Scenario

[Company] is implementing a new knowledge management system company-wide. All employees will be told to use the system to share expertise and keep track of changes in technology and market forces. The system will change everyone's daily routine, and several staff will have to do extra work to transfer their information into the system. The new system will succeed only if people add information to it and refer to it regularly.

Carol, Tom, and Phil have been chosen to lead the transition in their business area. [photos of the three]

At the beginning of their first meeting, the new system has a good chance of success. But will the team keep that chance alive?

The learner clicks to start the animation, which plays as photos with audio.

Carol: Okay, we've all got the info about the new system. Now we just have to figure out how to make the change go as smoothly as possible.

Tom: I'm still not clear on something. What is the system really going to do for [company]?

Carol: I don't think it's our place to question that. Our job is to make sure everyone in our section gets trained quickly and doesn't freak out.

Phil: Right. So the first thing we should do is figure out when we can do the training without cutting into productivity. Then we can let everyone know when they're scheduled to be trained. That's good communication.

Carol: I agree. Shouldn't we have a slogan, too? I know where we can order some posters.

Phil: The directors should have given us a slogan. We're managers, not creative writers.

Tom: Look, before we get into this kind of detail, I'd like to have a clear road map. I'm not convinced that scheduling the training is our first step. I think we need to build awareness and get some buy-in first.

Carol: That's what the slogan does. And maybe a contest! At a trade conference I saw these great rubber brains that would make fun prizes. Should I get the order information?

The following displays as text on the main content page.

At this point, the change to the new system is in danger and could easily fail. What went wrong in the meeting? To find out, you'll need to answer these questions:

• What is change leadership?
• How is it different from change management?
• Should managers ever lead change?
• What steps should the team follow to increase their chances of success?
• What communication styles help change succeed?

Look for the answers to these questions as you go through the module.