Facilitating Change in Large Projects

Change Capacity: How to Build It Before You Need It Following my post on change fatigue, I got a few messages asking about proactive solutions. The answer? Deliberately building change capacity before you need it. At one time I was working on successfully implementing a major tech transformation while adapting to regulatory changes and updating the staffing model. Our secret wasn't better project management—it was intentionally building change capacity across three dimensions: 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: We invested in resilience training for all employees, teaching practical techniques for managing uncertainty. Research from MIT shows this approach reduces resistance by up to 32%. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: We established "change champions"—not just to communicate but to protect team bandwidth and raise the red flag when implementation timing and sequence needed to be negotiated. 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: Most crucially, we implemented a "change absorption index"—a simple measure of how much change each user group was processing at any time. When a unit approached 80% of their maximum capacity, new initiatives were automatically sequenced. 📊 Quick Change Capacity Audit: - Do people know where to direct their concerns about change overload? - Can managers successfully negotiate implementation timing? - Does your organization measure and track change absorption? - Are change initiatives deliberately sequenced or randomly deployed? The potential ROI is there: imagine faster implementation times and higher adoption rates when change isn't saturated. In today's environment, change capacity isn't just a nice-to-have—it's the difference between organizations that thrive through disruption and those that merely survive. How is your organization deliberately building change capacity? Have you established formal mechanisms or is it still managed ad hoc? #ChangeManagement #OrganizationalResilience #TransformationLeadership #ChangeCapacity

🙋♀️ How to Introduce Change in an Organization Facilitating transformation is a key literacy for healthcare leaders. In my role opening the new Texas Children's Hospital Austin over the past 3.5 years I worked with lots of young docs who wanted to start things — Programs, tech projects, unique service lines. I was their first stop. But creating something de novo in the largest pediatric healthcare system in the country takes an intentional approach. It doesn't work like a startup. This is what I told them 👇👇👇 1️⃣ Define the change You need a clear vision. 👁️ I do this with a 1-2 page executive summary. Something pithy, subdivided, visionary with clearly thought out operational steps. This should be developed (in your head) with a compelling elevator pitch for those critical hallway conversations. Remember that your vision summary is as much for you as it is for anyone else. You'll never know what you're thinking until you write it down. I never see the subtle lapses in my logic until I've put it on paper. 2️⃣ Create the value proposition Spell out why the organization needs your initiative. 🔡 Anchor your vision in something real: inefficiency, burnout, lost revenue, patient harm, missed opportunity. And be ready with clear benefits. This is where you help skeptical stakeholders visualize how good this will be to the organization. If you can create a sense of urgency it will help your cause. 3️⃣ Seek alignment Get key folks on board. One by one. 🚣♀️ I then disseminate this concept sheet to the highest practical level of leadership in the area want to change — in my case an senior or executive VP. This is key: I share this strategically with one person. The sense of selectivity that comes with knowing they were my first stop can be powerful . With buy-in from someone of influence, I then leverage this on my next stakeholder pitch to players who are more likely to help me bring this thing to reality. 4️⃣ Create proof of concept Show people what you got. 🎭 When you're selling something there's nothing better than evidence — the thing that helps people see the reward for participation. A living example; a brief trial, pilot, etc. In my organization you sometimes just have to bootstrap it and start in order to get to that first tangible chunk of success. 👉 Remember the bigger the organization the more likely you'll meet resistance. It's like gravity, only more annoying — You have to accept it and deal with it. Don't take it personally. Understand that pushback will come and counter with that clear, solid value argument. Persistence, consistency, and time are key elements in getting there — that can be the hardest part. 🐶 Eating the dog food — I just started a bold project of my own and had to use these steps. And every time I do this I learn something new. How do you start something? 📰 If you like this, check out my newsletter https://lnkd.in/g5GWsep3 #Leadership #Hospitals #Healthcare  #management

You're not just delivering a project You're delivering a behavior shift. A new system, process, or tool means nothing if no one uses it. Except most project plans stop at launch. Not adoption. If you're a PM, you're also a change manager. Here's 3 tips to build for behavior AND delivery: ☝ Define what's changing for the end user Every project introduces friction. New steps. New tools. New habits. Map the real impact. Not just the shift in duties, but the human change. ✌ Bring people in early Change lands smoother when people see themselves in the solution. Co-design communications + plans with users. This will make them champions rather than critics. 🤟 Reinforce even after launch The project isn't done at go-live. Change management doesn't just happen at the end either. It's a living process, so plan for training, support, feedback loops, and follow-ups. That's where real adoption happens. Deliverables don't manage change. People do. Make sure to build behavior change into your projects so they're successful. 🤙