Until relatively recently I was unfamiliar with the term ‘change agent’. If I’d heard it before it most likely hit my internal anti-buzzword filter and fell meaninglessly to the ground. And then in the midst of research I was doing for a project I came upon a description of a change agent and realized it described what I’ve been doing for the majority of my career. Some highlights from that description:

• Change agents are individuals who have the knowledge, skills and tools to help organizations create radical improvement
• They choose the right improvement projects to work on by diagnosing the real issues effecting the organization
• Organize the project so that it has the best chance to succeed, by uncovering the projects success criteria, securing management support, and building the right team
• Navigate the politics of change; ensuring radical ideas become radical improvements that dramatically impact the bottom line
• They have the ability to do very unstructured work, to custom design processes to meet the goals of an organization, and are able to inspire people through self confidence balanced by humility and a sense of humor

I solve business problems. I’m really good at finding a clear path through obstacles – finding patterns in chaos and reducing it to its simplest elements. Even the most complicated relationships and problems have an identifiable underlying pattern. Whether the issue is in the front office or the back office – or the disconnect between the two – there is an underlying pattern to be teased out and addressed so that your business operates effectively. Doing this takes a particular type of personality and business experience – you have to be really interested in people and processes because it’s a balance between deliberative and instinctive thinking to find the right solutions for each situation. You won’t find your answer in a book, box or a pre-packaged 6 point plan – you’re unique, your business in unique, your people are unique and so is the product and/or services you sell. Trying to make people fit into a cookie cutter solution is a whole lot like herding cats – very frustrating and extremely unproductive.

Another reason you have to be really interested in people and processes is because the end result is about aligning people and processes with the business goals – finding the right (unique) business solutions for your company. Listening skills – the ability to connect with people – is essential. Only when you have established that connection will you be able to effectively collaborate and ensure buy-in to make necessary changes. Your business has to have a solid foundation of process and practices that are results driven – otherwise you will struggle, falter and ultimately fail. And your people have to believe in and support those processes and practices – if they don’t have a sense of ownership in the processes they won’t commit to making them successful.

The decision to bring in a change agent – specifically one who focuses on process improvement – happens when you know that you need an outside, impartial perspective to assist you in getting your people and your business unstuck. When you’re feeling a sense of déjà vu during staff meetings held to address the current problems and potential solutions or feeling a bit like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day as you’re reading the latest customer satisfaction, upward feedback or production statistics, you need a change agent.

When you’re looking for better ways to work, to improve performance and customer satisfaction – either in reaction to the external environment (economics, politics, legislation, competition) or the internal environment (processes, structures, people) – you need a change agent. The outside, impartial change agent works with you by analyzing the existing problems, current reality, desired future goals, and potential barriers to those goals. Once determined, the change agent works with you to organize and implement the new processes, train employees on new procedures and acts as a role model to demonstrate new and better ways to work. Your best change agent will stand beside you in persevering in the face of challenge or ambiguity, dealing with conflict constructively, assuring employee buy-in and gaining commitment to taking the relevant actions to assure success – from concept through implementation.