Change Management for Self

You may have come across a lot of new terms recently or over a period of past few years:

• Change Agents
• Change Champions
• Change Enablers

Who or what are they?  And why are they held so important today?

Let's start by defining the terms:

1. Change Agents:  Popularly known as Agents of Change. 

Refer to those people who, from inside or outside the organization, help it to transform by focusing on improving business processes and interpersonal interactions.  They are responsible for:

• Promoting the value of the transformation that is being undertaken by the organization
• Formulating how the transformation will happen
• Guiding and supporting others through the transformation 
• Ensuring that the new processes, procedures, structures, etc., are implemented in ways that deliver the expected value that the organizational change was to produce      

     

      2. Change Champions:  Refer to those individuals, who within an organization, are either selected or volunteer to facilitate change.  They advocate for change actively.  They can be anybody and not necessarily from management levels.  Their role is to promote:

• New ideas for change
• Support the vision
• Motivate others to be part of the change process

Change Champions and Change Agents can also be used as interchangeable terms.  

      3. Change Enablers:   Refer to the change managers responsible for applying change management methodology.  His role is to:

• Conduct readiness assessments
• Segmetation of impacted employees
• Crafting of change management strategies
• Building change management plans suiting the needs of the people in a customized fashion

So why do we need to understand the terminologies?

In today's scenario, change management is the new requirement for better leadership success.  Since the recession, a lot of business dynamics and market changes have been witnessed.  There is just way too much pressure now than before for an organization to sustain and survive any economic or environmental change that comes its way.  

Today, holding any degree without possessing a skill can lead to be very hard for one to find a job.  From a qualifications based mindset, we are now entering a skills based mindset.  This means, a lot of people need to possess few skills to get a good or even a decent job at hand.  Therefore, people now need to prepare themselves for changes and also gear themselves up for adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.

An entrepreneurial mindset does not necessarily means that one needs to become an entrepreneur or open up a start-up.  It means that one needs to now craft their own career with a specific aim and strategy in mind.  

It has been observed from many senior professionals (from different backgrounds) that we are now entering a stage wherein skills over qualifications will matter most.  This means, a lot of times, people will be challenged to self-learn and adapt to newer technologies, methodologies and ways of working styles. 

One needs to be their own enablers of change to sustain their careers in the next 3-5 years' time.  It is now your decision whether you want to be a change agent or change champion.  

Choose wisely.

- Article contributed by Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach.  She provides free Career Consultations on LinkedIn to help professionals map their careers in the right direction.