Who do you work for? And how that question can determine the outcome of change.

I have been Project Manager for some large scale public sector change projects. One of the questions I ask is: Who do you work for?

They may answer as follows…

I work for the public sector
I work for government
I work for [person name]
I work at [location address]
I work for the finance team
I am an accountant

I find it interesting to see if their belonging and identification is with the organisation, the department, their profession or something else. Understanding this helps understand motives, values and loyalties.

For example loyalty to the boss, profession, department or organisation are not the same.

Too many projects start with communicating top-down and not listening bottom-up. My experience is before making pronouncements perhaps start by asking some questions. It may help to establish motives, values and loyalties.

TimHJRogers
@TimHJRogers @AdaptCCompany +447797762051
https://www.linkedin.com/in/timhjrogers/
http://www.adaptconsultingcompany.com/

TimHJRogers World Champs Rower, Commonwealth Games Triathlete, MBA (Management Consulting) PRINCE2 Projects & Change Practitioner, TEDx & Jersey Policy Forum