Change Roles

Any large-scale change initiative will involve summoning support for the changes from across the organisation. Staff may take on a number of different roles in relation to the change process. This section identifies these roles and their application in an educational setting (depending on the nature and scale of the change not all roles may be appropriate to any particular change).

It should be noted that the language of change management can itself be a barrier to effecting change within a college or university setting where change titles such as 'change agent' are not widely used and if applied are likely to meet with scepticism and some resistance. For example, calling Heads of Department 'change agents' may not meet with approval! The roles required to effect change will however exist in any successful change process. Sometimes it can be beneficial to use the terminology to clearly signal the need to change.

Whatever the language used, there needs to be a clear understanding of the key roles in effecting change; lack of clarity about roles and expectations is one of the biggest barriers to success. The roles are very similar to the roles of Sponsor, Manager and Champion involved in any project. Follow this link to find out more about project Roles and Responsibilities.

In the education setting a change manager has to deal with a large number of individuals with potentially differing viewpoints and also with an equally large number of groups and committees. Follow this link to find out how Responsibility Charting can help you clarify the decision making process in your organisation.

Kings College London has produced a Check List and an Action Plan template for people planning and leading change. The Check List acts as a guide to undertaking an evaluation of your own competence in several key areas and developing an Action Plan for personal development.