Rachelle Su, Marketing & Communications Coordinator recently sat down with Krista Schaber-Chan, Managing Partner, to discuss the future of work. New workplace trends are constantly being introduced and the way businesses respond to these changes are important. Krista gives us her insights on how to prepare for tomorrow’s workplace, in addition to some key tips on ensuring a smooth transition and effective change strategy in the long-term. What are the key workplace trends businesses should be paying the most attention to? The movement towards a flexible work environment is one of the more prevalent trends I’ve seen in the past couple of years. Employers are providing more opportunities for employees to telecommute, develop flexible schedules, and collaborate differently. The main driver of why flexible work environments has become so popular is because of the cost savings. We can look at real estate as one of the most expensive costs a company can endure; if businesses change the need for employees to physically come into the office or take away their designated working spaces, they’re essentially eliminating a huge portion of their expenses. Providing a flexible environment where employees can work from home or making open layout spaces available in the office really downsizes their spending. They remove the need to allocate space for every employee. Another key trend to prepare for is the presence of artificial intelligence (AI). AI’s presence in today’s workforce is becoming increasingly important. Not only will it change the way we sell our products and services, but it will also play a role in shaping our human resources. AI can be applied to robots or systems that can make processes such as training employees more efficient, and it will quickly automate processes and refine data to enable better decision making. If a business chooses to ignore AI, they’re going to fall behind amongst their competition. It’s going to be a huge part of how businesses operate in the future. As a change management consultant, it’s important for my colleagues and I to know what changes to anticipate and invest in for the long term. AI is definitely one of those things. Managing expenses for any size of business is crucial, are the workplace trends we’re seeing today being driven solely for the sake of cost savings? There are many other reasons flexible workplaces have been up and rising beyond the concern for the bottom line.  While expenses play a huge factor, organizations are making these changes to attract younger talent and a different generation in the workforce, such as Generation Z. Start up cultures and innovation hubs tend to have different business practices. These organizations focus on flexibility through cross-functional roles, promoting work-life balance, working from home or even volunteering during work hours. All these practices are assumed to be tailored best towards Generation Z and Millennials, assuming this is what they’re looking for in the workplace. At the end of the day, we’re still figuring out how important this trend is to our new generation of employees; is innovating the way we work what they’re really looking for? Organizations are making assumptions and changing their workplaces based on those assumptions, hoping to attract younger talent and keeping themselves from falling behind and seeming outdated. Are these trends more prevalent in some industries than others? If so, what industries have you seen the most development in? Areas such as traditional manufacturing, transportation or even banking are less likely to feel the impact of these trends and changes. In these industries, companies have to maintain certain security and safety standards and where automation and AI may come in handy here, they also require intensely secure software. Without protected software in industries such as banking, this can pose a huge amount of risk for firms even though processes have the opportunity to be more efficient. For companies that produce and manufacture goods, we have seen more developments in automation and machinery. But, many of these procedures still require human interference in order to maintain safety and quality standards. There are no particular industries where workforce changes are working better than others. It’s rather more important to look at if these trends are conducive to your specific business, instead of making changes because your industry is too. For example, in creative industries it makes more sense for your business to have open and collaborate work environments or for your employees to telecommute when a significant amount of the work can be done online. Once a business has recognized that they need to make a workplace change, when is the right time to make that change? Well, there really is no right or wrong time to make a change. Of course, it is important to have gathered enough data or information from your employees to ensure you’re not pushing out a decision too fast but, you don’t want to wait too long as well. It’s important to note that it’s never too late to make a change, as long as you’re aware of the pulse of your organization and what your people really want, you can start taking action. You can always try the new change and adjust accordingly based on the reaction or feedback you get from it, just don’t let your business dictate when you make a change. There’s never a good time to make the change, just be prepared to help people adjust when it happens. While there are always going to be certain people who are very resistant to new changes, there are ways to minimize this turbulence during a transition. One of these ways is to really ensure people understand the personal benefit of the change, before making any moves. I would also consider paying the cost of the transition forward. These workplace changes are often saving you money in the long term and so, providing employees with small rewards or tokens of appreciation during the change, can go a long way in making the transition smoother. How has the movement towards these workplace changes impacted the way you operate your own business? One of the goals I hope to achieve for the future of my business is building our own AI infrastructure to better serve our clients. I would like to see AI as a part of our service offerings, where we can help make change and reinforcement of change easier for our clients. By having a bot that can answer questions immediately or walk employees through problems without human interference can provide full 360 support for our clients and will really add value to how we get the job done. Another fun idea would be having a robot attendant in the office! Our robot could help us with processes such as onboarding and training. This could really speed up the process of helping new employees become familiar with the business and helping to answer any questions they may have as well. Interested in learning more about the future of work? Check out our case study with RSA Insurance Canada where Harbinger supported the transition from a traditional office environment, to a new, flexible workplace here. Authors Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn Rachelle Su Marketing & Communications Coordinator / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn #future #tomorrowsworkplace #automation #work #change #flexibility #AI #trending

With the advent of the New Year, many people have already jumped aboard the popular tradition of committing to resolutions. However, as previous years have shown, most people are unable to keep up their ambitious goals and their resolutions quickly fall to the wayside. If you’re one of those people, consider looking to Stephen Covey’s classic bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, for resolutions that are ambitious, timeless, and attainable. Almost 30 years after it was first published, 7 Habits still stands as a remarkable piece of business and self-help literature. What about this book has caused it to resonate with so many people? Covey’s interest in how to be highly effective started when he began studying American success literature written since 1776. He realized that most of the success literature from the past 150 years focused on quick fixes to people’s problems—telling them that they would attain happiness and success if they just adopted a more positive attitude or used tactics to influence those around them or even made themselves appear more powerful. Instead, Covey argues that the root of most people’s problems is how they view them and the attitudes they adapt in response. Covey pushes you to stop having the way society has conditioned you to rule your life and instead have eternal principles of good inform the way you perceive and behave in the world. For the sake of brevity, this article will briefly summarize the most compelling of the habits, habits one and two, that focus on the internal changes you need to make within yourself. Habit 1: Be Proactive The first habit tells you to merely concern yourself with what you can control. Here, Covey upended the popular stimulus-response theory at the time which argued that all of your actions are in response to something else. In Covey’s book, he argues that, in between the stimulus and your response, you actually have the freedom to choose what your response will be. In simpler terms, this means you have the power to decide how you will react to situations. Whether it’s someone putting you down or doing something that bothers you, it is your choice—and your choice alone—whether to be hurt or not. Covey pushes you to only concern yourself with what you have power over, your own reactions and attitudes. As much as you want to change the people around you, you ultimately can’t control how they behave and feel without them wanting to change themselves. Overall, Covey asserts you should feel empowered to be a proactive person who controls how they react to a situation by examining their own behaviors and thoughts instead of being reactive and trying to modify situations that are out of your control. Habit 2: Begin with The End in Mind The second habit tells you to start with a clear understanding of the person you want to become so that you can understand where you are now and where you need to go to achieve that goal. Covey explains how, to everything, there is a first and second creation. He uses the example of building a house. The first creation is your mental plan. You don’t just go into an empty lot and start nailing things together, hoping that a house will suddenly emerge. First, you have your vision and plan—or the first creation. Then, once you have your plan, you carry out the physical creation of the house—or the second creation. Covey says that, with our lives as well, there is both a first and second creation. However, he argues most people use other people’s agendas, their circumstances, and the habits they develop as a result of social conditioning as their first creation. Instead, Covey encourages you to create your own first creation based on eternal and fundamentally good principles. So Why Do These Matter? Habits One and Two remain the two most important habits in Covey’s book. Why? They deal with the most difficult part of change: recognizing and identifying the roots of the problem and developing the right mindset in order to move forward in a productive and positive manner. Covey’s perception of personal change can even be tied to the popular ADKAR model. Only by first working through the internal Habits One and Two can you achieve the Awareness and Desire needed for effective change.

Colin Carmona-Murphy is a financial analyst and associate consultant with Harbinger SCR. Colin works both internally, dealing with the financial aspects of Harbinger, as well as externally, on the consultant side, as a learning and change management consultant. What is your favourite part about being a consultant? I like the constant change that’s always going on. Every day is different. There’s always new situations and problems that pop up. I also like the small tight-knit vibe of Harbinger. What do you find most fulfilling? Just solving problems, really. Especially when supporting end-users adapt to and adopt the new system or processes. What got you into financial analysis? What aspects of financial analysis do you find most fascinating? I like numbers, that’s what I went to school for; I studied Organizational Management with a focus on finance. I like how I can derive an answer from numbers and provide meaning to them. What aspects of instructional design and training delivery do you find most fascinating? Training is interesting work; honestly, it wasn’t something I could have seen myself doing several years ago. I didn’t even know that training and OCM as a field really existed. It is fascinating when clients who are unfamiliar with the software can figure out the problem with my help. It is interesting, in fact, how much work goes on in the background in terms of knowing the processes and what is going on within the system. Being able to compress all that information so that it becomes digestible for the end-user takes a lot of work. Did you work at a bigger organization prior to working with Harbinger? How does working with a smaller consulting firm like Harbinger differ? I did work for a bigger company before. Working with Harbinger is just a lot better because you have access to everyone compared to the major hierarchies at big companies that prevent direct communication.

Written in gratitude by Krista Schaber-Chan, Partner, Harbinger As a change management and learning  professional, I thrive on the opportunity to lead companies through change. One of the things I enjoy the most about what I do is the variety I get from each new project as no two projects are ever the same.  Starting a new project always has its challenges, and with  many, in the role of Change Manager, I am often seen as the one coming in to disrupt the status-quo. Imagine starting off on this…it’s  definitely not easy!  Then consider layering on all of the other aspects of starting  at a  new  organization where you don’t know anyone, you need to learn the ins-and-outs of the business, and still need to prove yourself. On top of this, they say it typically takes at least three to six months to settle into a role. Unfortunately for me, I don’t usually have the luxury of time and I’ve discovered that one of the most important things you can do to help expedite the process is to focus on getting to know the people and building relationships.   In my experience, building relationships is critical and a necessary step for effective change management. Establishing relationships with the right people will help astronomically for a number of  reasons including:  1. Understanding the invaluable  inner-workings  about the company.  Nowadays you can find a wealth of information online, however nothing beats getting the inside scoop from the people that are working there.  I’ve been able to learn so much (e.g. how are people feeling about the company and the changes that are coming, leadership and past changes, what makes people tick or happy etc.) from running into people on the way to the washrooms, or while grabbing a coffee. This is the stuff you can’t find online. 2. Helping to engage the change influencers  with their peers through the change. They’re the ones people listen to and trust and almost always have a wide-reach across the company. This is important as you alone will not be able to influence change. It’s also important to note that while some of these change influencers will include leaders and executives, there will be others that are at the front-line and other levels, so I encourage you to really take the time to get to know as many people as you can.  Another tip is to leverage your stakeholder analysis. This is a good starting point and will inform you of some of the key players from the get-go. 3. Helping you to get buy-in from the decision-makers. Without this, you will have a heck of a time getting your project over the finish line. It’s easy for a company to say no to an outsider, but when you have several individuals within the business recommending the same thing, you have a better chance to get approval. 4. Getting people to trust you and your decisions. Trust is so important as it enables people to open up to you so that you can support them through the change. It also helps to create an environment where people feel comfortable to provide feedback and it encourages collaboration. Remember, sharing knowledge is key to implementing change. 5. Brings diversity to the project. Diversity is much more than gender and race, it also includes experience and mindset. What’s more, bringing diversity into a change initiative makes good business sense with some saying that inclusive teams make better business decisions 87 per cent of the time.   It also doesn’t hurt to have access to wealth of knowledge and ideas from individuals at all levels and different backgrounds. Now that we know why establishing relationships is important, it’s also essential to discuss how to do this. Everyone’s approach will vary, but for me I’ve found that being genuine in my interactions is vital. This means that I go the extra mile to get to know someone beyond work. I enjoy learning more about someone’s hobbies, background, and interests. I also make sure that I remember what they’ve shared and make it a point to share more about myself too. This is a great way for me to develop meaningful connections by finding commonalities and understanding what a person is like outside of a work environment. I also make sure to change my approach in developing relationships with every person depending on their personal preferences. For example, I know that some people prefer speaking one to one, while others feel more comfortable in a group setting. There are also those who prefer communicating digitally versus face to face.  The point here is that you need to take the time to understand how people like to interact and use aspects of their own personal style when engaging with them. Finally, establishing relationships is an art and takes time and patience. There will be times when you feel uncomfortable or want to give up, but I promise you that the time you invest to do this is worth it! Building relationships are not only necessary, but it provides you with the opportunity to make life-long friendships and have allies to help you get the job done well. While building relationships isn’t easy, I’m sure you agree that it is not only essential but also an invaluable component to effective change management. Authors Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

I’ve always had a strong passion to learn and can remember being a very determined child growing up. I  also  thrived in a school environment and was always looking to learn new things.  One of my fondest memories is when I was around six years old and  I had this  sudden  desire to learn  how to tie my running shoes.  I must’ve sat there for a good hour practicing over and over until I got it and let me tell you, it was an amazing feeling when I finally did it! Today  I still have that same determination to learn, but the way I learned  as a child is drastically different from how I learn as an adult.   In my younger years, I acquired information from reading and researching, developed new skills through repetition and practice, and listening to my teachers and family. Fast forward to  my 30s, I still enjoy reading but it’s more for pleasure than gaining knowledge. And  I  am  continuously  expanding  my skillset but instead of repetition and practice, I prefer to learn from experience and by engaging with colleagues and other professionals. So why has there been a shift in the way I learn?   According to  Malcom  Shepard Knowles, an American educator known for the term andragogy (adult education),  there  are  many differences in the way children and adults learn.   Included below are his  five assumptions of adult learning: Self-Concept As a person matures his/her self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being. Adult Learner Experience As a person matures he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning. Readiness to Learn As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his/her social roles. Orientation to Learning As a person matures his/her time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application. As a result his/her orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject- centeredness to one of problem centeredness. Motivation to Learn As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (Knowles  1984: 12). Knowles  also came up with four principles: Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction. Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for the learning activities. Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their job or personal life. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented. There are countless articles and commentary regarding Knowles assumptions, but the two that stand out to me based on my personal experience are assumption one: self-concept and assumption three: readiness to learn . Self-concept describes how one starts off being dependent on others, to being independent and driven.    I agree that this is true based on how many skills you have to learn in your first few years of life like walking, manners and putting on clothes.   What I don’t agree with, is the assumption that independence and being driven comes later in life.  As mentioned above, I have a very vivid memory of just how driven I was to learn how to tie my shoes.  I also believe that some, like my son, are spirited from the get-go.   For example, he  prefers sleeping on his own in his bedroom, and really enjoys when he  is able to  accomplish things by himself. Assumption three, readiness to learn , speaks to how children learn externally as they are required to go to school.   As adults, this shifts and is more internal.  Adults have a desire to learn for personal reasons like progressing with their career.  To help do this, adults look to complete training or go to school.     Unlike self-concept, I completely agree with this. As an adult, I find that I need to be interested or have a reason to learn something new or I just won’t do it. In terms of the four principles, I am going to touch upon the two that resonate the most to me.  Principle two:  experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for learning activities and principle  three : adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their job or personal life. Again  I  agree with both of these  principles.  While I identify myself as an overachiever, there’s certainly been times where I have made mistakes.  I would say that these experiences have enabled me to grow by reflecting and  determining how I can improve.   I also think it’s important to be able to take  critique and learn from it. Lastly, I am only interested in learning about things that will have an immediate impact to my job or family life.   A big reason for this is that I’m incredibly busy juggling my life as a mother and wife, and my career.  It’s a lot of responsibility to raise a child and there’s never a shortage for me to learn in this area.   A second reason is that as an adult, I have more control on what I learn.   Math has always been a struggle for me, and I quickly gave that up as soon as I was able  to  (and I have  no regrets  about this).  From a professional  perspective, I  now  have a strong interest in gaining more knowledge about learning and change management.  As a Harbinger, it’s only fitting for me to do so. As you can see, there’s so much to learn about andragogy, and I’m looking forward to digging deeper into this to learn more about myself.    Stay tuned for more! Author Siri Maldonado Director of Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

There are numerous articles that speak about the importance of leadership development, especially during times of change. While leadership is not the sole contributor to successful change, it is a very important component for many reasons. I recently read an article by Jessica Bronzert in Forbes, who discusses the importance of leadership development and the need to look at this beyond competency (what) to capability (how). Becoming a leader The path to becoming a leader typically goes like this – an individual is promoted to a leadership position because of tenure, skills or due to a simple need to fill a role. Once a leader, the next step involves the company investing in leadership development. As Bronzert mentions in her article, this includes things like how to have difficult conversations, time management and delegation. All of these are incredibly important, however I would agree with Bronzert that the missing piece is definitely the focus on developing leadership capabilities in addition to competences. From competency to capability Change is happening at a rapid pace and businesses need to keep up to remain relevant. Leaders play a critical role in ensuring a company is successful for the long-term, and yet the training required for them to do this well is not evolving fast enough to keep pace with the influx of changes coming at them. That’s why organizations need to expand their leadership development to include capability. Capability is the power or ability to do something. The role of a leader during change Change is hard and employees will be looking to their leaders to guide them through this. Transparency, clear and timely communications, goes a long way but it’s no longer enough. The magnitude of the changes taking place today are calling for much more from leadership. Leaders have a huge responsibility to lead their people through change but they must not forget about the importance of focusing on their own abilities to drive change. Having the skills and knowledge are key, but it’s equally as important as ensuring they are upskilling themselves to evolve with these changes. For example, if your company is implementing an new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, leaders need to not only understand how the system works, but they also need to make sure they know how to use the system so that they can determine how this impacts their people and how it will improve the way they work today. In addition to being walked through the ERP system, leaders should be taking the initiative to stay up to date on current business trends by reading reports or articles on industry disrupters, or by completing their own research. Finally, another great way to build capability includes training. This can be done in traditional post-secondary environments, networking events, through e-learning or company training. The next step is to make sure leaders have the ability to build capability with their people too. This means, they need to be able to upskill their people to adapt to these changes. Implementing new technology is scary to many, but the good news is people can and want to learn how to use technology so that they can enjoy their jobs, as well as, develop and flourish in their roles in this new environment. This isn’t an easy task, but a great way to gain some momentum is for leaders to take a close look at each individual on their team and ask: What are their strengths? What are their goals and how can I help them reach their goals? What opportunities are available to help them develop? How does this change benefit them? What sort of impacts does this change have on their roles? It’s true. Technology does make some roles redundant, but it also creates a flurry of opportunities for new roles. Change management consultants are a great example of the opportunity’s technology creates. With that said, leaders must be confident in their ability to lead their people through change by upskilling and presenting them with opportunities for growth either in their current roles or new roles that are based on current business needs. I’m sure you agree that leaders are critical in leading their people and businesses through change. The rapid pace and size of change leaves little room for leaders to rest on their laurels. Now is the time for leaders to embrace change by taking charge of their own development and focusing beyond competency to include capability for themselves and for their people. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Change management (CM) is picking up steam – organizations have begun to understand the discipline and importance of having a strong CM strategy to help LEAD their business and people through change. Having more than 18 years of experience in this field, it’s refreshing to see the evolution of this area but it’s also important to keep this momentum going by dispelling a very important CM myth: You use the same CM approach for all types of change. What’s the same Yes, there is an overarching CM approach common to all methodologies regardless of the one you use and yes there are fundamentals that need to be followed. This includes doing the proper work to understand the change including magnitude, type and impacts. This can be done by developing a plan with clear activities like communications, training and readiness or impact assessments. It’s also beneficial to do your due diligence by completing a stakeholder analysis so that you can understand the culture and who you will be working with. Another similarity for all CM initiatives is not wanting to instill fear in people. You want to strike the right balance with strong relationship management and by ensuring impacted stakeholders understand why the changes are taking place, the direction of the business and what this could mean for them, all in a timely planned manner. The activities above form the foundation of CM, but it’s important to note that there are many variances depending on the type of change you are supporting. Your approach to managing the change needs to reflect this. What’s different There are constant changes occurring within the workplace such as acquisitions, new products, change in strategy and more. However, the two that we are seeing more frequently include technology or system implementation and organizational design (OD) change. Both examples are significant changes that could negatively impact the direction of a company if not done right. System implementations such as ERP are amongst the most challenging changes to manage for a number of reasons. For one, it is rarely simply a technology change. Most system implementations impact people which leads people to immediately fear how the new system will impact their jobs. Words like increased efficiency and automation are immediately associated with job loss or change. What’s more is that this is among the most expensive changes for any company. It’s no secret that system implementations require many resources, take a long time and are very expensive to implement. Lastly, technology changes at a much faster pace than people do. So, what’s the solution? In addition to following the best practices and fundamentals of CM, it’s critical to look at these pain points and enhance your focus on learning and training, communications and stakeholder engagement. Learning and training is amplified here because it’s crucial to ensure adequate time is spent on training people on how to use this system in the future state. It’s also important to remember that everyone has different learning preferences and you need to ensure that you have developed a learning and training plan that reflects both the intended behaviour change as well as everyone’s diversity. Communications is always key but the pace and content is different for system implementations. This is because you will likely be required to communicate to a large number of different audiences, will need to communicate on a number of changes or activities, and will need to do so in a non-technical, easy to understand way. Stakeholder engagement is also different in this circumstance as you need to have insight and buy-in from key stakeholders from the get-go to get this off the ground. Identifying, supporting and engaging key stakeholders such as sponsors, executives, and leaders is the recipe for success, but it takes a lot of planning, coordination and relationship building. Organizational design change is another important one to highlight as this usually makes significant ripples throughout the company. These types of changes do impact the whole organization but rarely at the individual level the way a system implementation often does. Most commonly, the organizational structure has already been determined due to the number of individual contributors to managers or leaders, but the gap here is to ensure you have the right spans of control, and roles and responsibilities in place to make this successful. Finally, one of the most challenging aspects to consider is that OD will likely have the highest impact on the leadership group. The first step in the CM process for OD involves understanding the direction of the organization – what does the organization look like today and what does it want to be? Do they have the right people and skills to reach this goal or is more work to be done? Again, stakeholders are important but in this case it is more stakeholder management than engagement as you need to tread carefully and be mindful of what you are communicating. It’s true that some structural decisions will have already been made, but more often than not, more work will need to be completed to understand if an individual has the right skillset for certain roles or can have the right skillset to succeed in this structure. Another significant difference with how you should approach OD is with learning and training. Unlike other CM initiatives such as systems implementations, there is traditionally minimal learning and training required with OD. It’s great to see CM at the forefront of business and technology changes and being given the spotlight it deserves, but we need to begin dispelling the myth that there is one-size-fits-all approach to manage change. In addition to staying true to the fundamentals, every CM project will require its’ own unique approach as demonstrated by system implementations and OD examples above. I’m happy to share a bit of my insight and want you to know that this is one of many CM and Learning mythbuster’s to come. Stay tuned! Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

February is known as the shortest month of the year and is also a time when many reflect about what is happening within their lives. Maybe this has something to do with the long, cold days, or maybe it’s just how humans operate. All of this got me thinking about my personal experiences of helping others break through the noise and remain focused on leading their people through change. As a Change Management Professional and a Life/Business coach, I am often asked for advice or coaching on a variety of topics ranging from how to lead a team through a difficult change that may have no obvious immediate benefits to the people who are impacted, to how do I get my spouse, boyfriend or kids to listen to me (and there is a huge spectrum in between!). One of the things I love most about my job as a Change Manager is building relationships with my stakeholders and becoming the “trusted advisor” which luckily often grows into genuine long-lasting friendships. As a Change Manager in business or ERP projects, the lines are usually clear – I am engaged to support the organization and its leaders, so they can lead their change. Sometimes, however, stakeholders will migrate the need for help into more personal areas which I am still happy to listen to and provide support or coaching where possible. In either situation two things are always top of mind: I am not a therapist, even though sometimes that is what it feels like. I need to be able distinguish when the person seeking advice is looking for consulting or when they are looking for coaching. Fact: A Change Manager or Life/Business Coach is NOT a Therapist This can be a slippery slope and it can be tempting to act like a therapist. But it is vital that the distinction and line is clear. Consulting and coaching are not, and cannot, replace therapy or counselling. Fact: It is important to be able to determine when someone needs Consulting vs. Coaching These two are also tricky at times, especially when wearing both the consultant hat and coaching hat for a client. Consulting is just that – providing consultation, advice, proposed solutions and the plan or steps for how to achieve the desired solution regarding a particular problem or change. Often as a consultant I will also be involved in actioning, supporting or leading those changes. A coach, according to Tony Robbins, is someone who helps a person identify goals and develop an actionable plan so that the person requesting coaching acts to achieve them; someone professionally trained to help another person maximize their full potential and reach desired results. Confused? Basically, a consultant provides direction and often does much of the work, whereas a coach provides guidance on how a client takes ownership and is the sole player in their own change. As mentioned, one of the true joys of working with stakeholders through business or people change are the relationships that are built – the trust and bond that come from working so closely with people. This bond and trust often migrates organically from a business focus to something personal. I have had, on more than one occasion, people whom I was working with on a project ask for my advice on how to handle {insert personal topic here}. I always make time to listen, because I believe that as humans, most of us do not turn off our personal lives when at work; our kids, our spouse, our personal finances are all topics and maybe burdens we carry with us. I often find that to help someone through the process of embracing a business or work change, they need to reconcile and balance it with what is going on in their personal lives – the change at work can sometimes be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so understanding what else is going on is sometimes critical. I once worked with a key stakeholder who was integral to the success of the procurement process for the organization. She was smart, no doubt. But she was not only hesitant, but almost hostile to the change. I collected some data points. Everyone, from her direct manager to her peers and even some senior leadership said she was by far the most knowledgeable person when it came to the company’s procurement process. But something was causing her to sabotage the project and her own career. At one point, the sponsor of the project suggested she be let go and get someone in who had a better attitude. I was not convinced. There was something there – call it spidey senses or sixth sense or intuition. I just felt like there was more to her story. One day I asked her to join me for a coffee. I had to encourage it a bit, but finally she agreed. Once I got her talking through asking some pointed questions she let it all out. She talked for over two hours. I listened. At the end, I had a much better understanding of what she was going through personally and why she was behaving at work the way she was. I asked her some tough questions and made her take a lot of accountability for what she was feeling. But I also listened and let her talk through some of the personal things she was facing which were directly impacted by the changes she was experiencing at work. Long story short, she began to see her part in her own story – that while she may not be able to control many of the things happening in her personal life at that time, she was in a position of control of her experience at work and could actually curate a better work experience by being more engaged and involved. Within a week everyone noticed a difference in her attitude and her output. I later found out, a year after the project went live that she is now a VP with that organization and is leading her people following much of the same coaching principles I employed with her. Working with people and supporting them through change is not hard, but it does take time, a genuine interest and an arsenal of tools. Fact: You need to follow a process regardless of the issue or the change that is required. Observe. Observe the people involved, and the surroundings they are in. A lot can be learned simply by observing. Listen. Listen to the problem, or the concerns, or feelings. Ask questions. Ask questions that will help understand what a person (or people) is going through and what they are actually looking for in the way of help, guidance, support, advice etc. Also consider that they may not want help – and that is also okay. Determine the right support. Determine if a consulting hat, or a coaching hat is required, or if more specialized support is needed. Have a conversation. Discuss with them the type of help that can be provided (or not provided). Develop an action plan. Based on the type of support that best suits the situation, come up with an action plan and define the steps and due dates to ensure progress. Make sure they are willing to own their part. Follow-up. When an effort has gone into reaching out to someone and building a plan with them, follow-up and help keep them on track. They may have the best of intentions, but change is hard. We all need a coach, a cheerleader and sometimes a drill sergeant to keep up the momentum of the change to reach the full potential. Change is happening all the time, to all of us, every day. Sometimes we can go with the flow and handle or cope. But sometimes we need help. And sometimes we don’t know how to ask for the help or don’t know what to expect when we do ask for help. If there is anything I have learned over my career is that everyone is going through something – always. It may not seem big to you or me, but it could mean the difference between success or failure for someone else. Compassion, humility and understanding will go a long way when supporting others through change, as will a genuine interest in understanding when someone is struggling or when someone wants to talk about a personal issue that may or may not seem related. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Ever hear the words, “you lack empathy?” Chances are you have in some shape or form. When I did, it didn’t sit well and certainly not as truth. I often found myself caring and feeling a great deal in response to others, so how could it be true? A couple of years ago our team took the Clifton Strengths Finder test and to the sound of cackling laughter, the results ranked empathy as my 27th strength out of the 34. Something had to be done since you know, it is an attribute of significance. As a consultant, trainer, and in my personal life, I can attest to how empathy has enabled trust and genuine sharing of ideas. Ahead are a few way points that may be useful if like me, empathy doesn’t come naturally to you. Did I miss the memo? Yes. Take the above statement about caring, feeling, and not knowing what could be lacking when it comes to empathy. Turns out that statement doesn’t relate much to what the word means. Like many things that are a struggle, I had to consider what degree empathy remained a blind spot. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel though. Strengths Finder articulates empathy as an instinctive ability to understand, “hear the unvoiced questions…anticipate the need.” Jedi mind trick, right? Truly successful collaboration with clients and colleagues, winning together, depends on understanding the need. What are us mere mortals to do? NVC Like any muscle or fitness goal, practice makes perfect and a defined process certainly helps. Enter Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a book I chanced upon, written by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D. Flip the soft cover over and see the words, “Put your primary focus on connection through empathic listening rather than ‘being right’ or ‘getting what you want.’” Sounds like the place to be. Here are just a few teasers that resonated: Nowhere else to be Pulling unvoiced questions out of minds and into the world, and your ears, begins with listening…and stays there longer than perhaps typically assumed. Rosenberg shares in NVC, “Don’t just do something, stand there.” It’s difficult to understand what people are truly saying at first pass, so gifting more time to allow full expression is key. Needs versus Solutions Keeping a clear, unadulterated mind when listening to others speak is no small feat. Muscle memory, as stated. What it allows for and where the magic lies, is tuning into potential needs. The easier path of assuming where words are going, leads to the solution trap, where we already formulate an action plan and solve the problem in our minds while listening. Reminder that the needs identified here are only potential ones and need to be validated. Paraphrase This is where the plot can be lost most often. Good intentions allow near understanding, but the next step requires paraphrased repeating of what was just heard. NVC outlines this shapes conversation to: Confirm the understanding of the speaker Give the speaker a chance to correct the paraphrasing Invite the speaker to revisit their words and share more This practice expands into how best to respond to others’ observations, feelings, and requests. NVC is not as simple as an open-ended question like, “What would you like me to do?” Rather, it is an implicitly vulnerable way of inviting more information, “I’m confused by the ask here, would you mind elaborating on these areas?” Making it a point to paraphrase may feel awkward at first. However, in my experience the effort does not go unnoticed, and I may have given myself the nickname “awkward Ansari.” Consider that finding solutions, being strategic, and executing may feel like bread and butter but without empathy the true ask, the need, remains hidden. So what are we even being strategic about? Learning to be empathetic does not equate to a retiring of contrasting communication methods, including humourous ones like wit and sarcasm, or being disingenuous if it isn’t in your nature. It’s hard work. If caring about others – especially those you lead – is truly important, then it might not be just a tool for the belt, but one carried in hand. Author Monem Ansari Learning & Change Management Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

We all know how important communications is especially during change. In fact, most of the change management methods recognize the importance of communications and includes it as part of the process. While this is good news, there’s certainly a misconception that communication is just a check box and developing a plan is enough. The truth? Developing a communications plan to align with the overall change management plan is critical, but effective communications takes much more than this. Every communications practitioner will have their own approach but here’s a breakdown of the process I follow when I begin supporting a new change project. Step 1: Learn about the company including its’ culture, history and business strategy Now that I am on the consulting side, I find it more important than ever to take the time to really get to know the company I am supporting. Getting to know the details about its’ culture helps me to understand what they care about, how they work together and how they have dealt with change in the past. This is all great insight and helps me to think about the communications approach and tone I want to take. For example, I have been able to pick up on how well teams work together or how decisions are made based on observing and listening. This is useful intel especially when I think about where the business may be at this point of the change – if teams are working in silos and the success of the project requires collaboration, I know I need to add in activities that will promote this way of thinking and certain behaviours. The history of a company is useful as it will tell me how well they have navigated change in the past, and tells me more about how they got to where they are today. Knowing this also provides me with good information to help develop my plan. For instance, a company that is hundreds of years in age may be less adaptable to certain types of change as they’ve been able to succeed and do things the way they have for a long time, whereas younger ‘start-up’ like companies may be more open to change but uncomfortable being in a position where they just need to keep the status quo. Finally knowing the business strategy is also key! You definitely don’t want to spend too much time promoting or engaging people on the wrong thing. An example that comes to mind here is if the business has multiple lines of business but is focused on growing only one of them. It’s also much easier to plan ahead with communications activities once you understand where they want to go. I often think about technology and how important it is to the success of a company today. By knowing that they are open and want to embrace this tells me that the desire to become more digital should be a part of the key messaging. Step 2: Get to know the leadership team and their personal communications style Part of the change management process involves knowing who the influencers of the organization are, as well as, tapping into the leadership team who will help to drive the change throughout the company. I’ve always made it a point to develop relationships with the leadership team so that we can work collaboratively to determine what communications are required, but to also determine what their communications style is. Leaders deliver the messages much better when they can bring their employees along with them, are authentic, and confident in the delivery. How they do this really depends on their personal approach to communications, in addition to, how people are accustomed to receiving such messages within the organization (e.g. face to face, email etc.). Everyone has their own unique way of communicating and I always advise leaders to communicate in a way where they feel most comfortable. I have worked with many leaders, and all have their own communications strengths and opportunities. I find that leaders are most effective when they feel confident delivering the message in a way that feels natural to them. I also make sure to tie in any common sayings they use and ask them to simplify the language as much as possible (conversational is usually best!) This is not to say that I also don’t push to get them to try new things. The way people communicate is constantly changing and I strongly believe that this has to be reflected in a corporate environment as well. Something that stands out to me here is the way we use our phones and other devices today. Don’t get me wrong, I know that there are still people out there who don’t use their phones or devices for everything, but the majority of us do, so we have to make sure we tap into this to get our messages out. With people scrolling and looking for headlines, it’s now more important than ever for communicators to support leaders in being clear and succinct with their messages. It’s also a great idea for them to leverage new tools like Yammer that allow two-way communications with their employees in real-time. Lastly, having strong relationships with this group has not only made it easier for approvals to happen, but has also made it possible for me to have a seat at the table. It is much better when we are there to contribute and engage in discussions versus just executing on business decisions without having any input or the opportunity to ask the right questions. Having strong relationships and trust also makes it easier for leaders or the organization to try new things and be open to your suggestions. Step 3: Work in tandem with the project team and change leads One thing is for sure – communications alone cannot lead or manage change. It is truly a collaborative effort. You must work together to ensure all of the plans align, otherwise it’s just not going to work! You cannot work in isolation and understanding the priorities of the other parts of the project is important as it will also help drive what you put in a communications plan. Similar to what I’ve mentioned above, relationships are key. Each individual on the project team brings invaluable expertise and it’s important that everyone feels comfortable enough to develop their plans with different perspectives and input from several people. There are always a number of communications activities included in my plans that have been provided by others on the team from different parts of the business. Working together also gives you much greater influencing power. More often than not large change projects require the help of both internal employees and external consultants. As a consultant, it can often be challenging to get things over the line, but if you leverage the power from several consultants, you’ll have a much better chance in getting approvals or moving something forward. So, while a communications plan is critical and an important way to drive change through an organization, there’s much more to it than just putting a plan together. Effective communications requires staying up to date on current trends, collaboration and must be adapted for every project or person you work with. As a communications professional, I will never stop learning and always look forward to the variety I get from working with new clients and teams. Author Siri Maldonado Director of Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Adam Rifai is an accounting and business analyst / associate consultant with Harbinger SCR. Adam works both internally, dealing with the financial aspects of Harbinger, and is currently learning the ropes of what it takes to be a consultant. Define what a Harbinger is? What I’ve learned about Harbingers is that they are pioneers of change. What that means to me, is that they are leaders of improvement. The only reason to instill change is to seek improvement or new perspectives which would hopefully lead to improvement. And, to be a pioneer in this, you become the one that others will follow. To be a good harbinger, would mean to be someone who ensures that the individuals you are guiding through change and learning are fully optimizing their experience. What makes you most excited about joining the team? I am most excited to be a part of a team that is growing, because I am in the same stage of my career, where I want to learn and grow as much as I can. I think our values align nicely, and you can’t beat the vibrant downtown Toronto location. Tell us something most people don’t know about Finance & Accounting. It’s actually fun. Numbers have this prejudice of being boring and complex. But, if you know what you’re doing, you’ll realize there is actually so much you can learn about a company or industry solely based on their numbers. Once you start learning how to read trends, forecasting opens a whole new outlook on everything around you including maintaining your own personal finances. What do you love the most about what you do? I really enjoy the freedom I have, compared to if I was working for a large firm with concrete structures. This freedom allows me to do my job in an enjoyable fashion at my own pace; and the flat organization structure gives me the ability to express my ideas with the confidence that they will be heard and acknowledged. As a recent graduate, do you have any tips or advice on learning?  How do you personally learn? Be optimistic and open to taking on new challenges and experiences. Personally, I learn by doing, so I learn a lot by trying new things and taking on different perspectives. You have to do this with the mindset that you’re either going to succeed or fail. If you succeed then good job, move on to the next task. But, more importantly, if you fail, then even better. Learn from your failures; because if you don’t, you will find yourself in the same spot. In order to grow you need to be proactive and adaptive towards improving from your past failures. How will you apply what you know from Finance and what you’ve learned from the team so far, into Consulting? One of the most important things I’ve learned in Finance is to double check your work and understand the story behind each number. You cannot present financial data to others without knowing the background of each number, and you must be prepared to answer any and all questions. I feel like this will be very helpful in my transition to consulting, because when dealing with clients you absolutely need to know what you are talking about. As a consultant, you become the one that clients go to for their questions, so you need to be three steps ahead in your preparation. If you could describe yourself with one word, what would it be? Poise. I try to make sure I keep my stress down, and not to overreact when things go wrong. By maintaining my composure and making logical rather than emotional decisions I am always confident any problem can be solved. Now that you’re a Harbinger, what are your predictions for the Raptors this year? The same as it was at the beginning of the year, winning it all, and Kawhi Leonard is re-signing! Author Adam Rifai Accounting & Business Analyst / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Change is happening all the time and while one would think we’d be used to it by now, there’s still a strong perception that most people don’t like change. Why is that? Krista Schaber-Chan, Partner, drills into this week’s MythBuster to understand what is truly behind this misconception. I think about change all the time and one of the things that has intrigued me the most is when someone states “people don’t like change”. It has been my experience that there are in fact many instances where they do! Smart devices are a prime example of this. Many individuals are constantly upgrading their smart phones and look forward to having new functionalities with system updates or newer models. The Apple ‘special events’ garner a lot of attention from media and buyers alike. These special events provide previews for new or upgraded products and the excitement they build results in significant sales on launch day. What is interesting about this is the fact that there are literally millions of people looking forward to change with a new Apple product. What’s more interesting is how there are minimal instructions on how to use these new gadgets, yet people want to play around and experiment with them. For the most part, I believe that many Apple users figure it out on their own. Another example is how we watch television and movies. We’ve talked about the demise of Blockbuster before and if you look at the timelines it did not take long for Netflix to take over. The transition from renting DVDs to streaming movies online is significant and yet this was welcomed with minimal direction on how to use the new digital service. (On a side note, Netflix has done a phenomenal job using data and artificial intelligence to create a strong user experience). All of this raises the question – why do we like some types of change and not others? After a lot of personal reflection, reading about neuro-psychology, and having conversations with people about what makes them want to change and does not, I have come to the conclusion that people do actually like change. What people don’t like is being forced to change. And sometimes , even if people are receptive to the change, they show symptoms of what many call resistance but is actually an indication of being stuck (Gregg Brown recently gave a great ted-style talk on this subject – you can watch it here). Let’s take a look at iOS updates. If you’re anything like me, you are an Apple fan but have a love hate relationship with iOS updates. Doesn’t it always feel as if they’re updating just when you are starting to get used to the changes? And what is even more frustrating is how they force you to make the upgrade to your iOS if you keep delaying it. There was also that time Instagram briefly changed their feed scrolling to side-to-side. This was a complete disaster and was not well received with users. There was an immediate uproar and it didn’t take long for Instagram to make a claim that it was just a test. This is another great example of how people don’t like being forced to change. The key to understanding why we like change, but do not like to be forced to changed is perspective or mindset. Having a positive mindset is a powerful tool and is said to often be the difference between success and failure. Another key to understanding why we like or do not change can be tied directly to the planning, or lack of planning that happens before a change is made. “Surprise, surprise! Decisions imposed on people suddenly, with no time to get used to the idea or prepare for the consequences, are generally resisted. It’s always easier to say No than to say Yes.” – Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Top Ten Reasons People Resist Change, Harvard Business Review In a corporate environment, a positive mindset for leadership plays a crucial role as they are often needed to explain the changes, support their employees through the change, and are required to implement the changes with their teams. This is one of the reasons why the change management process includes a focus on empowering leaders to LEAD change. At Harbinger, we do this by completing a business readiness study via surveys and anecdotal discussions with key leaders within the organization. The combination of these efforts provides us with a strong picture of the current state, and helps us to determine how we will create a plan and work with leaders to assure the change is a success. It’s nearly impossible to do so without leadership buy-in and from personal experience, much of this does involve having the right mindset. It’s important to remember that leaders are just like the rest of us. They too struggle to find that desire to change even with the everyday things in their lives like iOS updates. The good news is there are several tips we can use to accept change. Think bigger picture and not short-term. The change that is presented in front of you is not final. Everything evolves and more often than not, the change is what you make of it. Get over that mental block and be open to trying something new. How will you ever know if you like it, if you don’t try it? Have a plan. Stick to the plan. But be flexible and able to pivot if required. Sometimes change isn’t good and that’s ok too. Use what you’ve learned from this experience to grow. Ask for help! This is one of the best ways to learn and is also a great way to discuss your concerns or fears. Stop thinking about it as being forced. Instead, find that desire you have for the changes you welcome and use this positive energy towards the change you are having a hard time accepting. Change is constant and if anything, it’s now a regular part of our everyday lives. Different types of change will impact people differently, but a change in mindset and a bit of support can go a long way in transforming how you approach change. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn