Project me: advice from project professionals, for project professionals

We ask project professionals what their attitude towards change is. Do you see yourself as a ‘change maker’ when it comes to projects? Do you like change? What have you learnt about working with change? And what tips or advice would you pass on to your peers? Read on for advice from the front line…

People change people

Alison Whitehead, Transformation Business Change Lead, Agilisys

I love change and lead change as part of my work inspiring and building empathy through daily conversations with people. My advice to others is to ensure you have the ability to listen and build empathy, and acknowledge people can react negatively due to being afraid. I firmly believe if we have a good range of soft skills and are willing to have difficult conversations with people, treating them with respect, we can build their confidence and take them on a journey. Only when we move people to a mindset can we start to realise organisational benefits and shape behavioural change. Processes and tech don’t change behaviours, but people change people!

Managing change is an art

Ed Mason-Smith, Director of Project Services, CBO Projects

Understanding and managing the human side of change is essential for project success. As project professionals, we spend our time putting in place controls and structures to ensure our projects travel smoothly from start to finish. My experience is that the people side of change is not always this linear, as individuals’ needs and understanding evolve over time. Running projects can be a science, while managing change is an art! As project managers, we need to balance our desire for control and progress with the needs and comfort of stakeholders; this can regularly be at odds with project timescales. My advice to project professionals is to understand your stakeholders and to factor in the flexibility needed for the adoption of change into your project plan as early as possible. Remember, if you don’t have the people on board with the change, your project cannot succeed.

Change is never to be feared

Simel Kara, Consulting Director, YouSP

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said: “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.” Being a practitioner in transformation, the pace of digital adoption at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic alone was at such a rate, at such a constant, that I termed the period the beginning of the True Digital Age. After two tumultuous years, the global economy started 2022 with what appeared to be new strength. Then came geopolitical events, which put paid to that optimism. The lean into innovation has not abated, however. Digital change is happening in days, not decades. The path of curiosity is at its apex. In my opinion, this translates to change being accepted far more quickly as a less suspicious outcome and a key enabling factor in a growth mindset-focused economy. Change is never to be feared; it is always to be learnt from and built upon, using the three Cs as anchors: communication, collaboration and coordination.

Consider yourself a leader

Jerome Evans ChPP, Programme Director, Purple Sector

For me, what differentiates high‑performing project and programme managers from the ‘norm’ is their ability to proactively and inspirationally lead change. I’m purposefully not just talking about ‘managing’ change. Whatever job title you may have, ignore it, and consider yourself a change leader: act like a change leader, talk like a change leader and, most importantly, coach every one of your team to embrace change and enjoy the journey. No amount of process or tools will create success alone. No amount of lagging schedule, cost and quality metrics will drive positive change. After all, each project or programme is just a change activity. The secret ingredient, the differentiator, the superpower… is change leadership. What more are you going to do to prepare your team to change?

Be open

Susie Palmer-Trew, Change Lead, Everyday Change

My attitude towards change? Be open. You don’t have to like it, love it or even understand it. But you need to be open to it. Approaching change openly gives you, your people and your organisation time to explore, challenge and engage in the proposed change from a point of curiosity. From this point, you can start to understand what’s ahead of you and how you can influence it. Change journeys are there to be curated, because no two changes are the same, so get comfortable exploring unfamiliar landscapes with an openness as to what you might find, think and feel. But to really have an impact, you have to be in the change, engaged and active in order to influence what the journey ahead feels like.

Be honest about the effects of change

Tamsin Alli-Balogun, Operational Performance Manager, Atkins Global

Despite being a change manager myself, I don’t like having to make changes to my routines. Hardly anyone does. Having to switch to something new takes mental effort. So, when life and work are busy, I’d rather stick with a familiar but cumbersome process than have to learn a new one, even if I know it will pay off in the long run. My tip for introducing a change that is likely to affect people’s routines is to be upfront about it. Be honest that the change might be inconvenient for a while as everyone moves to a new way of working. Having empathy and being realistic, rather than proclaiming that all aspects of a change will be positive, can make it easier for people to accept the hurdle they’ll need to get over in making the change.

 

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE SPRING 2023 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.