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Writer's pictureLeon Como

The unique journey of discovering Change Management

Updated: Oct 9

Podcast by NotebookLM

Image by DALL-E and PPTX

Video using MS Clipchamp



I wrote this short story with the intent to seek collaboration, partnership, or sponsorship to advance a holistic and pragmatic approach to change management.


With over two decades of having been plunged into changes, resisting, participating, and leading transformative initiatives, I am passionate about building effective systems and processes that ensure successful, sustainable, and human-centric organizational change. I believe that with the right approach, we can tackle the challenges ahead and make significant strides in the way change is managed across industries.


I began my journey at SGS in 1999 as a Trade (Tariff) Analyst, quickly moving up to a team leader role, and then to operations supervisor. By 2003, my team was chosen as the pilot for a new global web application a cutting-edge but poorly aligned technology at the time. Initially resistant, I was eventually asked to participate as a tester, a role that opened my eyes to the complexities and misalignments that often accompany large-scale projects.


From that point on, my role evolved organically. I went from being a tester to a change ambassador, and eventually led the consolidation of helpdesk operations that grew from a small team of four to over 50. In considerable segments of the same period, I was an internal consultant, bridging the gap between different parts of the organization and leveraging the insights gathered from user feedback and requests analysis. This allowed me to identify pain points, suggest improvements, and contribute to the growth of numerous projects. There were challenges and setbacks, but there were also many notable accomplishments that I am proud of. Among many successes is the piloting of global business services, automation of incoming incident routing, streamlining of application workflows, consolidating the incident report ticketing system and triggering Go-Live of stuck or tangled projects while also considerably reducing staff turnover rate in my teams.


Throughout these transformations, it became clear to me that successful change management was far more than just the technical or procedural implementation. It is more about understanding perspectives, bridging gaps, and aligning the needs of stakeholders, from IT to operations, management, and beyond.


As I continued my work, I sought to address a recurring challenge: the fragmented approach to change management. Different stakeholders saw change management through their own lenses IT viewed it as change control, the project team saw it as facilitation, HR emphasized cultural and psychological adjustments, while end users were focused on training and communication. This realization fueled my pursuit of a holistic change management role, eventually leading me to join the SGS change management team in 2016. One of our notable achievements was the successful roll-out of Office 365, which provided a blueprint for other initiatives, including MS Teams and other digital transformation projects.


The success of these projects was a testament to the need for a cohesive, strategic approach to change management. In my final years at SGS, I headed the Group IT Change Management team with the aim of establishing a dedicated Change Management Office (CMO) that would work closely with the Project Management Office (PMO).


Although the complexities of a corporate reorganization ultimately led to my departure in 2023, my deep gratitude for the learning and meeting people who helped me along the way is a treasure I bring along forever. Moving on, my passion for change management remained undiminished.


Since my departure from SGS, in the past over a year, I have consolidated my learnings into practical frameworks, including the Change Management Architecture, Change Management Equation, and the Change Projection Model. I coined the concept of "Pragmatic Agility," or PRAGMAGILITY, a brand reflecting the balance between structure and adaptability that I believe is key to successful change today. My most recent work, the "Circles and Triangles" framework, has proven effective for analyzing emerging change patterns, preparing for upcoming disruptions and figuring out innovations.

 

Call to Action: Seeking Partners and Collaborators

I am now seeking partners, collaborators, or sponsors who share my commitment to advancing a holistic, pragmatic approach to change management. I envision collaborating with organizations that understand the importance of bridging the gap between strategy and execution, and those that value the alignment of human factors with technological advancement.


Together, we can build the systems and processes needed to navigate disruptive challenges and ensure that organizational transformations are successful, sustainable, technically proficient and holistic, yet human-centric. If you are looking to redefine change management to drive impactful change within your organization, I am eager to continue my story with your support.


Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to exploring opportunities for collaboration and partnership.


Written with help from ChatGPT 4o Canvas



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