twelve “change management factors” to consider when building a
change management plan:
- Leadership and role models 7. Impossibility
- Success stories 8. Priorities
- Consequences and incentives 9. Fear of technology
- Value proposition 10. Sink-in time
- Level of participation 11. Training
- Hassle 12. Ongoing support
Leadership and Role Models
Nothing is more important to the success of a knowledge manage-
ment initiative than the support of leaders and the visibility of KM
role models. Generally speaking, the higher up in the organization
these role models are the better. When executives tout a KM sys-
tem but refuse to use it themselves, they send two clear messages.
The first is that they don’t value the KM initiative, regardless of
their rhetoric. This leads to perceptions that KM is just the “flavor
of the month” and, given time, will go away. The second message
is that KM is for “workers” and not for executives. This can
be perceived as elitist and can result in widening the gap in the
way work is done rather than closing it. When leaders have a sep-
arate knowledge network from that used by their organizations,
they cannot possibly pay enough attention to the overall KM
effort. It’s far better for everyone to use the same approach, even if
there must be different levels of use or access based on a person’s
level in the firm.
If you can’t get your leaders on board, your KM initiative may
be doomed before it gets started. On the other hand, when leaders
at all levels (supervisors, managers, and executives) use the KM sys-
tem, they encourage others to do the same. Here’s a test. Look at
any major change in any organization. See where the change
has taken hold and where it has faltered. Now look at the level of
THEROLE OFCHANGEMANAGEMENT 243