Change Agents have the ability to plan and facilitate change through active listening, coaching, giving feedback, and providing  advice with respect to  concerns expressed by the targets of change.

Change Sponsors possess the power to control the consequences needed to change behaviors.  The process described here is how we link the efforts of change sponsors and change agents to make change fast and effect.

Large audience,
  "broadcast"
   communications
   by change sponsors,
   followed by small
   group meetings
   hosted by change agents is an effective approach to make best use of the relative strengths of change agents and change sponsors.

Change sponsors have the power to force change to happen, but power alone will not ensure change that is fast and effective.  The role played by change agents in the change process is just as important as that played by change sponsors for three reasons.  First, change agents are typically more believable than senior executives (who are typically the change sponsors).  Let's face the fact that most change sponsors are senior executives who have been known to put "spin" on the truth during their presentations.  We're not saying that all senior executives are not truthful, but most have had lots of practice making things sound as positive and supportive of their interests as possible.  As a result, survey after survey reveals the not surprising fact that employees generally don't find senior executives very believable.  When the question is, "...in whom do you believe?"  The typical response is "the person to whom I report."  

Second, change sponsors are typically few in number and are also very busy people. They will  have very few opportunities for more one-on-one conversations and small group discussions with change targets where opinions can be more easily shaped. Just because of their sheer numbers and placement throughout various levels of the change targets, change agents will have many more opportunities to listen and share opinions with change targets in relaxed, more personal settings.  To provide necessary coverage, a good rule of thumb is to train and deploy about 10% of the change target population as change agents.  Many are surprised and somewhat skeptical that the number of change agents required is so large.  Our experience as taught us that even as many as 15% is not unreasonable - remembering that these are people who still have the regular jobs to perform and don't have a lot of time for their roles as change agents.

Third, a network of change agents is an effective means of obtaining timely, detailed feedback and input from change agents about the opinions of change targets.  Without the information and advice from change agents, sponsors are left to keep repeating the same messages about proposed change initiatives or guess about what change targets are thinking and need to know in order to gain their support.

The Process for Linking Sponsors and Agents

After the initial "broadcast" by change sponsors about planned change initiatives, the feedback of change agents (obtained from their meetings with change targets) is critical to adjust and refocus subsequent communications from change sponsors.  To be more specific, we typically employ a four-step process. 

• Change sponsors use meetings, print materials, the internet or other "broadcast" type of media to communicate messages about the change initiatives to the change targets.
   
• Change agents meet with change targets to determine if the understood the change sponsors' message?  Do they believe what they were told?  What concerns about the change initiatives still exist?  What input would change targets like to provide?
   
• The change manager (the one responsible for implementing the change initiatives) meets with the change agents to summarize/understand the feedback they obtained from the change targets.  These meetings also provides an opportunity for the change manager to obtain the recommendations from the change agents regarding "next steps" needed to be taken to keep the implementation process rolling.
   
• The change manager meets with change sponsors to summarize the feedback  from the change agents and to decide on the next implementation steps to be taken.  In particular, it is at this meeting that the change manager finalizes with the change sponsors, what they will do next with respect to the next round of messages, the application of consequences, etc.  Then the process begins again and is repeated throughout the implementation process.

Many times we have seen change sponsors skillfully execute carefully planned "announcements" about soon to be implemented change initiatives.  Then, over the next few months, change sponsors keep repeating these messages while the questions and concerns of change targets remain unanswered.  When the sponsors become sufficiently frustrated with the lack of enthusiastic support from change targets, they will often turn to "advisors" or other senior executives for opinions.  But they too can only guess what's on the minds of the change agents.

At this point, change sponsors might also turn to negative reinforcement ("make these changes or else") in an effort to force change.  This strategy can produce compliant behaviors, but typically little or no discretionary effort from the change targets.

The process we have described keeps sponsors focused on resolving the questions and concerns of change targets so they don't have to guess about what to say or do next.  Our recommended process also allows us to effectively employ the skills and abilities of change agents to their best advantage. 

Key #4

Linking Change Agents and Change Sponsors