It's been hard to miss - the ongoing discourse and buzz about Artificial Intelligence: What can it do? What will it do? How will it impact our daily lives and work? With the introduction of online platforms such as ChatGPT revolutionizing how we work, there is understandably a mixture of both fear and excitement of how things will change in the coming future. In this blog, we will discuss the capabilities of 3 AI platforms (ChatGPT, Mural, and Microsoft Copilot), their limitations, suggested guidelines for usage, and how these platforms can automate processes when implementing change. What are some well-known AI platforms (to date)? What can and can’t they do? 1. ChatGPT Let’s start off with one of the most popular platforms – ChatGPT. ChatGPT is akin to a chatbot with Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities, allowing it to generate human-like responses by analyzing prompts that a user feeds it. It also has Google-like abilities to provide answers to questions based on the amount of detail that it’s provided. ChatGPT could be great for saving time on creating first drafts for written communication and emails. It takes information and organizes it based on the way that you’d like it to. Which sounds simple, right? Not exactly. Because ChatGPT is so reliant on the information that you provide it, it can only be as effective as the prompts you use. For example, asking ChatGPT to draft an email without specifying word count or tonality generates a long-winded, formal-sounding response. The platform takes what you give it and generates a response based on those specific parameters. It takes skill and nuance to get it to do what you want! Another concept used in effective communications is how to best utilize one’s ‘voice’ in written communications. When the communication objective is to lead and guide individuals or stakeholder groups through change, the messaging is most effective and compelling when it resonates with the audience. Doing that requires understanding of complex details including the audience’s individual communication needs, their relationship to the sender, and the sender’s own unique style of phrasing. This is something that ChatGPT cannot do without a lot of parameters in place, nor can it do it perfectly. What does this mean for Change Management? ChatGPT can be leveraged to save time in creating first drafts of communications and emails. It can save time by providing ideas on how to phrase statements and structure communications. Where it comes short, is integrating emotional intelligence and contextual nuance into the messaging. 2. Mural Mural is another AI-augmented platform we have used to facilitate the process of our creative thinking. The platform is a visual collaboration tool that can be used to brainstorm ideas by creating mind maps, charts, and canvases. Using AI-enhancements, the platform can organize and synthesize ideas based on patterns and ‘cluster’ similar ideas into groups and themes. Where this feature can be used for change management purposes is streamlining our creative thinking process by categorizing different inputs from a change impact workshop into different groupings. The mental resources saved in automating this process can then be spent identifying common themes in perceived change impacts, which requires more critical thinking. What does this mean for change management? Like ChatGPT, we found that the AI functionality of Mural helps automate a manual aspect of change management, freeing up mental resources for more creative tasks. In this case, automating the grouping of data into a more organized form allows mental resources to be spent on more complex creative work. 3. Microsoft Copilot This add-on to the Microsoft Office suite aims to add AI-functionality to its wide range of tools including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. While Microsoft Copilot is still in development and is targeted for launch later in 2023, we are excited to see the promised features of the platform and what processes they will automate. By augmenting Office programs, Copilot expands what the software currently does. For example, Copilot enables Word to draft and refine communications with user inputs and prompts, much like ChatGPT. Excel’s Copilot allows insights from a spreadsheet to be quickly summarized. PowerPoint can create decks quickly by using existing documents. Copilot allows Outlook to quickly organize and summarize email threads with multiple responders. Teams grants the user the ability get up to speed on conversations, organize key discussion points and summarize action items. What does this mean for change management? Like ChatGPT and Mural, the productivity benefits promised by Microsoft Copilot provide increased mental resources to focus on the more creative aspects of change management. This can enable change managers to focus on stakeholder and client relationship management, collect information and insights from meetings and files more effectively, and become more efficient in building presentations and drafting communications. What can Harbinger do to help you navigate change with AI? Artificial intelligence can be a game-changer when it comes to automating manual processes and functions in change management. At Harbinger, we are continuing to grow alongside these new AI-augmented platforms, to better enable change for our clients. Please reach out to us for any tips for leveraging AI platforms to effectively manage your change. As one of our managing partners, Greg Roth likes to say, ‘Don't get left behind while everyone else changes!’ Other AI-driven Platforms that can support Change Management: Along with the 3 platforms listed above, here are 5 other AI-driven platforms we’ve found that can support Change Management activities and functions: Grammarly: Generate, contextualize, and polish written communications. Vyond / Pictory: Create video announcements and content for engaging and training end users. Fireflies: Record and transcribe notes from virtual meetings. Survey Monkey: Build professional-grade surveys to collect stakeholder feedback. Edugo: Create courses, and optimize employees’ learning based on individual training needs. Author Kevin Loi Senior People Engagement Specialist Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Competition is fierce; today, organizations are in a constant state of change in a race to survive. Drivers like globalization, industry disruption, supply pressures, and regulations are keeping executives on their toes to determine how to be sustainable. To remain competitive, one of the strategies includes organizational design – the creation of a system where people work together to reach common goals. This often results in an organizational restructure that reflects and supports the change in direction and future growth targets. Organizational Design (OD) initiatives are often initiated and owned by the Chief Human Resources Officer, or Human Resources department. However, we have also supported OD initiatives led by Chief Executive Officers, Chief of Operations or operations department. The ownership varies depending on the reason for the change, or the structure of the organization. Today, organizational design happens more frequently than in previous years, with a survey from McKinsey stating that 60 percent of the respondents experienced an organizational redesign within the past two years, and an additional 25 percent said they experienced a redesign three or more years ago. In addition to the statistics mentioned above, when done well, companies that are successful in implementing organizational design are: - 30x more likely to adapt well to change - 5.3x more likely to be a great place to work - 2.3x more likely to exceed financial targets Achieving these numbers and successfully managing this type of change requires a five-step change management strategy that includes an assessment, alignment with the business strategy, the creation of a change coalition, intentional employee engagement, and transparent and honest communications. Read below to learn more about each step: Step 1: Organizational Change Management (OCM) Maturity Assessments Completing change maturity assessments is required for a successful organizational design. This is a step that cannot be skipped, regardless of the size and scope of the change. We recommend collecting insights via stakeholder interviews, change readiness surveys and change impact assessments. Together, these assessments will provide the information you need to determine a path forward. For instance, the interviews may reveal a gap in communications, or minimal change experience from leaders. The change readiness survey will identify if there are too many large projects on the go and will help determine what projects need to be taken off the table before continuing with an organizational design initiative. Step 2: Alignment with business strategy and vision One of the questions employees always ask is, ‘why are we doing this?’. To make it meaningful, it’s important to not only connect the dots to the business strategy and vision, but also to articulate what it means to them at an individual level. How will this change impact them? Why should they care? How will this change help them to support the business in reaching its long-term goals? There are instances where no clear business strategy or vision is connected to the OD project. Harbinger recommends completing workshops with key stakeholders to define these if this is encountered. Once these have been developed, an employee engagement and communications plan is needed to increase awareness and gain buy-in. Step 3: Building a Change Coalition (also known as a Change Champion Community) Change must be activated from all levels, not just the top. Building a change coalition or change champion community that consists of leaders with or without title provides you with another channel to cascade important messages. It also empowers employees to be a part of the change – those appointed as change champions are responsible for supporting executives by sharing feedback, completing, and executing action plans to address resistance, and championing the change by demonstrating their alignment and support. Step 4: Employee Engagement and Enablement Employees spend a significant amount of time at work, and changes like organizational design can create feelings of uncertainty and mistrust. Much of this comes from being unsure of what the final structure will be and how it will impact them day to day. While you won’t be able to prevent uncertainty completely, there are various ways you can maintain employee engagement throughout the transformation. To start, it’s crucial to create channels for continuous feedback. Beyond surveys, collecting feedback from your change champions provides opportunities to complete pulse checks and acquire insights throughout the change. If you want lasting results, it’s important also to address and respond to the feedback. Keep in mind that responding does not always mean coming up with a solution or changing the direction of the project based on employee feedback. It can, however, look to confirm decisions or let your people know that more work is needed before you give them an update. Enable your people by involving them through the process – can they assist with crafting communications? Are there upcoming events or activities they could help to plan and execute? By empowering your employees, you are igniting a sense of ownership and allowing your people to figure out how they can manage change. Step 4: Celebrate Milestones Celebrating successes (big and small) is a critical component in change management. Not only does it show appreciation for their efforts, but it also helps to boost confidence and increases motivation. There are several ways to celebrate milestones including: 1. Leadership recognition – this can include an email or verbal acknowledgement. These should be completed regularly and tells your people that you are paying attention and appreciate their contributions. 2. Award programs – these work well for large-scale changes. If employees are supporting the change by exhibiting one of your organizational values, nominate them. 3. Events – celebratory events require coordination but can have lasting results. These are great opportunities to connect as a team and reflect on all the work that has gone into driving the change. For significant business transformations, like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementations, some of your employees could be making sacrifices like spending time away from their families. Holding a family event to thank not only your people, but also their families for their support, could be one of the ways to show your appreciation. Step 5: Transparency and honest communications Organizational design projects often bring feelings of anxiety. One of the first reactions from employees is “Am I losing my job?”. To support them with these feelings, it is recommended to be transparent and honest with your communications. For the most part, most of your individuals will not and do not need to understand the rigorous process that goes into organizational design. As you work through what this looks like, it’s important to inform and stick to the facts. For example, are you working with an external consulting firm to determine what your future structure looks like? Before your employees see them wandering the halls or hear about them from the grapevine, take the initiative to let them know whom you are working with and how they are supporting you with this project. Another example is to address whether people will lose their jobs. If you don’t know what the answer is, be open while also showing empathy. Let them know their feelings of uncertainty are valid and that once decisions are made, anyone impacted will be treated with respect and supported as they move through this difficult transition. Beyond being transparent and honest with your communications, no information should be shared without a comprehensive communications plan. Important updates should be coordinated with key stakeholders like the legal department or executives, and when decisions have not been made, no information should be shared. Leaders must also be prepared and equipped to have difficult conversations. This can be challenging when they are also experiencing the same changes as their teams. To support them through this change, we recommend providing tailored leadership training. An organizational design project is a regular requirement for many of today’s organizations; remaining competitive, meeting financial targets, and maintaining employee engagement are more challenging than ever. The five steps explained above are a great foundation for your organization, no matter what size, to execute impactful, supportive, and successful organizational design. Author Siri Maldonado Director People Engagement Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Hello! My name is Kevin and I joined Harbinger in April 2023 as a Sr. People Engagement Specialist. In true Harbinger fashion, I’d like to think that my introduction into a new setting is an impetus for growth, positive action, and meaningful change. Thanks for the introduction Kevin. Can you tell us more about your role here at Harbinger? My role as a Sr. People Engagement Specialist involves a few exciting aspects! On a regular basis, I enable, support, and guide our clients to progress towards their change management and enablement goals – both at the organizational level and the individual level. This involves working with our clients on their communications, engagement, and change management project activities at both a strategic and tactical level. I also play a similar role on our internal Harbinger projects including marketing, training, and administrative initiatives. I see that you have experience across different roles such as Talent Development, Coach, and Consultant. How does this help you as a Change Practitioner in your current role? ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, and a community to lead and sustain change in an organization. As a Change Practitioner, I would add that it takes a variety of experiences and a complimentary skillset to effectively support clients managing change. Working in Talent Development gave me the tools to help track the progress of individuals, especially as they adopt and commit to change. Being a consultant honed my analytical and critical thinking skills to provide clients the best recommendations and solutions to help them reach their goals. And finally, coaching clients through projects has taught me how to meet them where they are, and to be of value and service based on their change goals. What excites you the most about working in the field of Change Management? The fact that Change Management is both a professional field and a skillset is what excites me most! The current and future landscape of work is marked with constant change and transformation. As a professional field, Change Management is applicable to every industry and sector that goes through technological, process, and people-oriented change (which is all of them). In the next decade, one change that every working individual will need to adopt is how to use and work with automation and artificial intelligence. Being at the forefront of adopting new changes and helping others adapt is one of the most exciting things of working in this field. What is a professional success you’re proud of? One of my first Change Management projects that I worked on from beginning to end was the implementation of SAP ERP at Weston Foods at its 50 bakeries across North America. To manage and enable the change of a system in a large company - from the very first bakeries to the very last corporate teams - taught me about how different stakeholder groups can all go through their own individual change journeys so uniquely yet so similarly at the same time. The experiences I had in this project mirrored changes happening in my own personal life. Being able to experience the journey both professionally and personally, and to successfully come out the other end solidified that as something I’m proud to have gone through. Do you have a motto you live by? Why? "Trust the process". Change is a process; life itself is a process. This motto has allowed me to contextualize the events of my life as steps towards greater outcomes. It’s enabled me to also help others and enable them to take charge of their own change journeys. What do you hope to accomplish or contribute to in your time here at Harbinger? I’d like to help our clients navigate transformational change, whether the changes are resulting from new technologies, new cultures, new processes, or other factors. I’d also like to lend my own ideas and experiences to build on our own internal processes and value offerings through the Change Enablement Academy and thought leadership in the industry. What do you like to do in your free time? In my free time, I’m an avid Latin dancer (Bachata), gym-goer, and meditation / breathwork practitioner. Author Teresa Cimino Change Enablement & Learning Specialist Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Change Resistance is not a new concept. In preparing for this blog, I looked into when the term first came into existence. There’s an HBR article from 1969 that references a study from 1948 about Change Resistance. I found the study and article fascinating, knowing that we’re just building on something that’s been around since the 1940’s, and that not much has changed. Today, a staple of Change Management programs are specific plans or activities to capture and manage “Change Resistance”. While knowing what change resistance is and how to manage it is important, is there more we could be doing for our organizations when it appears? In this article, we’ll discuss: What Change Resistance is, and when and how it shows up Typical Change Resistance Management approaches And finally, why and how we can do better than just “managing” resistance What is Change Resistance? First of all, what is “Change Resistance”? Unfortunately, when organizations go through change and see behaviour that is not “positive” or “helpful”, it is often labelled as “resistance”. This is why there seems to be an “epidemic” of change resistance out there. And unfortunately, the word resistance implies a host of negative things. Let’s take a step back and talk about how a change initiative usually plays out when formal Change Management is in place. Typically, a Change Impact Assessment is done to understand the potential effects of a planned change to all stakeholders. This should lead to a change plan of some kind, including adjusting roles/responsibilities/jobs, planning for training, communications, or even adjusting the design of the change. However, you’ll never capture everything, especially down to the individual level (this is why we like to say “Change happens at the individual level”). For example, how is it possible to determine from an assessment that a particular employee is worried that a potential role change will affect their chances of a promotion? That being said, Change Resistance can happen at any point in time. No sooner than the words “We’re implementing a new system...” are uttered, people may react positively or negatively. But let’s assume people are reacting to real information and details on how a change might affect them. At this point, you may start to see what we call “Change Resistance”. PROSCI’s descriptions of what change resistance looks like in an organization is a good place to start understanding how to recognize it: Emotion – Fear, loss, sadness, anger, anxiety, frustration, depression, focus on self Disengagement – Silence, ignoring communications, indifference, apathy, low morale Work impact – Reduced productivity/efficiency, non-compliance, absenteeism, mistakes Acting out – Conflict, arguments, sabotage; overbearing, aggressive or passive-aggressive behavior Negativity – Rumors/gossip, miscommunication, complaining, focus on problems, celebrating failure Avoidance – Ignoring the change, reverting to old behaviors, workarounds, abdicating responsibilities Building barriers – Excuses, counterapproaches, recruiting dissenters, secrecy, breakdown in trust Controlling – Asking lots of questions, influencing outcomes, defending current state, using status While we see that these are all fairly negative (and in some cases toxic) behaviours, the natural next question is: Why? The other natural question that occurs to us is: Are these reactions representative of an individual’s or group’s behaviours in other circumstances as well? We get at this a little later. Managing Change Resistance Once we’ve identified specific instances of resistance, we seek to “manage” them in order to ensure adoption of the planned change. Here’s a simplistic take on typically what happens next: deeper interviews or discussions with stakeholders are held to understand the root cause of the various instances of resistance. And here are some typical examples of what might be learned, and how we might respond: Missed impacts that will affect users: Change plan, rollout plan, or design is modified Lack of understanding of the change: More communication to educate stakeholders, training to support ongoing learning Negative impacts to stakeholders or no benefits to them: Leaders and managers are engaged to discuss how to support/counsel those who have “nothing in it for them”* *This point is worth a little sidebar. Its easy to say that you will share the “What’s In it For Me” (WIFM) in order to obtain buy-in, but the reality is, often in changes that drive real value for organizations, there are people who will only “lose” as a result of the change. Leadership needs to tackle this head on because this “loss” is often the factor that is enabling the benefits of the change. To be blunt, just search LinkedIn for change resistance and you’ll find a raft of approaches or tactics to manage different forms of resistance and get buy-in. Of course, an engaged Change Professional will have a toolbelt of approaches and tactics to manage the resistance. At this point, I’m often asking myself what could we have done better? How could we have helped more? How the resistance manifests, in our experience, often points to some other institutional or cultural weaknesses. Here’s some examples: We might be able to guess the answers to these questions, but it’s important to realize that these are much larger challenges that will take organizations time to sort out. Sometimes how a project addresses the issues are just band-aid solutions so we can keep the project moving along, as opposed to trying to solve the root cause. From a Change Management standpoint, we’re frankly hoping for compliance at best, in order to get to the end of the initiative. (Ignoring for now the need to ensure change sticks, but that’s a whole other topic to explore.) What Can we do Better? Use Change Resistance as a Mirror The leaders who’ve made the most of the change they’ve put their organization through are those who’ve used the exercise to take a good hard look at themselves and their culture. Here’s a quick self-diagnostic: What is it about my _____ that fosters the Change Resistance behaviours we’re seeing? Culture Hiring Practices Performance Management Leadership Communication Feedback Mechanisms Employee Empowerment / Agency Why is this important? If this exercise points you clearly to areas to be improved, then we think its incumbent on you to start now. As Harbingers, we know that the expression “change is constant” is proving itself outdated. Change is actually accelerating. Never mind the changes you’ve decided are important for your organization, what about external change? Covid? ChatGPT? Recession? The most fit organizations will be the most nimble. That means your people need to be set up successfully to adapt to change quickly. Being nimble means being resilient. As the old adage says, it’s the journey not the destination. Going through the change is, in of itself, an opportunity for your organization to evolve. Paul Lawrence, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School puts it best, he says “When resistance does appear, it should not be thought of as something to be overcome. Instead, it can best be thought of as a useful red flag—a signal that something is going wrong.”. For my fellow Change Management Professionals out there, I hope you are, if you’re not already doing so, encouraging or challenging your clients to take look at the bigger opportunity when they see Change Resistance. It’s not always an easy conversation, but one I think those who are fortunate enough to make a living doing what we’re doing, should be committed to having. Authors Barnaby Chan Co-Founder and Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

If you’re thinking about all the changes happening in your organization, you may be wondering when it’s the right time to start managing change. What we’re essentially here to say is: don’t wait until it’s too late—start early. Don’t wait until the start of a project to begin introducing people to the change. Chances are, they’ve already caught wind of it, and have plenty of questions and worries about what’s to come. To prevent confusion and to get a head start, you want to be the one who sets the tone for a positive change narrative by beginning your change initiative well before the official project start date. As pointed out in this Prosci article, Change Management is not Project Management. Change Management is not a set event in the project plan; it is an ongoing process meant to support change throughout an organization. While the right moment to start Change Management will always depend on the project’s situation, the fact is that projects always benefit from starting Change Management earlier as opposed to later. Be Proactive, Not Reactive Be the one who sets the tone and starts the Change Management initiative in your organization. Don’t let the need for change catch up to you, and don’t let the change narrative spiral outside of your control. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure after all, so even if you don’t see the need for Change Management right away, it’s best to get started before the need does arise. Just like any good project, plan for risks, rather than having to come up with a plan on how to deal with them on the spot. According to this IndustryWeek article, starting Change Management late can produce negative consequences such as: employees being less likely to get on board with the change, extra expenses if your project starts to lag as a result of poor adaptation, and struggling to catch up to meet deadlines. If Starting Early is the Answer, Why Doesn’t Everyone Do It? When should Change Management start on a project? Preferably earlier than the project’s start date. If it’s as simple as that, why doesn’t everyone implement this strategy? Some people may feel they don’t have the necessary information about the change to inform their team with accurate information. It often happens that people get so caught up in all the changes and planning in a project that they forget one of the most important parts: communicating the change. While there is validity to wanting to give as detailed information as possible, as soon as a change initiative has been concretely decided on, it’s best to start communicating with your team about the project to come, even if the information is scarce. This practice creates transparency, trust, and improved communication so that your team is not feeling kept in the dark. If you are the one communicating about the change, you are better able to control the way it’s received by your team. Even if you don’t have all the details of the project, communication should remain a priority. Why is Starting Early Worth It? So far, we’ve talked about why you shouldn’t start your Change Management initiative too late, so what are the benefits of starting early? As previously stated, by starting early, you have better control of the change narrative. The biggest bump in the road of change initiatives tends to be people’s capacities to adapt. By having extra padding time before the project starts, your team will be given more time to adapt to the idea, and possibly bring up any qualms they have with the project. Communication is always a key point to remember, and the effort you put in will bear fruit in the end. Team members may speak up about potential risks they see or offer solutions on how to better implement the change. Are your People Change Ready? If you’re wondering whether your early start paid off on your team, and on yourself, you may want to ask yourself whether you and your team are change ready. Take a look at our change readiness survey in our free resources page to get a better idea. Looking at the survey in advance can also give you a good idea of where you should be before a project’s start date. When Does Change Management End? Since we’ve talked about when Change Management should start, the next logical question is to ask when change should end. Is there truly an end? From a Project Management perspective, the end is when the change management team pulls away, leaving the organization steady and capable of sustaining the change they just experienced. From a purely Change Management perspective, there will always be the constant need for change as people and the world around continue to evolve. Maintaining changes is all about adapting to your surroundings. You should aim to create a culture of change resiliency within your organization. Change resiliency can be defined as a constant state of adaptability, where your organization is always prepared for the next hurdle to come. If the Change Management was handled correctly from the start, people in your organizations (both leaders and their teams) will have become more change resilient for the future. To learn more about when Change Management ends, take a look at one our vlogs where Greg Roth, Managing Partner, talks about what the average length of a change initiative is. Keep in mind, culture change doesn’t happen overnight, so be generous with the time you need to properly adapt and sustain the changes you’ve worked so hard on. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email l LinkedIn

With summer more than halfway over, I think that now is a good time to step back and reflect on my summer student experience at Harbinger thus far. At a high-level, my experience has been meaningful and exciting; I’ve learned many different things which have opened my eyes to the world of work. But what is the true impact of hiring students in organizations? Today, we’ll take a look at the experience at Harbinger so far to understand the value for both students and organizations. I’ve taken the time to gather some thoughts from my colleagues, one being another student hire and another being one of my leaders, to get a good perspective. With the addition of any new person to a team, there is a certain amount of disruption: disruption to regular patterns of work, team culture, or current mindsets and ideas. While disruption can be viewed as positive or negative, something I’ve learned at Harbinger is that challenges are welcomed and worthwhile, especially when it comes to investing in making our organization better. Individuals each hold a wealth of knowledge and it’s clear that diversifying your team with different talent can lead to a beneficial learning experience for everyone. Take a deeper look into the perspective of working with student hires at Harbinger with Rachelle Su, Manager, Change Enablement & Learning, as she shares her thoughts on the experience. Evelyn: What were your initial thoughts about students joining the team? Rachelle: I was excited about the opportunity to bring students onto our team. It’s always exciting when the Harbinger team grows, even if it’s only for a limited period of time. It’s no question that summer students, because of the minimal work experience they have, often require more coaching and development to understand and embrace the work we do in the change management space. However, despite the extra effort it takes to help set them up for success, it is worthwhile for both the student and the rest of the team. Students bring new and fresh perspectives to the company, which is valuable for a variety of reasons–but most importantly, it helps us evaluate if our ways of working are up to date, and it encourages us to think outside the box. Evelyn: Given your work with students in the last three months, have you developed different or new impressions? Rachelle: While I haven’t changed my thoughts about summer students in general, I have been surprised to see which kinds of strengths and abilities each student brings to the table. The most interesting part has been seeing how each person has used the unique knowledge they’ve gathered from university, college, or different life experiences, and applied it to the workplace. Seeing the connections they make has been really interesting. For example, Carmen is constantly making connections between her educational background in User Experience to Change Management, which has been beneficial for both my own learning and hers. Evelyn: What have you learned from our students? Rachelle: Something I’ve learned from working with our students is that I might not be as comfortable with adapting as I thought I was. As a change practitioner, you would think that this is my strong suit, but like we always say–change is hard. There’s no exception for those of us who are constantly sharing our expertise on how to manage it. When you’re surrounded by people who are bringing new perspectives and ideas to you on a daily basis, it forces you to take a step back and reflect on the way things are done. Even when these ideas are great, it is uncomfortable to change your path unexpectedly. Evelyn: What do you think students can learn from the Harbinger team? Rachelle: One of the most important takeaways people can learn from the Harbinger team, no matter if you’re a summer student or tenured professional, is how we practice humility in everything we do. Humility has always been something the team has not only reinforced, but demonstrated. From my perspective, when I think of Harbinger’s culture, humility is one of the first traits that comes to mind. I’ve been able to observe the way our team puts their egos aside in the name of getting things done. This really comes to the surface when I see my teammates work with clients; we always let the organizations we work with shine—it’s our job to set them up for success, not to be the hero who saves their change from heading down the wrong path. I believe that humility serves you well in both work and personal life, and I hope our students take that learning with them. Evelyn: Can you relate your experiences with students to organizational change? Rachelle: Yes, it’s clear that there is value in bringing diverse people onto your team. This applies to managing and enabling change too. We often remind organizations that they need to let people in and include a variety of people across their organization when making decisions about change. It’s important to involve the people who are going to be impacted by the change, whether they’re in the head office or on the plant floors—whether they’re senior leaders or entry level employees, when considering how to support them through it. Everyone who is impacted by the change should be informed, engaged, and supported throughout a business transformation. Like Krista Schaber-Chan says in one of our blogs, people are often told a change is coming but are rarely involved in the discussions–“Decisions are made about them and for them.” To get a summer student’s perspective (other than my own), I had a discussion with Carmen Skoretz, UX Design and Learning Specialist, to talk about our experiences and takeaways from our time at Harbinger so far. General impressions about our time at Harbinger: Carmen: There are so many things that you learn at a job that you don’t learn in school— I think in school you can get away with a lot of things, but when you’re in a position where you’re accountable or getting paid, that can bring out the best work in you. I’ve learned a lot about communication and building professional relationships with people. This is my first professional work experience, so it’s going to become my reference for all my future jobs. And since my time at Harbinger has been so positive, it’s helped me identify the work culture that I’ll want to look for in the future. Evelyn: This being my first summer work experience, I feel as though I’ve picked up many soft skills, such as general email etiquette, communicating efficiently with other team members, and working independently. More importantly, I feel that this experience has erased my misconceptions about what an “office job” is like—not in a particularly good or bad way, but in a more realistic way of understanding the everyday tasks and culture you’re part of in a company. What we’ve learned so far: Carmen: Seeking out feedback has been one of the biggest learning experiences I’ve had at this job. When I first started, I would get nervous every time I sent something in to get reviewed, but that’s the most effective way to learn: hearing other people’s feedback. Learning to embrace the feedback—to seek it out and not get stressed about it, that’s probably been the biggest learning experience for me, and it’s really helped me expand my knowledge. Evelyn: One thing I’ve learned at Harbinger is that learning is constant. As a team of change practitioners, we’re big advocates of adaptability, and that comes with a very positive attitude towards lifelong education. Like any other person, I’ve learned that there are some things I’m particularly good at, and other things that I need to work on. I feel as though I’ve been able to get good support from my managers, not only in the way they offer advice or help on a specific piece, but in the way they lead by example. For example, my marketing skills could use some honing, but I’ve been doing my best to follow Rachelle’s example since she’s particularly good at that sort of thing. Takeaways for future work experiences: Carmen: This experience has left me with more confidence in the workplace and more confidence in my work. I feel way more prepared to communicate with people professionally, to share my work and explore my abilities. It has also highlighted many qualities that I will try to seek out in my future jobs. Like finding a smaller company that offers remote or hybrid work, because those are qualities that I’ve enjoyed and thrived in here at Harbinger. As a student, I never pictured myself working in education or eLearning. Though I’ve had a great experience designing in this area, I would love to see how my skills can contribute to different industries. I would really enjoy being in a position where I can work on different design projects from diverse industries. Evelyn: I definitely feel more confident talking to people and asking questions. This experience at Harbinger has also helped me narrow down what I’d like to pursue once I graduate. Before this experience, I had my anxieties about what I would do once I finished my bachelors, but I feel more comfortable taking things one step at a time to further explore what I enjoy and what I want to pursue. I can continue to explore my options in the future until I decide on a path, and it’s okay for me to take my time. While this blog is only a snapshot of the summer student experience at Harbinger, we’ve touched on the many different benefits for both organizations and students. By hiring students, organizations can make a positive impact on young professional careers and in turn, organizations receive fresh ideas and modern skillsets to add to their workforce. My advice to all the students out there is to make the most of your work experiences by sharing your unique outlook with your team. And don’t forget to take in all the knowledge and feedback you receive to help guide you on your career path. Hiring a student or being a working student is a valuable experience for all parties, so help yourself and others by taking on the challenge and opening yourself up to change. Authors Evelyn Chan Communications and Community Coordinator Montreal Email l LinkedIn Rachelle Su Manager, Change Enablement & Learning Toronto Email l LinkedIn Carmen Skoretz UX Design & Learning Specialist Toronto Email l LinkedIn

As change experts, we talk a great deal about new trends and strategies to implement in your next Change Management initiative. Whether it be shifting to a four-day workweek, going hybrid, or experiencing periods of intense growth, there is one common denominator that never changes: people. We stress communication and empathy when undergoing change because we know that people remain the deciding factor on whether your project will fail or succeed. That’s why today, we’re taking the time to delve into the practice of People Change Management. What is People Change Management in the first place? People Change Management, or PCM for short, is exactly what it sounds like: the people or human side of change. Whatever kind of change you’re going through, whether it be technological or organizational, there will always be people impacted. PCM is an approach that supports organizations, teams, and individuals as they successfully transition to the new ways of working. The goal is to enable people and ease change adoption to facilitate the shift in behaviour. While a change project can have many components, it all boils down to how well people are able to accept and follow through with the change—this is where PCM has its biggest impact. The evolution of People Change Management In some ways, PCM has changed over time, and in other ways, it hasn’t. Traditional PCM methodologies and tools have become antiquated. While these frameworks are still useful, they are not best suited for dealing with all the ways that workplace culture has shifted in the last couple years. Today, people are more comfortable voicing displeasure or concern—they are more aware of their ability to speak up about personal demands or issues they may come across. As a result, PCM has had to shift from a focus on managing people (telling them what to do and how to do it), to enabling people (empowering them to take ownership of their own change journey). Check out our blog, “Change Management is Dead, Long Live Change Enablement,” to read more about how organizations and their people have changed and why methodologies must shift to keep pace. One such cultural shift is the way top-down driven change has become a thing of the past. While strong leadership support remains essential, peer-driven change is the critical factor for instituting change. Learning programs must be dynamic and they must be tailored to their intended audiences. A one-size-fits-all approach to learning is simply not adequate anymore. In all, culture has shifted, and PCM must shift along with it by updating its approaches towards supporting people through change. Why don’t people prioritize People Change Management? Most leaders know or will say that People Change Management is crucial to any change, so why is it still often neglected? 1. It is believed that PCM is too costly—but ultimately, the cost of not applying PCM would end up being much higher. Organizations don’t want to spend extra money where they don’t have to, but it’s important to recognize that every change has a people or human component, and that investing in your people means investing in sustainable change and overall business benefits realization. 2. Limited internal capacity, especially from leaders and middle managers. Most organizations these days run lean, meaning doing more with less. Often what we have less of is time. It is important for people (leaders, managers, and individual contributors) to learn the skills it takes to manage PCM within their workload. It is especially important for people to be supported by their leaders or managers to make the time to do so, otherwise they won’t have the time or resources to spend on PCM, which will have a significant impact on morale and the bottom line. 3. Lack of awareness and desire to understand what PCM is. Without awareness about what PCM is, people are not able to identify the value and purpose of its role in organizational change. 4. PCM is typically viewed as just a Communications function. Enabling and empowering people to change means more than communicating what the change is and when it’s happening; it also means explaining why it's happening, what are the impacts, who is impacted, as well as providing learning and training opportunities so that behaviours and beliefs can change. By providing a holistic view and engaging people, the accountability is given back to the people for their own change journeys, helping them shift their behaviours over time. 5. Organizations underestimate the difficulty or length of a change. People require ample time and support to successfully transition to the new ways of working. Each person goes through the change journey at their own speed and often the length of the change journey is underestimated. See the video where Greg Roth, Managing Partner at Harbinger discusses what is the average length of a change initiative. Why should you care about People Change Management? You should care about PCM because it impacts the success and sustainability of your change. If you’re going to have to spend time and money to repair a leak, might as well do it now rather than when the boat’s already sinking. It’s essentially a “pay now or pay later” type of situation. If leaders in organizations don’t support their people throughout a change, they risk having people quit, burn out, or make avoidable mistakes. By supporting your people before, during, and after a change initiative, you lessen the chances of experiencing these consequences. Make the choice to pay now, devote time and money to support employees, and avoid having to deal with a problem bigger and more costly than the one you started out with. What can you do to better prioritize People Change Management? Now that we’ve established how important PCM is to an organization’s success, what can you do to start prioritizing it? 1. Put people first Start prioritizing people by putting PCM first in your company operations’ hierarchy of importance. As simple as this strategy may sound, it will be the hardest to achieve, as it will involve a fundamental shift in how your organization operates. Putting PCM first can seem like a slow and gradual process, but it needs to be done to keep pace with the rapidly changing environments of today’s work world. 2. People are worthy investments Invest in the people you already have in your organization. Recruiting, hiring, and training new employees ends up being more costly than investing in your current employees’ wellbeing and professional development. You get what you put in; if you foster a work environment where employees feel supported and adequately challenged, you’ll receive a better overall business benefits realization, and you’ll maintain it by retaining your capable workers. 3. Think of PCM as a tactical activity If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around the idea of PCM and why you need it, consider it from a tactical perspective. Tactical change management is often practical and lean, which we expand more on in our blog "The New Era of Change Management is Practical." While a robust strategy and a methodology that follows best practices is beneficial, these are only useful when the impacted audience has the time and capacity to even think about the change and all the components involved. Providing a lean or tactical approach can make the change more palatable to both those going through it and those who are leading it. If people are able to connect the dots along the change journey in a logical and practical way, they will be more fulfilled and feel better supported when experiencing change, which means your organization will ultimately achieve greater efficiency and quality of results. 4. Break up PCM into smaller pieces The official wording of “People Change Management” may seem daunting to approach, but the key to getting started is to treat it as a journey. To further the discussion about tactical and practical change management, let’s break up the strategy into small pieces and take it one step at a time. Consider lean change management, whose strategy is to eliminate wasted time, energy, outdated practices, etc., and to better utilize successful practices already in your toolbelt to ultimately create the most optimal process and results. Essentially, get rid of what’s not working, but keep what is, and lean into it. Lean into helping your people grow by building them up. In short… Consider this quote: “Businesses often forget about culture, and ultimately, they suffer for it because you can’t deliver good service from unhappy employees.” -Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos People will always remain the common denominators in an organization’s success or failure. Be mindful of how your people are faring and keep a close watch of how your company culture may evolve. By supporting the foundation of an organization, i.e., people at every level of your organization, you ensure optimal work habits and results. As Tony Hsieh explained in this quote, unhappy employees just won’t deliver the same results as employees who are supported and feel fulfilled with their work. Put your people first because when they thrive, your organization thrives. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email l LinkedIn

UX is all about change, and it’s quickly changing the world as we know it Over the past 30 years, the term ‘User Experience’ (UX) has risen from obscurity and established itself as a driving force behind virtually all our modern products and services. UX design concepts have reached beyond digital interfaces and permeated the meeting rooms of diverse industries. It’s not a small thing; it’s a reflection of a greater trend in our economy and the population as a whole: people are more interested than ever in spending money on experiences over material possessions. This is reflected in the data too; since 1987, the share of consumer spending on live experiences and events relative to total U.S. consumer spending increased by 70%. There is no doubt that the Era of Experience is on our horizon. Making an active effort to embrace UX can be the factor that elevates your product or service to the next level, and this is especially applicable in the field of Change Management. In this emerging era, it is fundamental that change managers embrace user experience concepts. What is UX? Like most trends that experience rapid growth, User Experience can sometimes be difficult to define. It’s not a coincidence that the term has grown in conjunction with the Digital Revolution that started in the 1980's. The concept of UX gained traction to address the accessibility gap that began forming during the development of early digital technology. Back then, engineers and developers had one primary goal: how can we make this new technology work? It was an important goal, one that brought forth many incredible digital innovations – and a myriad of painful experiences. Unclear interfaces, primitive graphics, and poor instructions are just a few factors that made using these technologies particularly difficult and inaccessible to most people. It’s only in the last three decades that we’ve seen a real and powerful push among designers towards refining these existing technologies by tailoring them to the user, starting with the establishment of a new goal: how can we make this technology work for humans? "The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” -Steve Jobs Steve Jobs was arguably the most influential driver of User Experience as a concept in business. His unshakeable fixation with understanding the needs of his users took the market by storm, generating products that fulfilled our consumer wants before we even realized we wanted them. And perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of Apple’s user experience was its focus on creating products with simplicity. The company strove to create intuitively obvious interfaces and a painless shopping experience, empowering their users to pick up their products and play with them effortlessly. For Apple, this was their key to success, and the company went on to change our relationship with technology forever. How does UX impact Change Management? (And why should you care?) Change is at the core of User Experience. While UX designers craft experiences, they also collaborate with their users to reinforce long-lasting behaviours. Change managers play a similar role in the organizations we work for. The rise of User Experience isn’t just changing the way we build and develop our technologies, it’s also changing what we expect from our own life experiences. As our experiences become more efficient – easier – our frame of reference for what a good experience should feel like transforms as well, to the point where encountering a difficult user experience can cause someone to disengage from listening to a message completely. This is why embracing User Experience is vital for those working in Change Management, where generating engagement and empowerment is critical for change adoption success. Long story short: having bad user experience when it comes to planning and executing your Change Management activities can mean the difference between the success and struggle of your organization’s transformation. How to incorporate UX into your CM workflow After reviewing the inception of UX, its emergence into our products and services, and its impact on people’s perception of their experiences, we are left with three compelling insights that can motivate us to keep user experience in mind when implementing change: People search for meaningful experiences. People often don’t know what they want until you show it to them. People expect seamless experiences. Incorporating these UX insights into your workflow doesn’t have to be a big transformation at the start. Success is the result of applying a few simple daily disciplines that, over time, add up to big accomplishments. Here are three UX strategies that you can start integrating into your change management processes: Strategy #1: User Research Leading user research is a sure-fire strategy for predicting what people want and need so you can be better equipped to create a user experience that is meaningful to them. It doesn’t mean that you need to create tedious surveys or analyze data, it can be as simple as going out and talking to people, or more importantly, listening to them. Ask questions about their work, what they wish to see improved, and what they think about your organization’s change. Your user research efforts will not only give you excellent knowledge about your audience and the business, but it will also help you build trust and empathy with the individuals impacted by the change. People need to feel like they are genuinely being heard and supported throughout the change process, and leading user research is a perfect way to show your willingness to support them. Strategy #2: Task Analysis For UX designers, a good experience is the result of solving many little challenges. It’s essential to identify the small barriers that are making the experience feel difficult, and focus on improving each one. This process, known as task analysis, involves identifying all the tasks that users complete to achieve the desired outcome. By implementing task analysis to your Change Management approach, you can begin addressing areas of common frustration and maximizing your audience’s willingness to engage with your message and change activities. Strategy #3: Iteration We say all the time that change is inevitable, and the same applies to our Change Management process. It’s important to actively review our past change activities and strategies to see what we can improve for next time. UX designers work with the same iterative approach; they forge a change, test it, discover useful insights, and then make new changes. By adapting and enhancing your Change Management process, you can be certain that your work is undergoing consistent improvement and your message is maximizing its reach. If you’re curious about the benefits of adaptability, take a look at this article to gain some insight into how adaptability is your secret to success. Peer through the looking glass of User Experience In the last three decades, the concept of User Experience has transcended technological interfaces and become a lens for observing the world and how we interact with it. The philosophy behind UX reflects the ongoing change in how humans perceive and prioritize their individual experiences. The reason behind this paradigm shift isn’t certain, but its impact on the market make UX a force to be reckoned with – and the market is just one representation of people’s growing expectations for seamless and efficient experiences in all facets of their lives. In a field where audience engagement and communication are essential, change managers and leaders would benefit greatly from being aware of UX concepts and even integrating certain UX practices into their workflows. Author Carmen Skoretz UX Design and Learning Specialist Toronto Email l LinkedIn

With everything we’ve experienced since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, we’ve grown accustomed to the rapid and sudden interruptions of our daily lives. But just because we’ve gotten used to the constant change, doesn’t mean it hasn’t adversely affected us. Change fatigue, the mental strain experienced after undergoing significant or extended periods of change, is a very real phenomenon. Change fatigue can present itself through physical and/or mental burden, and a lower capacity for accepting further change. A person can only adapt and relearn habits so many times before they start to wear out. Naturally, change fatigue is also very common in the workplace, especially when undergoing Change Management initiatives. That’s why we’re here to help you recognize change fatigue in your team, understand the consequences of letting it go unchecked, and teach you techniques to beat it once and for all. What Does Change Fatigue Look Like? Change fatigue can present itself in numerous ways, but some common tells are increased stress and concerns about future change. Your team may be feeling anxious about what’s to come. Communicating with your team to build stronger trust can help reassure them that there won’t be any sudden changes. According to this Prosci article on recognizing change fatigue, some other symptoms of change fatigue can be burnout, low productivity, apathy, or even negativity towards a change initiative. These symptoms, while primarily having to do with the workplace, can also display themselves in people’s private lives. After all, it’s not so simple to forget work stress as soon as work hours are over, especially as many of us work from home. A healthy work life will translate to a healthy home life and vice versa. How can you spot change fatigue? Pay attention to your team’s mood and how they’re faring with their workload. As long as you remain conscientious of others, you’ll be able to see their signs of struggle. Why Should You Act? As previously mentioned, change fatigue can lead to some negative short-term and even long-term consequences for your team. Low morale is never good for productivity in general, and you don’t want to be adding avoidable mental strain onto your team members’ plates. Despite all the unpleasant symptoms of change fatigue listed above, the largest obstacle that change fatigue poses from a managerial perspective is change resistance. After having dealt with so much change that it’s worn you out, how would you react to someone telling you that there is a whole new change initiative to come? You may feel exhausted, frustrated, and most probably resistant to the whole idea. There are many stages of change, and it’s natural to feel different emotions. Change is an inevitable fact of life, so smoothing along the process will be beneficial to both you and your team members. How Can You Beat Change Fatigue in Your Team? 1. Exercise Empathy As much as the idea of robot workers fascinates us, people are not robots who can easily be reprogrammed to perform tasks differently. There is always a learning curve, and an amount of effort invested in changing one’s habits. Put yourself in your team members’ shoes and understand that it can take time for them to adjust to changes, both in accepting the idea of change, and in implementing it. Be mindful of the work they are putting in and their respective levels of adaptability. 2. Lead with a Positive Change Narrative It’s important to be able to connect the dots to the bigger picture, including how the change relates to the vision and strategy, as well as, what it’s in for me, and what’s in it for us. Keep in mind that as a change leader (both formal and informal), you set the tone for the narrative of change. If you meet the change with a positive attitude and spread that shared narrative within your team, the change initiative will seem less daunting. Communicate with your team so that you can quickly spot any issues that arise and so that your team can feel better connected in their efforts towards change. 3. Be Proactive Don’t wait to address problems once they start to present themselves; be proactive, not reactive, and find the small issues before they develop into bigger problems. Check out our resource on why people resist change to learn more on the steps you can take to become a more proactive leader. If your team is experiencing change fatigue, the issue most probably isn’t isolated—it correlates to many different aspects of the change initiative and can also be a result of changes taking place outside of the workplace. Pay close attention and proactively support your team members so that they are enabled to change. To read more on being proactive when it comes to change fatigue, check out one of our blogs on this specific topic. 4. Be Prepared to Change your Management Methods While change fatigue has always existed, its effects have been exacerbated in the last few years due to the constant change as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. This McKinsey report examines how pandemic fatigue has altered the workplace we now find ourselves in. Most notably, they report a shift in workplace culture which intends to focus more on humanizing work practices. For example, hybrid work allows people to spend more time with their families. Methods of communication have needed revamping to consider people’s qualities as humans and not just workers. Employers have had to become more considerate towards people’s mental health and feelings in the workplace. To be an effective change leader, you also need to keep these aspects in mind when dealing with your team, especially when they’re dealing with change fatigue. 5. Power Through As much as you may try your hardest to follow all the steps above and keep a positive attitude towards change, change can be tiresome and difficult to deal with. Sometimes, you just have to do your best and power through. This is not to say that you should take on too much at once but, holding on for that little bit longer to complete your change initiative or project will lead to good results in the end. If you decide to pursue change, pace yourself of course, but stick to it, and you will eventually reap the rewards. Who Supports Leaders? While a leader’s duty is to make sure their team is functioning smoothly, you have to take care of yourself before you can be prepared to take care of others. Although you may be the leader (whether formally or informally), you’re not expected to hold yourself up completely on your own. As much as your team relies on you, you rely on them to reflect the tones you set, and in turn, receive their support. Exhibiting your own vulnerabilities to your team can not only help you in overcoming them, but your openness can also create a stronger network for empathy. By humanizing yourself as a leader, your team will feel more comfortable coming to you with concerns and working beside you. By setting the right tone in your team, you help your team members, and consequently help yourself, through the culture of empathy and communication that you create. Don’t forget that beyond your own team or organization, there also exists an entire network of change leaders. Work and online connections can be extremely helpful for finding support or answers to tricky questions. Leverage your change leader network of people who are open to helping each other through struggles and offering advice based on their own experiences. Leaders support their teams, but leaders can also support fellow leaders through their change journeys. In All… Change fatigue is real and quite common. Pay attention to how you and your team are faring when going through change, and act sooner rather than later to nip change fatigue in the bud before things spiral. Follow our tips on how to beat change fatigue and remember your change leader support system. Through this, you’ll be able to keep a steady pace as you make your way through the inevitable changes that are a part of today’s new normal. Author Siri Maldonado Director People Engagement Toronto Email l LinkedIn

Change Management is a commonly used term, but today, the term Change Enablement has become much more widely known. But where did this “new” term come from? And what differentiates the two? Are they the same? The simple answer is no, they are not the same. Change Management and Change Enablement both have the same end goal of helping organizations navigate through change, but their core focus is vastly different. Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge that Change Enablement evolved from Change Management to better support people through their individual change journeys. Many people believe that it’s one versus the other, however, the truth is that they are both needed in organizational change. The Original Flavour You could say that Change Management is the original form of dealing with change in your organization. Change Management takes a top-down approach, and it’s within these frameworks that good practices were developed. These tried structures are still useful and very much necessary to this day. However, Change Management is just that—a framework. It does not account for the development of the world and people around. Ironically, Change Management has not adapted to the changes in workplace culture, especially in the New World of Work. But, the bones of Change Management can be supported by new practices, which is where Change Enablement comes in. Evolving from Change Management to Change Enablement A top-down approach seems logical, but upon further consideration, it simply doesn’t account for all the levels of an organization. Many people in an organization, such as line workers for example, may be resistant to change; they’re being told to change the way they do things without knowing why. They aren’t included in project discussions, and don’t see what’s in it for them. Nowadays, we understand much more about human psychology, and people have a stronger understanding of their rights, meaning that they will not always just do as they’re told. Change Enablement understands that people have changed, and that people have certain needs in the workplace. While Change Management’s approach is top-down, Change Enablement’s approach is people-oriented. Things are Managed, People are Enabled The main concern with applying a Change Management approach is that it doesn’t focus enough on the people. As we know, people are unpredictable and unmanageable, and so they must be considered in every transformation. For behavioural change to happen, people need to feel enabled and empowered. Instead of telling them what to do and how to do it, understand where they are in their change journeys and what they need to move forward. You can’t train an employee to use new software by only assigning them to a training session. Yes, they will attend (if you’ve made it mandatory), but will they really change their behaviours if they don’t understand 1) why they need to change, 2) how the change benefits them, and 3) how they will be supported throughout their learning curve? Answering these questions is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Change Enablement. The best method of “managing” people is not managing them at all—enabling them is the way to go. Read more about the people element of Change Enablement in one of our other blogs. What’s the Best Way to Enable Change? Change Enablement is exactly what it sounds like: enabling people to change. How do you do this? By building accountability and helping people see the value of change and their role within it. Enabling people doesn’t only come from the top, it comes from everyday leaders in your organizations, whether they have official leadership titles or not. While we still need our senior leaders and executives to steer the change in the right direction, the real transformation is driven by the people in the middle. So, if there’s one thing you can start doing to apply a Change Enablement mindset, it’s to give the informal leaders, influencers, and middle managers in your organization a chance to shine and lead the change. The key concept to remember is communication. Let the people in the middle communicate within your organization so that the message of change reaches all corners. Everyone needs to have the same vision in mind so that they can strive for the same end goal. They need to understand how the change benefits the organization, and themselves by proxy. Make sure that people in your organization, and any stakeholders involved, all agree and understand the narrative of change you create within your organization. So, Which Is It? Change Management or Change Enablement? In short, Change Management frameworks are still very useful as the bones of the operation, while Change Enablement is essential as everything else in-between. The New World of Work has added so many new variables, which has affected how people work and prioritize elements of their work life. Change Enablement tries its best to understand the realities people face to better be address them as the world evolves around us. For more tips, check out our blog on enabling people in your organization or check out our LinkedIn where we frequently share our #ChangeEnablementTips. Author Greg Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email l LinkedIn

In the last few years, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives have evolved far past the concept of diversity hires. Organizations are growing more self-aware about the kind of workplace cultures they foster, and the way employees are inadvertently affected by implicit bias. Long histories of workplace discrimination just can’t be erased through a single anti-oppression seminar. Why is DEI more relevant now than ever? The New World of Work, largely influenced by the covid-19 pandemic, has completely altered the way people and organizations work. The rapid change has caused an unavoidable ripple effect, which must be addressed to ensure that your organization continues to run smoothly. True DEI is a struggle, but we’re making strides to get there. In this blog, I’ve compiled a few DEI tips to keep in mind, especially with the rough last few years and the burgeoning New World of Work keeping us on our toes. 1. Be Mindful of People’s Reservations Around Remote & In-Person Work DEI, while intended to support people from historically disadvantaged groups such as BIPOC, women, or members of the LGBTQ+ community, is also a reminder to be mindful of people’s individual circumstances, including physical and mental health. Despite covid-19 vaccinations being readily available and social distancing measures being implemented in designated spaces, some people may still wish to work from home. In most cases, working from home is a personal preference, but people may also wish to work from home out of concern for their health or the health of people they regularly interact with (such as elderly or immunocompromised family members). As a team leader, the risk to your team’s health is something to consider. Everyone has different levels of tolerance to risk, and some people may have undisclosed medical or personal circumstances putting them at higher risk. Does this mean everyone should work from home forever? Not necessarily. For some, the complete opposite may be true; some team members may feel isolated by remote work and wish to return to in-person as soon as they can. How do you reconcile conflicting concerns over mental and physical health? As we slowly progress back to pre-pandemic work styles, we should be considerate of others’ comfort levels in remote and in-person workspaces. Communicate, and let your team know that their concerns are not being dismissed or disregarded. When it comes to an issue as serious as people’s health, whether it be mental or physical, communication is key to come to a solution that reasonably suits most people. Not everyone can always be satisfied in these regards, but open communication will help your team feel less helpless in these types of situations. 2. Be Conscious of Your Subconscious Bias Being conscious of your subconscious biases towards both yourself and others is always a good rule of thumb, but it’s become much more relevant in recent years. As the general consciousness becomes more and more aware of implicit bias, these biases are being brought further into the public’s attention. Everyone has subconscious biases—it’s natural. We pick up things we see around us—in the news, in books, and in movies. Know that you probably do have subconscious biases, which probably don’t reflect your moral values at all. To deconstruct these deep-seated biases, we have to constantly examine and re-examine our behaviours so that we can keep in pace with the developments of society—in all regards, not only social. Take a look at this Harvard Business Review article examining the subconscious biases towards women in the workplace. While most people don’t consciously believe women to be less competent than men, “cattiness” or “bossiness” is a common characteristic ascribed to women in the workplace. These traits never translate to men of course, yet the catty, bossy woman has been a common trope in TV media for decades. How do we get past this way of thinking? Question yourself, and catch your own biases. The more aware you are of where your biases come from, the easier it is to accept their mythical nature. 3. Be Aware of Ageism and Relearning The method of discrimination most commonly overlooked these days is ageism. In the context of the New World of Work, organizations are planning for the future as it comes hurtling towards us at an increasingly rapid pace. A November 2021 report from McKinsey shows consistent workplace discrimination against people aged 45 and older. According to the report, there exists the general perception that older workers are less adaptable and less tech-savvy, making them less desirable to employers. Whether you believe this stereotype to be generally true or not, it should not reflect your openness to people of different ages, because 1) it’s discriminatory, and 2) you might be missing out on great talent. Stay open-minded about older workers, and keep in mind that generalizations never apply to entire populations. As change leaders, the habit of unlearning and relearning should be standard practice. Check out this blog for more information on the importance of relearning. To make it short, relearning is necessary at any age, especially in the New World of Work. Make it a point, both for yourself and for your team, to support learning and relearning initiatives. If you and your team are open to the idea of relearning, age plays no role. 4. Planning for a Sustainable DEI Future As previously mentioned at the beginning of the blog, DEI has to move beyond the age-old diversity hires. This article by Human Resources Director Canada sees a DEI future that goes beyond diversity in numbers, paying closer attention to the equity and inclusion parts of DEI. What they call a “holistic” approach to DEI may very well be what to expect from workplace cultures of the future. Meeting the diversity quota just isn’t enough anymore, and company cultures that don’t pay attention to the individual equity and inclusion of its employees may end up losing out on talent. A workplace culture doesn’t have to be hostile and explicitly exclusionary to turn people away nowadays. Going the extra mile to create a more positive and forward-thinking environment can go a long way. Author Evelyn Chan Communications and Community Coordinator Montreal Email l LinkedIn

Evelyn Chan, Harbinger’s Community and Communications Coordinator, tells about her experience and learning takeaways from The Change Leadership’s 2022 Conference. On May 25th, I had the opportunity to attend The Change Leadership’s virtually-held 2022 conference. I dove into my first ever conference, not knowing what to expect, and perhaps less excited by the virtual format—but the event did not disappoint. With an interactive platform, live sessions that answered questions from the chat, and dynamic speakers, the conference was an absolute success and a pleasure to take part in. I attended three different sessions which offered insight into dealing with change and how to lead change today. Session 1: Poetic Leadership in an Evolving World by Tucker Bryant The first session I attended, which also happened to be the first session of the day, was entitled “Poetic Leadership in an Evolving World”. The speaker was Tucker Bryant, a poet who promotes the use of poetic techniques to lead change within your team. He spoke in prose with eloquent language and rhythm to his speech, all the while enlightening listeners on change through anecdotes and encouraging language. He asked attendees to reflect on their own change, its purpose, and its impact on others. Bryant’s approach was unique in that he encouraged individual self-reflection rather than classroom-style instruction. Despite this interesting teaching approach based on introspection, Bryant still did leave his audience with three important points for effectively leading change in your team: 1. Constantly question your routines Remember to take the time to actively step out of your own routines—your own perspective. Examine yourself and your team. Adopt the poet’s perspective to see your practices and habits with a skeptical mind. From there, you can break apart and rearrange your routines, critiquing them as if they weren’t your own. You’ll leave the experience with a fresh perspective and perhaps improved practices. 2. Imperfection will not be your downfall Don’t let yourself get stuck on the first step. Don’t be afraid of the blank page, and just start, knowing that what you create will be imperfect. Imperfection is natural, so there’s sense in stalling because you’re waiting for perfection. Have faith in what you create, even though it is imperfect, because that’s the only way to start. Once you do get started, you can make your way towards improvement. 3. Offer reassurance to your team As a change leader, it’s your responsibility to keep the team on board. This means leading and supporting them through change. Keeping your team moving in the same direction with the same goal and motivation is the mark of a great change leader. Bryant’s main message revolved around the idea of adopting the poet’s mindset—being vulnerable and taking on an unconventional perspective to re-evaluate the steps you’re making towards change. Use poetic language, accept your imperfect efforts, and lead your team with the support they need. By becoming the poet, you can become a more effective change leader. Session 6: Unlearning & Relearning – Becoming a Change Leader of the Future by Krista Schaber-Chan This session, focused on the cycle of unlearning and relearning, was presented by Harbinger’s own Krista Schaber-Chan. In the New World of Work where everything is constantly evolving at a rapid pace, relearning has become essential to stay up-to-date on the newest practices, technology, etc. But relearning is not as simple as piling on more and more new information—you have to unlearn old information first. In her talk, Krista listed four points to keep in mind during your process of unlearning and relearning: 1. Question Everything Don’t let yourself remain stagnant in your practices. Keep questioning yourself and your surroundings so that you don’t get stuck believing in something that may not be true. Ask yourself whether your “truths” represent reality, or whether they’re beliefs you’ve merely accepted as truth over time. If you can question your ideas and beliefs, you can better adapt to changes that may come. 2. Be Curious Similar to the last point, look around you and keep asking questions. While the former point meant this in an internal sense, being curious means also looking outside of yourself. Find the newest trends, look at what others are doing, and don’t stop relearning. There’s always more to improve in a world that’s constantly changing. 3. Have Humility and Let Go of the Ego In order to unlearn to then relearn, you have to embrace humility and let go of your ego. Unlearning means accepting faults and knowing that there are better ways of doing things. If you can keep this mindset in mind, you’ll be less resistant to the idea of relearning and the process will go much more smoothly. 4. Have Patience Change takes time, which can feel frustrating. Have patience and know that relearning is a constant effort that can’t be accomplished in a single day. Be open to any change that may come your way, because it will, and you should be ready to accept it when it does. Krista offered a great example for relearning: children. Children are constantly growing and adapting to their surroundings by unlearning and relearning. Arguably, nobody is ever fully-grown since there’s always room for improvement, especially when the world keeps shifting around you. So, adopting the child’s growing capabilities is a good way to mould ourselves around our changing environments. Session 7: Navigating DEIB & Mental Health in the Workplace With Harriet Ekperigin, Karen Restoule, Dr. Akolisa Ufodike & Jahanzaib Ansari My last session of the day was a panel discussion with Q&A on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) and mental health in the workplace. Leading the panel was Harriet Ekperigin, mental health expert and Vice President of Green Shield. The three panelists were: Karen Restoule, CEO at Shared Value Solutions, Dr. Akolisa Ufodike, Assistant Professor at York University and Finance Executive, and Jahanzaib Ansari, Co-Founder and CEO of Knockri. The panel discussed multiple issues, but touched on some key points that stood out to me: 1. DEIB Can Become a Burden to those Impacted While DEIB is certainly a positive model to implement in your organization, it’s important to make sure that people do not feel burdened because of their association to certain groups. For example, women, BIPOC, and any other marginalized group should not feel personally responsible for their company’s diversity and inclusion practices. If people choose to participate in activities promoting this type of inclusion, it has to be of their own volition. If they choose not to engage for whatever reason (such as completely valid mental health reasons or unpleasant experience), it’s perfectly alright. Being from a marginalized group should not add an additional job to your everyday work. 2. Organizations Set the Tone Ultimately, it’s up to the organization or company to set the right tone with its employees concerning issues of mental health and DEIB. Leaders must be aware of the environments they live in and foster within their own teams. Creating strong relationships through empathy is a strong mark of leadership. You as the leader are exemplifying the culture you’d like to see. In closing, the panel brought forth the idea that prioritizing mental health and DEIB is in fact a long-term investment in employees. Positive culture and work environments conducive to mental health are not a waste, and will keep you and your team moving forward for a long time to come. What was my biggest takeaway? My two major takeaways from the conference were: 1) Be mindful of yourself and 2) Be mindful of others. Change happens across the board, from something as miniscule as your personal habits to your organization’s entire management. Leading change effectively means knowing yourself, including your strengths and weaknesses, but also knowing those around you and empathizing with their individual situations. Everyone has unique circumstances. Understanding this fact and internalizing it in all your interactions is crucial in becoming an effective leader of any sort. Author Evelyn Chan Communications and Community Coordinator Montreal Email l LinkedIn