Setting up a Change Community of Practice

The best way to build change capability in your organisation or community on a budget, is to set up a Change Community of Practice. Easier said than done, you say? No, not really, especially with this handy 6-step guide that will get you up and running in no time!

All you’ll have left to do is think about who to invite for the first session and send out an invite to your fellow change enthusiasts. In my experience, it’s a rare case of ‘build it and they will come’ that actually works.

Don’t overthink it and don’t get discouraged when it takes a while to build up the numbers, give yourself and the CoP some time to succeed.

Okay, enough with the peptalk, let’s get into how you do it!

1. Align to strategic goals

Even if everyone is on Team Change, you’ll still have to sell your idea to the organisation, and there is no easier way than to connect your Change CoP goals to the company strategy.

1. Create a value proposition for how the Change CoP will support organisational goals.
2. Create a pragmatic 1-page business case for your leaders that speaks their language and shows this Change CoP is not just talk, it’s all business!
3. Look for pain points as discussion and learning topics for your monthly meetings.
4. Set targets for how many sessions, members, and impact you plan to have.
5. Report back after each session (2 min. email).

2. Find a sponsor

Having executive support adds credibility and reach. The right sponsor can give you access to interesting people, the latest information, and unexpected opportunities!

1.        Be selective on who you team with, check their availability and change perspectives.

2.        Be clear on what you hoffer and what you need from them when selecting for the role.

3.        Give them a job description (show up, promote, find funds, leverage network).

4.        Ask for ideas on topics that will support their goals.

5.        Acknowledge their commitment and support periodically to show appreciation.

3. Find a co-host

It’s tempting to do everything yourself, but most solo CoPs don’t survive because it’s hard work and life happens. Find a colleague (or two) and share the work and double the fun!

1. Consider your own and others’ strengths for the best mix of talents.
2. Find someone who also loves community and getting things done.
3. Create a simple task description that explains what they are saying yes to.
4. Be crystal clear on the time commitment (2-3 hours per month).
5. Find someone outside your own team for diversity of thinking.

4. Set a 12-month agenda

Planning ahead is half the work done, allowing participants to schedule their attendance and providing a preview of everything people will learn throughout the year.

1. Select change topics relevant to the business with learning outcomes for each session.
2. Create a mix of knowledge shares, tool use, experiments, case studies and discussions.
3. Choose a fixed day of the month (each 3rd Thursday 11am-12pm) to build consistency.
4. If time and budget allow, consider scheduling a half-day conference as part of your agenda.
5. Ask your sponsor to kick off and wrap up the year (you can provide notes, they do the talking).
6. Start planning for next year in September, asking for member suggestions on topics to include.

5. Keep it practical

If you are setting up a Change CoP, chances are people are still building their change capability, so focus your efforts on getting the basics right first and introduce more complex topics later.

1. Create sessions that give participants information and practices they can use right away.
2. Invite speakers/practitioners from the businesso share their work.
3. Provide basic tools and templates to help people practice what they’ve learned.
4. Use evidence-based practices and avoid model-promotion, let people experiment.
5. Try to get a small budget ($1,000-$2000) for speaker gifts, venue hire, and snacks.
6. Start on time, finish on time and stick to the agenda, limit the speaker segment to 30 minutes with 10-15 minutes Q&A to leave time for other agenda items (welcome new members, housekeeping, etc).

6. Connect on- and offline

Creating a Change Community takes time. You will have to spend up to one hour per week to create presence (posting on networks) and making connections until word-of-mouth takes over.

1. Use existing collaboration tools to lower participation thresholds.
2. Promote the CoP on every available channel, but don’t overdo it (weekly should be enough).
3. Host in-person and virtual events to increase accessibility and attendance.
4. Encourage connections and be a matchmaker for people who can help each other.
5. Connect with other CoPs and team up to host events (or even a conference).
6. Send out post-session summaries and respond to all message on network socials the same day.

All tips and advice aside, the best and most successful Change CoPs I’ve seen, are the ones that keep things light, fun and organised, work is serious enough as it is.

Good luck!

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