Different results require different thinking and action. Effecting change or transformation at any level is ultimately about shifting people's mindsets and behavior. Strategy, planning and budgeting set the change direction, initiatives and priorities. Leadership, engagement and innovation, along with communication, performance monitoring and celebration, must now be brought to bear in a flexible yet disciplined way to make something happen and sustain movement forward.

Effecting transformation ultimately comes down to people executing strategies and plans to shift mindset and operational behavior of individuals across the enterprise.

Launching strategic change ideally starts with chartering teams to take on short burst projects to complete quickly with a high probability of success. Rapid progress builds confidence, respect and trust in each other to carry through the more challenging undertakings. Chartering cross-functional initiative teams encourages reliance on people from other parts of the organization to succeed. This interdependence promotes empathy and understanding critical to successful collaborations. Targeted training flattens learning curves and accelerates teams on the way forward. [Link to Training Page] Bringing people together with different perspectives tests conventional thinking and traditional boundaries to spur innovation and generate new ideas.

Continuous progress monitoring enables change leaders to recognize and communicate successes early, as well as to identify challenges and adjust as needed. Continuous feedback is also used to identify strengths to build on to accelerate transformation. Performance monitoring also replenishes the data on agency spending and operations that provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of sourcing strategies, processes and policies.

Regular and effective internal and external communications are essential to realizing transformational change. Communications provides the key to maintaining alignment and enabling effective governance. Web technologies promote rapid dissemination of information consistently throughout the organization while also providing a means for capturing, transferring and reusing knowledge to drive continuous improvement. Engaging in two-way dialogue supports transparent leadership critical to realizing significant change. Celebrating success keeps morale high and stimulates motivation. Capturing feedback allows issues to be addressed openly and for valuable lessons learned to drive continuous improvement. Engaging key stakeholders in open dialogue early and often promotes understanding and neutralizes resistance.

Leadership requires perspective and focus on the envisioned future state even in the midst of turmoil and upheaval that inevitably accompanies major change.

Managing change takes energy, focus, and commitment. The exhilaration that comes with shifts in motivation, behavior, and results typically far outweighs the costs. Indeed, in today's dynamic environment, federal agencies really have no alternative but to take a more strategic approach to enterprise-level acquisition.

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