which are expected to achieve from this phase –

1.       Increased organisation wide awareness and commitment to new plan

2.       More people taking ownership and feeling accountable for success.

3.       Individuals leaving event having clear understanding and being committed to how they can contribute to the success of the organisation.

Phase 9 –

Implementation of Change Initiatives

Purpose of this phase is to ensure the individual and organisational strategy which was spawned in real time strategic change event is being supported over longer period. This is form of follow-up where it’s been checked if the change which larger group has decided on is being implemented. Action plans of follow-up are developed, responsible people are selected and in this phase.

What real time strategic change will achieve if followed through these phases?

1.       The energy, motivation, and readiness for change built during the event expands throughout the organization

2.       The leadership team visibly demonstrates its commitment to the change effort

3.       Changes are well supported by the people