Why Every Change Management Project Needs an Advisory Team

Do you want to know my key to successful change management?

Whenever I run a change management project, I always build an “advisory team.”

This isn’t a steering committee because they don’t have decision-making authority; rather, it is a consulted team that represents different stakeholder groups.

This approach creates three key benefits that will set your project up for success:

1️⃣ They can represent the perspectives of their respective stakeholder groups. This means you don’t have to guess how those groups will be impacted. You don’t have to anticipate their pushback. Your advisory team can bring all that to the conversation so you can take their feedback and adjust your plans accordingly.

2️⃣ Build buy-in with the individuals on the advisory team. There’s no better way to get someone on board with your project and plan than involving them along the way. You can explain the benefits of your project all day long, but they will be invested if they’ve been part of the journey.

3️⃣ Create champions. When it comes time to roll out your new process/tool/format (whatever your change may be), you’ll have a team of champions ready to go. Your impacted stakeholders will be more receptive to one of their own championing the benefits of the new way of working. This will pay dividends for change management and adoption.

With the help of your advisory team, you can better plan for stakeholder impact, adapt your plans based on feedback, and build excitement around the change you're implementing. Without them, you lose the insider perspective as well as key support.