4 case studies about making the career change to Change Management

I help a lot of women make the career change to Change Management, but contrary to popular opinion everyone’s story is different and everyone’s path is unique. It’s one of the things I love about Change - you can transition to it from so many different professions be it Project Management, Training, Learning and Development, Human Resources, Operations and more because so many of the skills used in Change Management delivery are transferable from other professions and industries. 

I myself made the move from Marketing. I’d started my career in Advertising, moved to Marketing in a Consumer Goods company for a couple of years then a bank for a year or so, and then used all my transferable skills of communications, process mapping, process improvement, trainings and briefings, coaching, launches, promotions and events to transition to Change Management. I vividly remember the second interview with the hiring manager of my first Change role and I knew I’d be offered the role. I asked my potential future leader, “Are you sure? Are you sure you want to hire me? I don’t have any experience in Change Management!” And her reply changed everything. She said, “You do! You do have experience in Change. You’ve been doing it. You might not have been calling it that or had the tools, templates or process, but you’ve been doing Change!” Instead of me convincing her to hire me, she had to convince me that I was ready to take the role!! And she was absolutely right. When I got into Change Management, I realised I had definitely been leading change in most of my previous roles. She supported me with a few tools and guidance and the rest I learned and developed myself into my signature Change Management approach where I blend Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Coaching techniques, Advertising and Marketing know-how, and Online Business insights into my Leading Successful Change program.

I think sometimes people look at me and go, “Well that’s alright for you Lata, you’re so confident! Of course you easily made the career change to Change Management.” But I’m not the only one! So I thought I’d share 4 case studies of clients and students who have made the career change to Change Management and kindly allowed me to share their story, plus what you can learn from each one.

Case Study 1: Julia  Acena

Julia was my first ever student in Leading Successful Change. When I ran the pilot for the program and opened registrations at 9.00am, Julia had joined by 9.01am! While I have many star students, Julia’s rapid career change success really is an inspiration, not just to others but even to me! Julia was working as a Learning Specialist and had heard about Organisational Change Management. From internet searches, she’d been trying for a year and a half to piece together what to do in a Change Management role and how to make the career transition but hadn’t been able to get a clear picture. Within 3 months of finishing Leading Successful Change, Julia had landed her first Change Analyst role! Six months later she was working on bigger projects and had gotten a pay rise! And just over a year after moving to Change, she had stepped up to Change Manager level! What a star. Julia used the powerful knowledge, tools, templates, techniques, support, and resources from the program to build the internal skill and confidence to lead change and make the career change to Change Management in rapid time. And what I love is that she followed my advice and practiced every template as she went through the program, building confidence with the tools so that she knew how to ‘do’ change. If there’s one thing to take away from Julia’s case study, it’s put things into practice!

"The course provided a structured journey to not only learn Change, but also the general journey a Change Manager would follow through a change. It not only gave me the skill set, but my confidence and being proactive has gone up both professionally and personally. With Lata, the course is unique, she brings in her NLP and her Coaching background, her personality and the way she engages with people other people can't replicate and the genuine care for people's experience. Just do it!" 💖 Julia Acena - Learning Specialist, Sydney 

Case Study 2: Mala Kanwar

My free Change Tools Masterclass is like a mini sampler menu of my paid Leading Successful Change program. It includes the three key Change templates when leading end-to-end change delivery for projects (which you get in the paid course along with all the other tools, templates and techniques). Mala made the move from IT Change Management to Organisational Change Management and my masterclass helped her identify the difference between the two (check out my blog post on IT vs Organisational Change Management here) and build the skills and confidence to ‘do’ Change. It really shows that just because people might work around or with Change, or even have Change Management in their title, it can take learning it in a hands-on, practical way to really show up and shine when applying and interviewing for Change roles.

"All aboard” is how I started my Change Tools Masterclass with this helmswoman, Lata Hamilton. Truly gifted with contagious energy, this deft change expert is just who I needed when I was switching careers from IT Change Management to Organisational Change Management. Her masterclass is no fluff, she ensured she imbibed serious practical knowledge in all the three punchy sessions of the masterclass, revealing her tried-and-tested tools and templates that she has used herself when leading change. Her masterclass gave me much needed pragmatic approach to change management and ensured I was brimming with confidence to nail my recent interview. I have attended similar courses in the past, but honestly this was the most hands-on workshop I have attended on all things ‘Change’. To all who may be sitting on the fence to do a course in Change Management, this is surely where you need to start. Look no further." 💖  Mala Kanwar - Change Manager, Sydney

Case Study 3: Ophemia Bainy

The lovely Ophemia attended the first career-focused training course I ever created – the Reimagine You program. One of the most valuable coaching activities for her was when I asked the group to envision themselves in their dream job. Ophemia says it was a very specific and detailed task, and she even pictured the building she’d be working in and saw herself looking and feeling successful. This created a foundation for her to reach her full potential. Ophemia always wanted to get into the Change Management industry, but she first used the confidence she built in my course, and the tips I’d provided to her on getting pay rises, to get a new job, in a new company, with a pay rise in record speed. She then went on and asked for a pay rise in each role she took at her new company. I spoke to Ophemia a few years later and guess what – she was in a secondment as a Change Manager! To this day, she says she feels like she took so much away from the program and really felt that the time she spent with me helped her achieve those goals. What I love about Ophemia’s story is that your career change doesn’t have to be an overnight transition. You can chip away at it and build your skills, confidence and experience over time until you’re ready to make the change. Everyone’s timeline is different and there’s no ahead or behind. The important thing is to get started with wherever you’re at today, and if you need support like a course, coach or community, get it!

"Lata took me on a journey from understanding myself and what truly motivates me so that I am well prepped and ready for my next role. She taught me the secret to success so that not only am I ready for my next role, I know how to attain it." 💖 Ophemia Bainy - Quality Assurance Manager, Sydney

Case Study 4: Sandra Giuliani

Sandra was a senior operational leader in a company. She’d been trying for ages to get her peers in the senior leadership team to understand and implement Change Management. But she struggled because she didn’t have the language or terminology to influence them. She knew Change Management was valuable and essential, but couldn’t convince them! She wasn’t even really sure what her role was all about. She joined my Leading Successful Change program and would learn a tool and go straight back into the workplace the next day and put it into practice. For example, after learning about Training Needs Analysis and knowing for ages they needed to do it but not knowing the terminology, she was able to run a Training Needs Analysis with her team and map out the learning and capability required. On completing my Leading Successful Change program, she got super clear and confident within herself: she was a Change Manager, a leader of all things change, and she was able to step into that identity that she had always known she was but hadn’t quite been able to put her finger on. I love Sandra’s story because not only does it showcase the most brilliant way I think to learn change with a hands-on practical approach, but also that anyone can be a change manager regardless of their role title. It’s an identity and a skill set, and one that more senior leaders like Sandra could and should adopt. 

"Since doing the program, now I know Change Management is actually really simple - it's not complicated. Lata provides great examples of her experiences in bringing this stuff to life, and it's just in bite-sized chunks and not too long. I have confidence from having the little toolkit right there next to me." 💖 Sandra Giuliani - Transformation Leader, Sydney

So I hope you can see the variety of how, when, who and why you can make the career change to Change Management. And I don’t just get people who are wanting to become Change Managers in my LSC program. My course and community is filled with people already working in Change who want to add to their toolkit and build their confidence, as well as Project Managers, professionals and leaders who simply want to bring Change skills into their leadership. I’m all for that, because I have my heart set on democratising Change, getting it into the hands of as many people as possible so we can improve the experience of our work, career and lives for our people and ourselves.

You can hear directly from the likes of Julia, Sandra and many more of my students over at the Success Stories page here.

Plus our global online April Group Cohort invitation period has just opened up. So if you’d like to get a glimpse of what’s inside my Leading Successful Change, be sure to come along to the Live Workshop of my free Change Tools Masterclass. It’s tomorrow Wednesday 25 March at 6.00pm AEDT (Sydney time) and there’s a replay for a super limited time for registered attendees only. In it, I’ll be walking through my VIBRANT Change Model in more detail to showcase how to make inspiration and empowerment the cornerstone of your change delivery, rather than the fluff on top.

Join us for my free Change Tools Masterclass Live Workshop here

Lata xx