ATD Blog
Kick Off Your Next Change Initiative With These Three Questions
Tue Mar 30 2021
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Want to get your change initiative off to a great start? Try conducting a post-mortem before your project even begins.
Want to get your change initiative off to a great start? Try conducting a post-mortem before your project even begins.
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You’ve probably participated in your share of post-mortems—or after-action reviews (AARs)—where you and your team review a change initiative you’re wrapping up, all to improve performance in future change efforts. You and your colleagues focused on identifying the factors that helped you achieve the project’s objectives as well as obstacles you encountered. From financial and people resources to communications plans, you took a deep dive into what proved effective and ineffective and why goals, processes, and outcomes may have shifted along the way. You listened to your colleagues’ different observations and experiences and gained a broader perspective about what to do the same or differently in the future.
You’ve probably participated in your share of post-mortems—or after-action reviews (AARs)—where you and your team review a change initiative you’re wrapping up, all to improve performance in future change efforts. You and your colleagues focused on identifying the factors that helped you achieve the project’s objectives as well as obstacles you encountered. From financial and people resources to communications plans, you took a deep dive into what proved effective and ineffective and why goals, processes, and outcomes may have shifted along the way. You listened to your colleagues’ different observations and experiences and gained a broader perspective about what to do the same or differently in the future.
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What if you could gain some of that perspective and learn some of those lessons before your next change initiative even got started? Some teams do this by flipping the post-mortem process on its side and conducting the review discussion before the project gets into full swing. This discussion is called a before-action review (BAR) and is an opportunity for robust dialogue and perspective sharing at the start of the project.
What if you could gain some of that perspective and learn some of those lessons before your next change initiative even got started? Some teams do this by flipping the post-mortem process on its side and conducting the review discussion before the project gets into full swing. This discussion is called a before-action review (BAR) and is an opportunity for robust dialogue and perspective sharing at the start of the project.
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Here are the key questions to ask your teammates during a BAR:
Here are the key questions to ask your teammates during a BAR:
1. What do you intend to happen on this project?
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While you probably already answered this question and others in your project charter and project plan, teammates often differ in their views about a project’s expected outcomes and what success will look like. Spend time with your team on the following:
While you probably already answered this question and others in your project charter and project plan, teammates often differ in their views about a project’s expected outcomes and what success will look like. Spend time with your team on the following:
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Identify the project deliverables.
Identify the project deliverables.
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Determine the deliverable timeframes.
Determine the deliverable timeframes.
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Identify available resources.
Identify available resources.
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Define the project scope.
Define the project scope.
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Define success and the indicators that will let you know the project is on track.
Define success and the indicators that will let you know the project is on track.
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It’s worth investing time at the outset to help everyone on the project team get on to the same page.
It’s worth investing time at the outset to help everyone on the project team get on to the same page.
2. What will happen during this project?
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Encourage teammates to reflect on and share lessons they have learned from similar, previous change initiatives they’ve worked on and how conditions may be the same or different on the new change initiative. For example:
Encourage teammates to reflect on and share lessons they have learned from similar, previous change initiatives they’ve worked on and how conditions may be the same or different on the new change initiative. For example:
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Discuss what you expect will go well on this project.
Discuss what you expect will go well on this project.
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Discuss potential challenges and obstacles.
Discuss potential challenges and obstacles.
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Identify potential people who can help.
Identify potential people who can help.
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Determine reasons senior leaders will or won’t advocate for your project.
Determine reasons senior leaders will or won’t advocate for your project.
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Determine what support supervisors will or won’t provide for employee training.
Determine what support supervisors will or won’t provide for employee training.
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Consider your agility and ability to identify and react to wrong assumptions.
Consider your agility and ability to identify and react to wrong assumptions.
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Identify change management tactics worth trying and avoiding.
Identify change management tactics worth trying and avoiding.
3. What will you do to ensure the project succeeds?
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To ensure project success, you must:
To ensure project success, you must:
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Agree on actions you and your team will take to ensure the conditions and resources needed to succeed are present.
Agree on actions you and your team will take to ensure the conditions and resources needed to succeed are present.
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Identify actions you and your team will take to prevent or reduce the impact of potential obstacles.
Identify actions you and your team will take to prevent or reduce the impact of potential obstacles.
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BARs stimulate collective reflection. Share and problem-solve at the very outset of the project and you will benefit from the range of insights and experiences your teammates bring to the initiative. You will learn from each other and set the collaborative dynamic within the team. By doing so, your project will start on a good path.
BARs stimulate collective reflection. Share and problem-solve at the very outset of the project and you will benefit from the range of insights and experiences your teammates bring to the initiative. You will learn from each other and set the collaborative dynamic within the team. By doing so, your project will start on a good path.
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While you will still encounter problems along the way, the goal is that they are fewer and less disruptive. Discuss these new problems during the AAR you conduct on your new project. And that will provide good fodder for your next BAR.
While you will still encounter problems along the way, the goal is that they are fewer and less disruptive. Discuss these new problems during the AAR you conduct on your new project. And that will provide good fodder for your next BAR.