In large-scale changes, change managers are the central coordinating hubs that make it possible for the rest of the team to work effectively together.  The executive sponsors may provide the funding and direction, and the success owner may take responsibility for the implementation of the change, but it is the change manager who makes sure that the human aspects of the project are given proper consideration and supplies support to convert an organizational change into something that every individual member of the organization can get behind.

While change managers often are expected to “roll up their sleeves” in support of one or more areas of the change initiative, their primary role is one of facilitating the work that others are doing and coordinating efforts to make them effective.  Working closely with the success owner and the project manager, they keep the initiative on target and moving forward.

Building on difficult skills to master, like influencing others through stories and psychology, they build coalitions and create a following of people who are willing to move forward into the new world the change will bring about and share their experiences with others.