You might have more control over the situation than you think.

The most difficult - and yet crucial - part of any change management initiative is making effective changes in the attitudes and behaviors of the people involved.  After all, they've been working away at their jobs, sometimes for years, and it can intimidating and a little scary to learn that they may have to change everything they know in order to thrive in the 'new world'.

If that wasn't hard enough, what can make change even more difficult is existing conflict between individuals.  I'm talking about the often long-standing conflict that tends to be based in fundamental personality clashes, working styles and work history, typically between heads of competing departments or teams.  In a normal working environment, this kind of conflict can be contained, but in a changing environment, which can involve new teams, new responsibilities, and different reporting structures, it can be a real roadblock to moving forward efficiently and effectively.

So what can you do, as a change management professional?

My approach, as soon as I identify one of these conflicts (and if you've done your information-gathering correctly, they become evident pretty early on in the process), is to encourage the two parties to resolve their conflict, for the sake of themselves and their teams.  I work with both parties and start by asking them to ask themselves the following questions:

1.  Why is this conflict happening?  90% of the time, these kinds of conflicts are based in perceived insecurity or anxiety based on their work history together.  One or both parties feels they have to protect themselves from a percevied threat, and that if they abandon the conflict or make an effort to drop their guard, 'bad things' will happen.  If you can get to the bottom of the perceived threat, the involved parties can begin to addres and resolve it.

2.  What is my [the participant's] role in the conflict?  It's easy to blame the other person for a conflict, but most people, when asked to think about it, will eventually admit that they haven't been entirely blameless.  Encouraging each individual to take responsibility for how they've contributed to the conflict is the first step to changing their behavior.

3.  What outcome am I (the participant) looking for?  Ask each participant, separately, what 'the best outcome' of the situation would look like. Their knee-jerk, emotional reaction may be "For so-and-so to get fired!" but when asked to think about it, most people will eventually admit that they want something fairly simple, like "I'd like not to feel undermined with my boss", or "Our public and private opinions remain aligned".

4.  What does the other person want?  Ask each participant to put themselves in the other person's shoes.  This serves to remind each participant that there are two sides to every conflict.  It helps lay the groundwork for empathy which will be critical for the next stage - a face-to-face conversation.

5.  Is there any reason a frank, private discussion won't help?  Sometimes, the two parties have never had a friendly conversation about anything.  Putting the two together in a room, alone - and without everyone else in the office knowing that they're having a conversation - and encouraging them to discuss why they're having trouble working together and what things they may have in common can be a surprisingly effective first step to achieving at least a tacit working truce.  

You might also consider having a third party there to facilitate the conversation.  That might be you or a trusted HR partner.  An important part of the conversation will be for both individuals to imagine what working well together without conflict might look like.  One way to encourage this is to have each person complete the sentence:  "When X and I are working well together..." in a brainstorming fashion, then share their answers with one another.  The last part will be a commitment to change one behavior:  "I commit to checking with X before speaking on his behalf or committing him to work" or "I commit to keeping the agreements we've made during a team meeting".  Both parties also need to decide how they will continue their communication - regular one-on-ones can provide a good forum for that.

Now, I'm no Pollyanna, and I know that not every workplace conflict is solvable - sometimes one or both people are simply unhappy or a poor fit and the change process is a good time for them to move on.  However, if you're working with good individual contributors or top performers, making an effort to resolve the conflict first can save a good deal of time and money later.

Good change management strategies increase ROI and help organizations achieve their objectives.  Here's an infographic to prove it.

Ideas are great.  Implementation is better.

Here's an idea:  I'll give you 3 job titles, and you choose the one you'd most like to have.

Change Agent
Innovation Catalyst
Change Management Consultant

You didn't choose Change Management Consultant, did you?

Somehow, 'Change Agent' and anything with the word 'innovation' in it sound a lot more exciting than 'Change Management'.  And yet, in many ways, change management is the most important part of the process.

Last week I met a fellow whose business card said he was a 'Change Agent'.  He was everything you'd expect someone with that title to be:  30-something, fashionable clothes, great sunglasses and full of information about the latest hot topics on TechCrunch and Mashable.  

Of course, I'm always interested in anything to do with 'change', so I started asking him what he did on a day-to-day basis.  "Oh, you know," he said.  "I inject ideas into the organizational framework and help us transform the marketplace."  

He did have some interesting ideas - he's definitely thinking about where his industry will be in the next 5-10 years, and how the market will change in that time.  That kind of thinking is important for any organization.

But between Big Ideas and Big Results there is...implementation.  And that's where Change Management comes in.  The problem is that 'management' never seems that exciting - especially compared with 'injecting ideas'.

That's why I like to think in terms of architecture.  Architects take someone else's Big Idea - "I want a beautiful house on this piece of land" - and then figure out how to make the big picture work wtih the small details to get it done.  They show you the model of the building with the graceful facade - and then they show you the detailed construction plans which outline how the thing is going to be built.  And then a good architect oversees the process, from the first groundbreaking to the final landscape design.

There's no question that there's something inherently exciting about coming up with a brand new idea for change - it's like starting a new notebook with nothing but possibilities ahead.  But in the long run there's something much more satisfying about being able to take an idea from conception to fruition to results that being an 'agent' or 'catalyst' just can't touch.

Knowing how your co-workers really see you is crucial to your career

I recently worked with a coaching client, a senior executive at a mid-sized pharmaceutical company.  "I don't understand it," she said.  "I work hard, everyone likes me, and I've met all my targets for the past 5 years.  But I just can't seem to get promoted to VP, while other people who I know aren't performing as well as I do are moving past me up the ladder.  What's going on?"

Having worked with her organization in the past, I knew what the problem was:  Yes, she had a reputation for reliably delivering against targets.  But what she called 'working hard' was perceived by her co-workers and direct reports as 'obsessive and unable to let things go', and her desire to be 'liked by everyone' was seen by management as an inability to make the big decisions if she were put in a VP-level role.

The gap between my client's perception of herself and the way others perceived her was getting in the way of her career - and she's not alone.  Over the years, I've seen many people get stalled in the same gap.

So what can you do about it?

Closing the perception gap

No matter where you are in your career, knowing how the people you work with perceive you - and that it's the way you want to be perceived - on a day-to-day basis is crucial to being able to get ahead.

It's not just about being able to get that next promotion, either.  In my experience, the 'perception gap' can be your biggest obstacle when it comes to getting your projects completed on time, on budget, and with a minimum of headache.  When you're encountering resistance to your efforts to push a project through, you may not realize that you're in the middle of a perception gap.  You may be reading their resistance as concerns about budgets or timelines; in reality, it may be stemming from their concerns about your credibility within the organization based on their (possibly unfounded) perceptions of you.

You may never be able to close the gap completely, but you can make it lot smaller.  Here's how:

1.  Recognize that there is a gap.

It doesn't matter how self-aware you are or how honest you are with yourself:  There is going to be a gap between how you see yourself and how others see you.  Your self-perception includes information and experiences from all facets of your life; your co-workers only know the you they see at work.

2.  Understand that the gap isn't necessarily negative.

You may in fact be harder on yourself than others are.  My client, for example, had never taken accounting classes and assumed 'everyone' thought she was deficient in reading financial statements.  Her co-workers, in fact, had no such concerns - they thought she was perfectly capable.

3.  Solicit honest feedback - in writing, if possible.

Approach one direct report, one peer, and one senior manager with whom you've worked for at least a year and ask them for insight into your strengths and weaknesses.  (Tell them that you're looking for honest answers as part of your personal growth.)  What do they think you're fantastic at?  What do they think you struggle with?  What skill or trait do they most admire about you?  What characteristic drives them most nuts, or do they think gets in your way?  I guarantee you'll be surprised at the responses.

4.  Look for patterns.

If one person criticizes something about you, you can safely ignore it; but if everyone has the same criticism, it's time to at least consider they have a point.  So examine what your three co-workers had to say and look for consensus.  Anything that all three mentioned - as a strength or weakness - is probably a good indication of how most of your co-workers see you.

5.  Determine what's perception - and what's reality.

Maybe all three of your co-workers said that you seem to be a workaholic who doesn't know how to relax, and that sometimes alienates you from your team.  Now you have to ask yourself whether you are a workaholic - or whether you've just been trying to give that impression because you thought it was a positive trait.

6.  Create an action plan.

This can be the toughest part of the process, because it can involve changing yourself - or changing your job.  For example, if you're being perceived as a workaholic, but know that you're not, you may simply have to stop talking about how much you worked on the weekend all the time.  On the other hand, if your tendency to be a consensus-builder rather than a top-down leader is being perceived as a negative trait, you may want to consider finding a new job in an organization that values consensus-building.

The bottom line is that the more you know about the way you're being perceived within the organization, the better you'll be able to manage your career in the long run:  You'll be better eqipped to work effectively, and you'll be better positioned for long-term success.