You’ve completed your change management practitioner course and you’re now a certified change manager- congratulations! All of your hard work and dedication has paid off but now the real work begins as you need to focus on how to achieve your change goals post-certification. So what are your next steps as you move out into the world of change management? We have compiled a list of 6 steps that will help you in your career path as a successful change management practitioner:
Ensure your change management case is stated
It would not be wise to just assume that every project you work on will have a strong level of sponsorship present, in fact, it is actually good practice to build a solid change management plan that should clearly articulate what change activities you are looking to achieve, how they are going to be reached and why the chosen sponsors are essential to the overall success of the project. Having this plan ready to go well in advance of the project starting is highly recommended to tackle any sponsorship resistance head on by ensuring the sponsors 100% appreciate what their role entails, why they are critical to the project and how they will be supported throughout the course of the project by you.
You will already have learned all these skills in your certification, so now is the time to put them to good use by creating a strong case for change management.
Customise what you’ve learned
During your change management training, you will have been introduced to change management tools and templates that were customised to your current projects. If so, you will understand how valuable customisation is in helping you to appropriately size and scale your change management strategy and plans to fit your specific project. Customisation is something that as a new change management practitioner you will to continue to do in order to make the most out of the provided tools and templates. You should always be taking the time to assess what resources you have available prior to the start of projects and then what specific tools are the most relevant for the specific change project- but remember you do not need to take advantage of every single resource at your disposal.
Keep building upon your skills
Although you will be fully armed with an arsenal of tools, templates, and processes once you leave your certification training, do not expect absolutely instantaneous change success. Time and practice will breed experience and this in turn will breed success. The more real-life projects that you are tackling, the more you will start to see your own change competency and confidence grow. A good change management practitioner will recognise that you can never stop learning and building upon your skills, so it is essential to find ways to keep updating your knowledge. One way of doing this would be subscribing to a change management blog, such as ours, to keep updated with the latest change management insights. You can take a look at our blog homepage here.
Advance your certification
Another way to build upon your current skill set is to take your certification to the next level. According to Prosci's Best Practice Research 2016, there has recently been a surge in individuals taking change management certification training, therefore, an advanced certification will help to set yourself apart from these other change management practitioners. It will accelerate your change capabilities, increase your job opportunities, alongside your salary expectations.
Taking an advanced certification such as the Prosci Experienced Practitioner program or the Prosci Train the Trainer program will not only benefit you, but will help your organisation as a whole to gain measurable performance improvements from larger and more complex change projects and programmes.
Find a mentor
It could be useful to find an advisor to review your work, coach you through difficult challenges and be able to provide expert feedback that will better your change practices in the long-term. They may also be able to suggest new ways to tackle specific challenges you have been struggling with, which you personally may not have thought of.
Post-certification refresher workshop
Being a change manager or change management practitioner will force you to face multiple complex challenges and interact with a plethora of employees from different levels of the organisation, so it is crucial for you to take the time to reconnect with the fundamentals of change to ensure you are still effective within your role. Participating in a workshop of this nature will ensure you are still following best change practices, allow you to assess your current strengths and weaknesses, and find new and improved ways to achieve your change management goals.
Take the next step in your career with our Experienced Practitioner course
If you've already attended our Prosci Change Management Practitioner course and you're looking to take the next step in your career within change management and start introducing more complex change initiatives into your organisation, our upcoming Prosci Experienced Practitioner course is suited for you.
This 3-day immersive programme is designed to equip you with a new thought process and implementation tactics to bypass the challenges you may have encountered after becoming certified.
Register for the course to develop an enhanced perspective of how to drive best practice change management within your organisation.
