Building good business requirements and a scope of work can sometimes be the most intimidating thing about the process of bringing on external support. But, if you have used the matrix and figured out the big buckets of your change framework so that the needs are clear, its really just a matter of putting your needs down on paper and asking people to show you how they can help.

The following worksheet (that has sample data included) is intended to support the beginning phases of developing a change initiative. While this is just a few tabs, it is not intended to be accomplished in one sitting or by one person. Customizing a change and developing the final behavior-based change continuum should include the change team and even key stakeholders, if applicable. Some of these tabs in this workbook might be the singular topic in a whiteboarding workshop. Look for the various notes and pro tips throughout the workshop to help you figure out the best way to work through this effort. If you would like some help managing this customization process, feel free to reach out to Mary directly on mary@evolveYourPerformance.com to schedule some time to talk about how we can help you customize the change for optimal results. As you go through this workbook, use the buttons to navigate through the spreadsheet and make sure to only type into spaces identified so that you don't accidentally delete some of the formulas intended to help reduce your effort.

Research shows that an active and engaged executive sponsor is consistently a key driver of project success. Yet, the Project Management Institute found in 2018 that 38% of projects do not have active executive sponsorship. Below are things to consider when looking for a new executive sponsor as well as some factors to rate your existing executive sponsor against.

Getting a clear message on what the head of an organization really wants to see as a result of a change can sometimes be much harder than it sounds. A lot of times, the leader “knows it when s/he sees it” but cannot really describe it in a concrete way to help the change leaders help ensure they truly get what they want. Having an informal “spitball” conversation with leadership is a great way get all of the thoughts out of the leader’s head and onto paper where plans can be made.

These tools are adaptations of actual tools I have used to manage various large organizational change initiatives over the past 15 years and I hope they serve you as much as they have served me

This diagnostic is based on EVOLVE's proprietary Organizational Hierarchy of Needs for peak organizational performance. Here at EVOLVE, we take a collaborative, people-first approach to alignment and execution to help organizations reach that peak performance, even in hard times. The first step is taking an honest look at five key elements to see where the organization is set up for future success and where there might be opportunities for improvement. Click the next button at the bottom of the page to start the diagnostic.

Creating a change charter is a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page before the change gets started. This should not be something that takes forever to write or get approved, it should just be an internal document that makes roles, responsibilities, change goals, and a few other things clear.