Excerpt from Chapter 28: Developing Internal Consultants

To truly live the culture change, we knew that CLG’s coaching could not last forever. We needed to develop the capability to coach and support our leaders in - house. We set out to develop a cadre of internal consultants. Formal use of internal consultants did not begin until two years into our culture change.

Why Internal Consultants?

We started with a team of 45 committed — although lonely — owners: the executives, the HR group, and CLG. We worked hard to determine the need, create the process to execute change, and start rolling it out. Our band of executives and coaches owned the culture change.

But we were not the ones who made it come to life day - to - day. For this, we enlisted our superintendents, trainmasters, yardmasters, and everyone who worked daily to get the trains out on time. Only then would the culture change be sustainable. We knew what we needed to do — but we needed the time to do it right. We were asking for major change from our leaders and employees, and we had to overcome a long history of negative consequences. We had to ensure that:

• People who spoke up were listened to.
• Our leaders followed through on what they said with rewards or discipline.
• Employees who worked hard were recognized.
• Employees who bent the rules no longer got away with it.

Culture change is about changing everyday behaviors across the organization. Basically, it is changing habits, and we all know how tough that is. It takes time and a lot of effort. Culture change is a multiyear process.

Developing Internal Consultants

CLG and CN developed a customized “Internal Consultant Development Process.” This process delivers:

• 1. Individual skill assessment and development planning to ensure steady progress.
• 2. Training to provide the necessary level of skill development and application.
• 3. Development events in which ABC coaches use their new skills to coach leaders for desired changes in behaviors and results. Development events apply the learning and are key to success.

Internal consultants were certified at multiple levels of consulting skills and competencies. We needed most internal consultants skilled to coach and train managers.

After initial training, this group began an apprenticeship, coaching leaders alongside their CLG counterparts. Not only did they learn more about how to apply the tools, they also made gains in leader development and business results.

The Value of Internal Consultants

Internal consultants accelerated our culture change. They helped us go faster, broader, deeper, more cost - effectively, and with greater long - term sustainability. Many of the results in this book were accomplished by leaders working with internal consultants.

They have a unique role in changing an organization’s culture. They are there when business leaders make decisions, push projects, and manage performance. Internal consultants work with the CLG consultants, continuing to learn and adapting those learnings for CN.

Internal consultants and practitioners are part of CN’s future. They will help bring new leaders up to speed on the tools and leadership behaviors most critical to our high - performance culture.

They will help existing managers and leaders become more fluent in the tools and facilitate teams through tough situations. They have a responsibility and the tools to help every employee accomplish the company’s goals and get results.

Some CN leaders still request external coaching help with major changes or on issues that need an outside perspective. That need may never go away. Like the culture, the CLG/CN partnership is evolving, with each company playing its part to make change happen — and make it stick.

Excerpted from SwitchPoints: Culture Change on the Fast Track to Business Success, Copyright ©2008 by The Continuous Learning Group, Inc. (CLG) Published by John Wiley & Sons. Used with permission of the publisher.