#9: The change agent

Last month we looked at the first of the potential business models you can adopt, namely Subject Matter Expert.

This month we will look at the second one – Change Agent.

Organisations are usually well served with people who can “run” operations, often using established processes and procedures. However, they are not necessarily blessed with people who can bring about effective change, if that is what is required to take the organisation forward. This is where the Change Agent comes in.

Quite often, he or she is operating in a “nether world” between consultancy and contractor, as it is necessary to come up with a plan and then make it happen.

There are 5 main aspects to the role encountered by the Change Agent:

• Helping management to identify the required action – what is the business, where does it need to be, and what needs to happen to bring about the change and create a successful outcome.

• Helping to create a coherent change plan that will lead to the successful outcome.

• Taking a lead role in the management of implementation risk – i.e. how do we deal with all the issues which could be roadblocks, to be encountered and surmounted on the way.

• Helping with stakeholder management – the number and variety of stakeholders (with varying agendas) will need to be assessed, anticipated and handled.

• Finally, and most importantly, transferring knowledge in the process – can the change project be managed in a way that you can leave some form of “legacy” with the client, as to how they could do something similar themselves next time based on what they had learned by doing? This could be a valuable differentiator when you are pitching for a change project.

Next time we will look at the role of the Trusted Advisor. For a more detailed analysis of the Change Agent, please refer to From Crew to Captain.