1. Participants will appreciate and learn to avoid critical mistakes that inhibit the success of change initiatives. An understanding of the pitfalls that impede change provides a necessary first step to successfully implementing change.

2. Identify potential issues within your specific organization that inhibits change and create an action plan to address the problems. The scope of the change initiative and the context and culture of your organization significantly impact the process. A thorough understanding of these factors helps to remove barriers to change that may not be readily apparent.

3. Create a change team of the right people for the job and identify characteristics of people you may want to keep off your team. Strategically creating a team aligned with the change initiative provides a driving force required for success. A failure to develop a change coalition often derails the change program before it starts.

4. Develop a clear statement of what the outcome looks like and why the change initiative is essential to the organization’s success. People often fail to see the necessity for change even when the need is obvious. Often the need for change is apparent to top management but not the rest of the organization that must enact the changes. Creating an effective communication program mitigates the risk created by a lack of understanding.

5. Identify and mitigate roadblocks within the organizational culture and procedures that prohibit employees from taking the necessary actions to drive change forward. Employees often want to do the right thing but cannot due to old practices and policies that prevent them from taking action.

6. Identify the knowledge, skill, and abilities that employees will need to drive the change forward. People often continue to perform the old task well and avoid performing the new tasks poorly. To avoid this trap, you need to provide the information, resources, and support necessary for organizational members to perform the new tasks competently and confidently.

7. Take actions that generate the success and enthusiasm required to create momentum. Additionally, many change initiatives fail because employees are unaware of the successful changes. Effective communication drives change forward.

8. Embed the change into the organization’s culture, structure, and procedures to ensure the hard work pays off and the changes stick. Declaring victory too soon and failing to finish the process often results in old practices slowly creeping back into use.