Two years ago, Bruno Stockman of MBV Consult made the leap from full-time employment to self-employment. Thus, he has firsthand experience of making far-reaching changes. As a consultant, he now helps others with change management. He is currently involved in rolling out a digitization project in the world of clinical trials. However, not all patients and researchers are eager to make the digital transition, not even in times of corona. To get a better grip on the mechanisms of change, Bruno was on the lookout for a solid theoretical foundation. And that is where the AMS Master Class Change Management came in.
Bruno Stockman completed the Master Class in January 2020, just before the outbreak of the coronavirus. Change management was already key for organizations wanting to be future-proof, and the coronavirus crisis has made this even clearer. Although for the time being, Bruno Stockman is hardly affected by the crisis: "The international project that I am currently helping to roll out is still ongoing. It is about the implementation of an electronic platform for both patients participating in clinical trials and the clinical research centers. These trials continue, even in times of corona. Plus: it is a digital solution, which comes in particularly handy now."
"I have a dual role in this project: I am involved in both the project execution and the whole change story behind it. Clinical research is quite complex; it involves a lot of different functions, and the project has an impact on all of them. So, you cannot just roll it out. You need to be aware of the change process and see how you can prepare the organization for it. I had already taken a few short, practical training courses in change management, but I missed the theoretical foundation: I wanted to really understand what is happening and why it is happening this way."
"I needed a strong theoretical foundation. I wanted to understand what is happening and why it is happening."
"AMS certainly provides you with that foundation. The Master Class lasts a total of nine days, three times three days, which gives you plenty of time to dive deep. Because of the way the Master Class is structured, you also get a complete picture. You start by looking at how an organization works, and only then you move on to change strategies. Change is a very flexible process and depends on many factors. The Master Class gives you insights about the why, and you also get a kind of toolbox with methods that you can apply, depending on the phase of the change process, the context, the people you are dealing with, etc."
"I learned the critical skills you need as a change manager to influence people in a positive way."
"Before rolling out the project, we made a stakeholder analysis, which is something we discussed in detail in the Master Class. And something else that will come in handy as well: with such a large digitization project, you inevitably run into resistance on several sides. The Master Class provides you with different ways to understand and deal with resistance. In addition, I learned the critical skills you need as a change manager to influence people in a positive way and to get, and to keep, them motivated."
"Of course, I already had quite some experience and skills myself, but the Master Class draws together all aspects of change and clearly visualizes what change is all about. One of the things that really opened my eyes, was the change game we played. The players have a boat, which stands for the project, and all stakeholders are in the boat. Depending on how you play the game, the boat will for instance leave the harbor without any passengers, because you are pushing the project forward so fast that you lose your people. Or, the other way around: people can be very enthusiastic about a project, but the project itself fails to take off and the boat just doesn't get anywhere."
“At the end of the day, it is not just about steering processes, it is about leading people.”
"What I also liked, was the part on political skills. We usually associate politics with dirty political games. The Master Class shows you how to use political skills in a positive way. Because in the end, it is not just about how you steer processes, it is also, and especially, about how you can lead people in a good way. And that is what I find so fascinating about change management: the human aspect."
"Tips & tricks are not enough. If something goes wrong, you need to know why."
"The Master Class has reinforced my interest in change management even more. Being self-employed, I am always on the lookout for challenging projects. New implementations, for example, which inevitably involve a lot of change processes. I can really make use of the insights from the Master Class in this. For those who want to grow as a change manager and are willing to look beyond the practical tools, I highly recommend this Master Class. Simple tips & tricks will not do for a change manager. If something goes wrong, you also need to know why. Only then can you make adjustments and steer in the right direction. And that is what this Master Class gives you: the theoretical foundation to really understand change."
