I’ve Got 99 Problems But Facilitating Change Ain’t One

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Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Professional Challenges

• View of student affairs• View of staff compared to faculty• High expectations and accountability• Innovation in an environment of tradition often disguised as “we’ve

always done it that way”• Varied needs and preferred modalities of communication and

engagement of our students• Expanding the commitment to diversity, inclusion and cultural

competency• Balancing conflicting values• Organization politics and bureaucracy• Staffing needs, personnel management• New regulations that guide or radically change our work• And the list goes on and on and on….. 2

IN THE MIDST OF THE CHALLENGES, LEADERS ARE EXPECTED TO IDENTIFY THE OPPORTUNITY AND DEVELOP A

PLAN TO IMPLEMENT NEW, CREATIVE, AND MORE EFFICIENT WAYS OF

APPROACHING THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION.

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AdaptiveChange

InnovativeChange

Radically Innovative

Change

Reintroducing a familiar practice

Introducing a practice new to the

organization

Introducing a practice new to the

industry

Low HighDegree of complexity, cost, and uncertainty

Potential for resistance to change

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE ZONE

Change Spectrum

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Transformational Change• Holistic change

– Power derived from equally attending to the hearts, minds, human behavior, and social systems in which a change exists.

• Can happen at all levels in an organization– Every charge does not have to come from the

President

• Relies on collaboration and involves break through(s)– Even if the change is in your department– “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of

thinking that created them”, Albert Einstein 5

Transformational Change• Accentuates the positive

– Grounded in the power of a positive vision and focusing on what we want to create.

– Balance of critique with appreciation and honoring of what is already good and useful

– Focusing on what’s possible is in alignment with “hope”– Caution: never package a negative change as a positive one.

• Change balances control with letting go– Transformational change is not about creating a picture of what we think should

be, then working hard to make reality fit the picture• Too many factors that can’t be controlled: culture, internal shifting and/or competing

interests/priorities and external elements that may cause us to do new things or overhaul how we currently operate

– Transformational change is about activating a vision but having a willingness to face the mystery that is life.

• Good planning • Attention to detail• Responsiveness• Deadlines• Flexibility 6

HOW HAS UHD ENACTED TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE?

Project Management!!!!

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Project Management• What is a Project?

– A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique, service, or result.

– That sounds good, now what does it really mean? • Moving a change from charge to operation!

• What Does a Project Manager Do?– Schedule meetings, send too many emails, asks who will do it and by

what date, tells our leaders stuff, shows up uninvited and talks; A LOT!

• Who Can Be A Project Manager?– Anyone who is willing to lead leaders, build skills to break the big

picture down into manageable pieces; creating a roadmap that gets a team from concept to operation and commit to talk; A LOT!

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How UHD Facilitates Change Through Project Management

UHD employs a methodology that includes business and process analysis, project management, change management and transition management (operationalizing the change) by:

• Managing organizational change through projects

• Deciding to sponsor change at the highest levels of the institution

• Building up our Project Management Infrastructure with Project Managers and training leaders to build project management skills

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What is the Role of a Project Manager?

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Project Manager(Business Analyst, Change

Agent, Transition Manager)Servant Leader of teams and to all people regardless

of whether there is a project to be managed or

not!

Manager of competing interests and priorities,

scope, time, budget, resources

Liason between project teams, stakeholders, sponsors and leaders at the intuitional, system and other

constituent groups that may have an interest in the outcome and/or will

be impacted by it

Coach for business leads and project leads within a project team making sure to always

check their blind spots and clear the path for them to do what

they are asked to do

Mentor & Quarterback to colleagues responsible for

implementing change, making sure their voices are heard and they receive credit for the hard

work they do

Systems Analyst (Funky-Tech) for projects that require the ability to manage business process decision,

system design and merge the needs of functional professionals with the work

to be performed by technical professionalsMaster of Stress, Patience and Foresight

for the times when the team needs to say their piece and then keep the peace, for the

days when sponsors get anxious about results and for the project managers need to build and maintain bridges NO MATTER

WHAT!

Protector of the team that is to move the work, the vision of the

sponsor(s) responsible for making the change happen and those

who could be caught in the middle and not even know it

Humble Pie Eater for the purposes of always ensuring that SMEs, Sponsors, Business Leads, Project Leads, and Project Teams are reminding of what a PMs role

is and is not

Facilitator of discussions, decisions, process reviews

Friend to colleagues and constituents, when the

times are good and when the days are darker than

we would all prefer

Change Management Goals Enacted Through Project Management Strategies

• Address the “human side” systematically– Develop a formal approach for managing change– Define who needs to be involved; stakeholders

• Leadership team: secure buy-in, approval or charge (whichever is appropriate)

• Involve every layer of stakeholders– Confirm the Project Sponsor and confirm approach for handling project

interaction, reports back to the Sponsor and secure the “Project Lead and/or Business Lead”

– Build the Bridge with the Project Lead and or Business Lead(s)– Round up the team and notify those who need to be aware - make

personal, individual contact before formally communicating• This should be developed early. • Be willing to adapt it often as the change moves through the

organization– Consistently ask yourself have we engaged the right people.

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Change Management Goals Enacted Through Project Management Strategies

• Make the formal case – People are rational and will question to the extent change

is needed and if the organization is headed in the right direction

– Follow these four steps: • Confront reality and articulate a convincing need for change• Demonstrate faith/hope that the organization has a viable future

and the leadership to get there• Provide a road map to guide behavior, actions and decision making

(PROJECT PLAN)• Meet the team where they are and prove early, that you’ve got

their backs12

• Create ownership– Involving people in identifying problems and crafting

solutions• Even when you have ideas for solutions- allow the collaboration to

work. – Reinforce ownership in incentive or reward structures

• Tangible or psychological – Camaraderie, shared vision and accomplishment, recognition,

financial rewards

– Keep the team focused on getting to the desired outcome while balancing their need to express their opinions and concerns about the matters in-between

Change Management Goals Enacted Through Project Management Strategies

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Change Management Goals Enacted Through Project Management Strategies

• Communicate the message and keep people informed– Regular meetings or project status updates– Proactive calls and visits to team members to inform them

of movements, alert them of upcoming status updates (help them show progress and get credit for it)

– Regular request for team input and encouragement to make decisions (where appropriate) and recommendations to decision makers

– Make your team and sponsors look good, every step of the way

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Change Management Goals Enacted Through Project Management Strategies

• Prepare for the unexpected– Nothing goes completely according to plan

• People react in unexpected ways• External factors shift

– Effective project and change management requires continual reassessment of:

• the status of the project, • impact of the project and • the organization’s willingness to adopt this transformation.

– Provides necessary information to make decisions on adjustments to maintain, increase or decrease momentum to drive results. 15

Final Thoughts• Change is Constant, Hard and Necessary

• Project Management can be a gift to any organization when you ensure your people are at the heart of it

• UHD is blazing new heights each day and we are optimistic and excited about our future while embracing who we already are

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THANK YOU

Tomikia P. LeGrande, Ed.D.Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment ManagementUniversity of Houston-Downtownlegrandet@uhd.edu

Kassidy Green, M.SSr. Project ManagerStudent Affairs and Enrollment ManagementUniversity of Houston-Downtowngreenk@uhd.edu

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