What do you do if you want to enhance your change management skills as a mid-career professional?

If you can identify as a 'mid-career' professional you probably have skills that are worth something and others that are, well, outdated. We all do. The best advice I have is to assess what you see around you and what excites customers and management. What do they get revved up about? And then see what in your current company can satisfy that excitement and interest. Can you bring that or be a part of that? You must be realistic and honest with yourself if you are to progress.

👀 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂 🤔 Reflect on who you are, your skills, knowledge, experiences, expertise, and attributes that will provide you with what is needed to transition into change management. Ask for feedback from colleagues, peers, mentors, coaches, and managers of where your strengths are and what areas you could improve upon to transition into change management. Start framing up an approach to sharing your new narrative to your professional network and then just get on and start doing it! ♻️ 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 👌

The further we advance in our careers, the more confident we should be in the value we bring to the table. Confidence is very different from complacency, though - don't assume that the approaches we took in the past are just as effective today. In regard to being a relevant contributor in managing change within your organization or team, take time to understand why the change is happening, and why it is important to adapt. Typically, the thought on everyone's mind is "How does this change affect me?". Seeking perspective outside of your own experience will allow you to relate change in a positive and productive manner to others, regardless of their role or yours.

Understanding Where You Stand - is the priority step which helps you to assess your skills of expertise. Enriching the knowledge with real time projects and change management methods, tools and practice will beneficial for oneself in advancement of career and coping the demand at workplace. Understanding the basics and applying it in the practice will help in one's transformation and active participation for the success. Seeking the potential and constructive feedback from colleagues or mentors or leaders will help us to identify the areas of improvement and to proceed with proactive steps for the change management efforts.

Use tools like Prosci's Change Management Maturity Model. Reflect on past projects to identify strengths like communication and areas for growth like resistance management. Seek mentorship for insights beyond self-assessment and consider volunteer work for diverse skill development. Recognise growth opportunities beyond the workplace for a comprehensive skill evaluation. Transferable skills are crucial as they can be applied across various roles and industries, enhancing adaptability, versatility, and career resilience.

Dive into literature on change management, exploring both classic and contemporary models such as the Cynefin Framework and Kotter's Eight-Step Process. Seek out case studies and successful implementation examples relevant to your industry. Engage in courses, workshops, and lectures to broaden your knowledge base.

Note that "change models" are frequently thrown around without specifying the different purpose each has. For example, some models provide different perspective for understanding the problem (diagnostic models that can be used in combination), others trace how people process change (individual change process where there are several that are very similar), project management models (leading a team effort), and resistance models (interesting but only reinforce the need to do things right the first time).

One thing I have found helpful is to engage and pick your tribe of mentors. Keep adding/changing to fit what resignates with you not only the practice(s). When delivering change management it’s important that you speak your truth in order to gain acceptance of the practices. It’s not a checklist/template nor system. It’s more about relatability. If someone can see the movie play out it’s a win!

🆙 Up Your Game 🎯 From your reflection and feedback you have gained of where you are at with your current skills, knowledge, experiences, expertise, and attributes build a professional develop plan and consider how you are going to enhance existing areas that you do well and what areas you need further growth in. Consider in your professional development plan how you are going to get there and your timelines. Set goals and start building your leadership in change management best practice . 🧱 Build Your Future 🏗️

Devenez un leader du changement accompli. Maîtrisez les compétences clés: Approfondissez vos connaissances en gestion du changement. Développez vos compétences interpersonnelles et votre leadership. Adaptez votre approche. Restez à la pointe des meilleures pratiques: Participez aux conférences et réseaux professionnels. Suivez les publications et blogs influents. Développez votre leadership transformationnel. En investissant dans votre développement, vous devenez un acteur incontournable de la transformation. Propulsez votre carrière vers de nouveaux horizons !

The best way to build on your change management skills to take on a challenging assignment and learn from it. It’s easy to keep doing what you’re good at and seek promotions but sometimes the best learning comes from lateral moves, and taking on a challenge for the organisation that will stretch you and provide lots of learning from success and failures. This will differentiate you from the pack in the long term as a change agent.

Look for opportunities to gain practical experience in leading or participating in change initiatives within your organisation. Volunteer for cross-functional projects or seek out roles that involve change management responsibilities to apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios. These roles often provide a good launching platform to gain better exposure, limit your downside risk in cases of failure due to the support of internal teams and members with greater experience

🌱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 🌳 As you implement your professional development plan to build your leadership in change management look for opportunities to apply your learning. Use reflective practice to consider what works, what didn't, and what needs further learning, testing, or refinement. Gain feedback from those you have worked with as a change manager and use this for further professional growth. Share your learning with others in your professional network. 💬 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 👥

To improve your change management practices, it is crucial to be able to question your own change curve: denial, stress, acceptance, projection towards the future. This allows you to better understand your environment's obstacles and respond to them. This introspection made me discover that I had the capacity and the chance to pass the first two negative stages more quickly even if I generally started my change curve with two days of gastro! Time to digest!

Applying business principles to activism or volunteer work offers valuable insights for mid-career professionals seeking to enhance their change management skills. By engaging in these contexts, individuals learn to navigate diverse stakeholder dynamics, manage resources effectively, and strategize for impact. This hands-on experience outside traditional business settings provides a broader perspective, fostering adaptability and creativity in addressing complex challenges. Moreover, it cultivates empathy and a deeper understanding of societal dynamics, enriching one's approach to driving change both professionally and personally.

🤔 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵 - 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 💭 The role of a coach or mentor are different, so you need to determine what it is you need to support you to transition into change management roles. You may determine you need both, which could be the same person or you could look at having two people perform each of these roles. Use these opportunities for growth, refinement, to test your thinking and learning, learn from them, gaining new knowledge, and building your change management skills, knowledge, expertise, experiences, and attributes. Build coaching and/or mentoring into your professional development plan. 🌱 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗔𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗢𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 🌳

Have your interviewer meet with your coach and discuss their perceptions. Afterwards meet with each individually, they'll each typically have similar main points and though perhaps different nuances and different advice, including feedback to your questions. If they're open to it, ask the people who agreed to be interviewed what they thought. You will typically find they will volunteer to discuss it with you, it's another way of learning. Set up review points, particularly with your coach.

Feedback is the most powerful tool you can leverage to improve this skill as a mid-career-level professional. This can be used to analyze where your strength lies to double up on it, as well as your weaknesses to eliminate for constant improvement. It will also help you identify gaps for improvement as well as the right resources or people to look up to for effective and efficient output. So, feedback first. This defines your next step towards success.

Have you ever been in a moment where your intention was to stop smoking or to start practicing a regular exercise or perhaps trying to lose some kilos following a diet? If you were in some of those situations, you really know how hard it is. Changing habits is one of our difficult tasks we face sometimes in our lives. But if we want to help others to initiate changes is even more difficult than change ourselves. Many times we turn to coaches for helping us to face changes but no matter how skilled are our coaches, we don’t see any result in our employees or ourselves. Many times this fails because we receive the right support but in the wrong time. Everyone has a different moment in which is able facing changes.

Ahoy, me hearty! 🏴☠️ If ye be wantin' to enhance yer skills in steerin' the ship of change as a mid-career swashbuckler, listen up! Seekin' feedback and coaching be the key to chartin' a course for success. 🌊 Ask yer crew, customers, and captains for their thoughts on yer change management skills, and be willin' to learn from their wisdom. And don't be shy to seek guidance from a seasoned mate or a wise old salt who knows the ways o' the sea. With their help, ye'll be navigatin' the choppy waters o' change like a true buccaneer! Arrr! ⚓

Your a change agent so you need to be continually upskilling, reskilling and adapting. What is your goal over the next 12 months? (Write it down). What skills and knowledge do you need to get there? (List them and the reason why that skill/info will help you - what's your purpose for learning?) Who is doing something similar already? (Follow them!) Create your own Learning and Development plan based and put time on your calendar taking courses, reading, practicing, etc. (Create a weekly habit around learning and upskilling). Assess your progress - what did you learn and how has it helped you? (Celebrate your accomplishment). Teach your new skill, explain it to someone else and use it. (Solidify your knowledge).

Ask yourself if your ability meets expectation of change? To make change stick, those affected by the change need to have the knowledge, as well as the ability, to succeed in the post-change world. The ability aspect of change can be vastly different for each of us being impacted by it. To gain ability, we must practice, and some people gain the ability faster than others. As a leader, it’s important to understand where members of your team are in developing their ability so you can provide additional support when needed. If you are working on your own personal change, such as using humble inquiry questions when going to gemba, it’s important to reflect on how it’s going and of course, spend additional time on practice.

I Agree, updating skills and engaging in training sessions and finding new skills to acquire is important, everything is constantly changing and upgrading your skills is necessary.

Arrr, ye scallywags! 🏴☠️ Listen up, for I've got a nugget of wisdom to share with ye: update yer skills like a true pirate on the high seas! Change management be a skill that's as wily as the wind, shiftin' and shapin' with the tides of time. Stay sharp by keepin' yer spyglass trained on the horizon, 🌊 seekin' out the latest trends, research, and best practices in the field. Join hands with other landlubbers in professional networks and associations to swap tales, share savvy, and plunder knowledge. With every update, ye'll be raisin' yer Jolly Roger high and sailin' the ever-changin' seas of change like a legend of the deep! ⚓

Congratulations on reaching your mid-career "change" moment, welcome, I'm happy you're here. Now for the good part, all of the key points in this article are critically important. One thing is missing - the "you" element. That's right, YOU> by now, you are (hopefully) a deep reservoir of experience. You've lived through the ups and downs of 'change (and have the scars as proof), and yes, that's a GOOD thing. Your challenge now is to expertly weave and stitch together stories (based on these experiences). Connect the dots of your experience, create relatable narratives to support change, focus on BOTH the art AND the science. Work beyond the books, be authentically you, and lead the way. You've got this!

"Have you ever said, 'we don't need to reinvent the wheel' or 'let's build on past learnings'? Well, in my opinion, the same applies to your mid-career point. You need a diverse toolkit of change strategies, tactics, and perspectives from your relationships as a foundation for skill development. Once equipped, elevate your game with neuroscience/behavioral approaches or coaching/consulting skills. The sky's the limit when it comes to empowering people! And most importantly, enjoy the ride—you've earned it!"

What I’ve found most important is how any changes affect people most; we all hear that change is hard. However the skills of navigating objections, understanding the unique and fringe use cases, and gaining buy in from the bottom up is paramount. Constant communication on the overall goal, progress, and roadblocks maintains internal trust.

Mid-careerists are ready to update their change management skills when they pivot from making “them/they” statements to “we” statements. Blaming decisions on “them” is a bad habit developed by insecure managers. It’s easy (and lazy) to straddle the fence by saying “they made me do it” to deflect the scorn of unpopular policies. Novice managers think this shows solidarity to the team. It actually weakens the team’s confidence in the entire management structure. Mid-careerists show readiness for next level leadership when they effortlessly incorporate “we decided…” “we are being asked to…” and “when we see x results….” A fun exercise to do with Change Managers is to have them practice saying: “I am ‘they,’” and “we are ‘they’”.

Stay Informed: Stay updated on the latest trends, research, and developments in change management. Subscribe to industry publications, attend conferences, and join professional associations or networking groups related to change management. Develop Soft Skills: Enhance your communication, leadership, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills, as these are essential for effectively managing change and influencing stakeholders. Build a Network: Connect with other professionals in the field of change management to exchange ideas, share experiences, and build a support network. Reflect and Learn: Identify what worked well and what could be improved, and use these insights to continually refine and enhance your skills.