Que faites-vous si votre plan de gestion du changement est contrarié par des obstacles inattendus ?

Be preventive. When you plan change management, you also plan risk management and effective team collaboration—generally, the framework to execute change surfaces unforeseen risks, blockers, etc. Collaborate frequently with the change agent and other team members so that risks and blockers are identified ahead of time. Communicate clearly and concisely with the change team and impacted groups and keep everyone on the same page.

To get back on track from a derailed situation, take a step back and review the nature and impact of unexpected obstacles. Identify the root cause, risks and implications for a more precise picture. Inform stakeholders of the issues and propose rectifications/solutions. Discuss with them the best solutions to apply in each situation. After overcoming the obstacles, review the change management plan again and discuss with stakeholders if any revisions to the original change management plan are needed. Adjust the plan and align with stakeholders before implementation if needed. Engage and communicate the revised plan with the team and implement it. Continue to track and monitor the impact of the plan. Adopt the obstacles as a lesson.

Unexpected obstacles should be expected when executing a change management plan. Before building change management activities I have found that a Change Complexity Assessment is useful. This is a spreadsheet conducted with the project team and key influential stakeholders to create a shared understanding of the environment the change is being delivered into. Specifically it looks at the organisation through a number of lenses: Organisational impacts, Business change complexities, Organisational readiness, and People.

Change management is never a set and forget list of activities. A good plan will include measurement and feedback loops to ensure that your change activities are yielding the right results. When they don't, that's when you change your plan. I find change plans are like a direction of travel, with constant tweaks and nudges to keep the activities aligned with the direction of travel. If the direction changes, for any reason, then the plans and activities need to adjust accordingly.

My experience as a change manager makes me want to engage leaders as soon as possible, early in the change cycle. This engagement creates strong bonds and feedback loops, and ensures that leaders are ready to lead their people through the change. A big part of this is building trust-based relationships and an open dialogue ensuring that the leaders as well as the change team own the outcomes jointly. That way, if something seems to be going off-track, we hear about it early and can make adjustments to the plan. That's how I empower my broader leadership team to help them lead change more impactfully.

When encountering unexpected obstacles in your Change Management plan, promptly assess the situation, communicate transparently with stakeholders, gather relevant information, reevaluate the plan, engage stakeholders in decision-making, allocate additional resources if necessary, activate contingency plans, monitor progress closely, learn from the experience, and seek support from senior management or external resources if needed for successful implementation.