How to Drive Success by Being a Change Champion

“The times they are a-changin”—Bob Dylan really struck a chord with his iconic song from the 1960s.

But here’s the thing: change isn’t just inevitable; it’s the only constant (besides the office coffee running out at the worst time).

Businesses that wish to stay relevant and competitive must keep pace with this change. The question is: how do you implement this business transformation positively in your company?

This is where a change champion comes in.

The Power of a Change Champion: Leading Your Team to Success

Who is a Change Champion?

Change is the law of life.

John F. Kennedy, Former US President

A change champion can swear by this quote.

But what is a change champion, and what do they do?

A change champion is a manager who works with the change management and project management teams to steer the company toward its desired state.

But how to be a change champion?

Here’s the drill. All you need to do is work alongside the change agent.

Change champion vs. change agent

It’s easy to confuse change champions with change agents.

Both act as bridges between the change management team and the more comprehensive organization affected by the change process.

But here’s the key difference: a change champion takes on a more hands-on role. They’re the true believers, rallying for resources and support without necessarily having the power to enforce the changes.

Conversely, a change agent has the authority to roll out the changes. Their job includes the nitty-gritty of change implementation, from strategy and design to deployment and evaluation.

Unlike change champions, change agents are typically tapped from mid- to upper-level leadership.

What Are the Key Responsibilities of a Change Champion?

So, do we need change champions if the change agent holds all the power?

Absolutely.

When frontline employees take the lead in change initiatives, the success rate of transformations skyrockets to 71%.

Change management champions have essential responsibilities that make or break an organization. These include:

Understanding the change

Before you can lead a change implementation process, you’ve got to understand the change. That makes sense, right?

The first responsibility of a change champion is to grasp the whole picture—the goals of the change project, what needs to happen, and how it impacts the organization.

Creating change management strategies

Now, this one’s a challenge—creating solid change management strategies is no easy feat.

A change champion has the upper hand here since they are part of the working force.

Working alongside the change management team, our champions ensure the strategy aligns with the organization’s goals and the employee’s needs.

Communicating the change

Change champions play a significant role in ensuring employees and stakeholders know and understand change.

But how do they do that?

They break down the benefits, explain how it’ll impact everyone’s day-to-day, and answer all the “but why?” questions that naturally arise.

Without clear communication, your transformation will hit a wall faster than a Wi-Fi outage during a Zoom call.

Training employees

Change comes with a learning curve. However, change champions are there to guide employees through the necessary training.

Oh, and they don’t just train and leave—they check in, offer support, and troubleshoot any issues as employees get comfortable with the new way of doing things.

Acting as a role model

49% of employees agree that role models guide them toward a career path that is good for them.

In times of change, a role model becomes particularly important—someone to show that, yes, change can be embraced without spontaneous combustion.

Change champions lead by example, demonstrating how to adapt and even thrive in a new environment.

Monitoring progress and providing feedback

What good is change if you don’t know how it’s going?

Change champions constantly monitor progress, identify weak spots, and offer feedback to keep things moving in the right direction.

Resolving issues and building a solid network

Let’s be honest—no change implementation process will be problem-free.

Change champions are the first responders when things go sideways. They collaborate with other departments and change management leaders to resolve issues swiftly.

And don’t underestimate the power of a strong network—whether it’s with employees, senior leaders, or stakeholders, change champions use their connections to grease the wheels of transformation.

Importance of Change Champions in Organizational Change

To bring about change, you don’t need to convince everyone at once.

Everett Rogers’ S curve research tells us that it only takes 10% to 20% of an organization to adopt an innovation for the rest of the team to follow quickly.

So, why not focus on the power of your change champions?

These individuals comprise a small but influential group that can lead your organization through organizational change.

Change champions are the voice of the team

This theory works because the champions are your employees. They are the voices of their teams, amplifying concerns, ideas, and feedback straight to leadership.

Moreover, change champions can quickly pinpoint what’s working and what’s not with feedback from their colleagues.

Change champions excel at training

Did you know nearly 59% of employees say they haven’t had formal workplace training?

Let’s face it: training gaps exist in most companies.

That’s where change champions step in. These champions regularly dedicate time to training employees one-on-one.

With champions on board, new skills are acquired more smoothly.

Change champions are ideal for beta testing

When you need someone to test new processes, products, or services before they go live, your change champions are the perfect candidates.

With their experience and insight, they can catch potential issues early on.

Change champions make room for a positive workplace culture.

Only 15% of staff are actively engaged at their workplace. Change champions, however, can take a more personalized approach and encourage employees to share their thoughts and feedback.

Change champions help save money

This is for all the leadership executives still on the fence about change management: change champions have a knack for reducing operational costs.

They understand the company’s operations very well and can adjust workflows to reduce the costly learning curves for new team members.

Moreover, change champions know how to align their efforts with company goals.

They constantly help achieve key performance indicators (KPIs) and ensure the business meets its budgetary goals.

Characteristics of Successful Change Champions

Your change champion should ideally possess the following skills:

They lead other employees through the rocky road of change initiatives
The change champion can effectively communicate the benefits of change and what to expect
They connect with people, understand their concerns, and make them comfortable with the idea of change
After all, change champions don’t just talk about change—they help implement it. This requires excellent project management skills
Champions must regularly engage and collaborate with stakeholders across the organization

How to Spot Potential Change Champions

So, how do you spot your next change champion in the wild?

Let’s lead by example (like our fellow champions): Meet Lucy. She works in finance, and while her role might not scream ‘change leader,’ she has the qualities that make her a great fit.

Open to new ideas

Lucy has a natural curiosity and is always eager to explore new ideas.

For example, she noticed inefficiencies in collecting financial data during the company’s annual audit. Instead of sticking to outdated methods, Lucy proposed automating the reporting process.

Using change management tools, she led a small team to test and implement the new system. This ended up reducing manual work by 30% for the entire team—talk about a win-win situation!

Excellent networking skills

Lucy excels at building relationships across departments.

During a recent onboarding of interns in the finance department, Lucy worked closely with HR to ensure new hires understand the company’s financial systems.

Also Read: How to Build a Cross-Functional Team

Solution-oriented mindset

When Lucy’s team encountered a snag with a new expense tracking system during a quarterly review, she didn’t panic. Instead of blaming the software or pointing fingers, she immediately met with the project team to troubleshoot.

This quick action minimized disruptions and kept the project on track.

Willing to take risks

Lucy enjoys stepping out of her comfort zone.

Last year, when her company explored new financial software, she volunteered to lead the pilot project. Despite some initial hiccups, Lucy embraced the opportunity, tested different configurations, and fine-tuned the system before its full implementation.

Empathetic leadership

Lucy is present for her team.

When her company underwent a reorganization, many employees were nervous about how it would affect their roles.

Lucy sat down with her colleagues, explaining how the changes would benefit both them and the organization. She even hosted regular check-ins to address concerns.

If Lucy is in your organization, you might want to discuss a change champion position with her.

How to Integrate Change Champions Into the Change Strategy?

👀 Did You Know: 64% of employees respond to top-down change strategies by waiting to be told what to do.

Yeah, it’s not exactly the most effective approach, right?

This passive process leaves no room for employees to share their opinions, concerns, or valuable feedback—basically, all the good stuff that could improve the overall change process.

Collaboration is the magic word here, and that’s where your change champions come in. Integrating them into your change management strategy is the first step in breaking away from the top-down, one-sided approach.

So, how do we get these change champions more involved?

Include them in planning

Instead of bringing your change champions in at the execution stage, get them involved from the planning stage. Explain the project’s objective and encourage them to offer ideas and feedback.

Once you’ve gathered all the feedback, ideas, and maybe even a few complaints (we’ve all been there), it’s time to turn all that information into action!

When it comes to organizational change, you’ll need two secret weapons: a change management process plan and a communication plan.

But, instead of you trying to juggle everything manually (or frantically writing things down on sticky notes), let’s introduce you to a solution that’ll help you achieve organizational change: *drumroll* ClickUp.

Get started quickly with templates

ClickUp is designed to be your personal change management assistant.

It comes with pre-built change management templates that can help you map out the entire process—no guesswork, no missed steps—just a clear roadmap.

To save you time (and headaches), you can look at ClickUp’s Change Management Plan Template, designed to help you plan, implement, and monitor changes effectively.

ClickUp’s Change Management Plan Template helps you plan change management better

With this template, you can outline the desired outcomes, keeping everyone aligned on the goal. You can also collaborate with your team, keeping everyone on the same page on where and how they are expected to contribute to organizational change.

Download This Template

For those of us who love a good checklist (and who doesn’t?), ClickUp’s Change Management Checklist Template comes highly recommended if you’re looking for a more granular tool to keep track of every step.

Help your change champion plan change better with checklists — *ClickUp’s Change Management Checklist Template is a good starting point for change management road mapping.*

Collaboration 101 with ClickUp

Now, to really take it to the next level, get your team engaged in a detailed discussion to create a comprehensive change execution plan.

And here’s a pro tip: use ClickUp Whiteboards to brainstorm your ideas. 💡

Picked by G2 as one of the top collaborative whiteboard tools, this feature allows you to convert ideas into tasks with just a few clicks.

Visually brainstorm with your change champion via ClickUp Whiteboards — *Create a collaborative workspace on ClickUp Whiteboards to assign tasks, tag team members, and outline necessary details*

Once you’ve nailed down your ideas, use ClickUp Mind Maps to visualize the entire change process—from priorities and structures to behaviors and resources.

Also Read: How to Write a Team Charter? With Examples & Templates

Communicate your change with ClickUp

You’ll need to keep everyone in the loop throughout the change process.

Start strong with an initial announcement, then keep the momentum going with weekly office hours to answer questions (because there will be questions).

And when you’re ready to launch, make it official with a big, exciting announcement.

Here’s where ClickUp really shines: it’s packed with features that make your work life easier. The Tasks in Multiple Lists feature connects tasks across teams, so no one’s left in the dark.

Give cross-functional task visibility and context to your change champion — *With ClickUp’s Tasks in Multiple Lists, admins can connect tasks to other teams across the company*

Plus, recurring tasks ensure you never miss important updates or meetings—whether weekly progress updates or the all-important steering committee check-ins.

Track scheduled meetings with your change champion on ClickUp — *Schedule your tasks in ClickUp to never miss an important event*

Task assignment and tracking

Change leaders must create a culture of accountability to help their teams embrace responsibility and ownership.

With ClickUp Tasks, you gain a full suite of task management tools, from creating dependencies and tracking due dates to visualizing delivery timelines.

Assign tasks to your change champion with ClickUp Tasks — *Use ClickUp Tasks to improve ownership by adding, removing, or viewing tasks from different task lists*

Want to gather insights on task complexity? Native Time Tracking in ClickUp lets you track time spent on each change activity.

Also Read: How to Improve Your Team Management Skills

Detailed documentation for context

Change can feel overwhelming, especially when employees don’t know what’s coming next.

The solution? Create detailed documentation to guide them.

Ideate with your change champion via ClickUp Docs — *Improve your content with AI-powered editing on ClickUp Docs*

ClickUp Docs makes this easy, offering a structured project management platform for everything from knowledge bases to process guides.

This tool offers collaborative editing and preformatted headers to help you build rich resources that support your change initiative from start to finish.

For even more efficiency, ClickUp Brain offers multiple role-based prompts to help you brainstorm, edit, and summarize content.

Whether planning a software project or improving team communication, these prompts help you build flexible timelines.

Humanize your change communication

Establishing open communication is half the challenge resolved.

Instead of sending a stiff, boring email, try using ClickUp Chat for real-time conversations with employees. You can embed files, videos, and spreadsheets directly in your chats for a more engaging dialogue.

Collaborate with your change champion in real-time with ClickUp Chat — *ClickUp’s Chat view serves as a repository for all your comments*

Regular check-ins

Two-way communication throughout the change management process can boost success by 32%.

So, once your change initiative is live, it’s time to nurture your team with consistent support.

Regular check-ins help address grievances effectively. Remember: even the slightest hint of dissatisfaction deserves immediate attention—especially when the changes are significant.

To keep that two-way communication open 24/7, your team members can use ClickUp’s comment threads and mentions to share task feedback.

Open up conversations with your change champion via Assigned Comments — *Turn comments into actionable tasks and assign them to your team in ClickUp.*

Moreover, they can request clarifications using Assigned Comments, which remain trackable until resolved.

Monitor tasks assigned to your change champion via Task View — *Turn comments into tasks and assign them to the appropriate team members with ClickUp Task View.*

Consider this: 60% to 70% of change initiatives fail. However, companies using ClickUp are beating the odds.

Take the healthcare giant Mayo Clinic, for example. In their YouTube video ‘Change is Hard: Creating an Adoption Plan to Breed Success,’ they highlight ClickUp as a critical factor in their smooth transitions. One host noted:

The fastest adoption of any tool the three of us have launched in our careers. Happier staff. Better transparency and collaboration across the team. Fewer back-and-forth for communication on projects. Designers can ask leadership for help by using ClickUp features like tags and comments.

Heather Meyer, Program Manager, Mayo Clinic

Change Champion Networks

Imagine Rhea leading the charge for a significant organizational change in a multinational company.

Handling everything solo? Not ideal.

So, she formed a change champion network in which multiple employees like her shared the responsibility of bringing change to an organization.

Here’s how Rhea’s network operates:

Spreading the word: Rhea and her team ensure that everyone across departments and countries understands the change management plan. Instead of one person doing all the heavy lifting, each member communicates the “why” and “how” behind the changes within their teams
Explaining the benefits: Rhea and her crew highlight the positive outcomes for employees, helping them see how the changes will improve workflows and company goals
Facilitating communication: Rhea’s network collects employee feedback, answers questions, and brings concerns to management. They’re the go-to team for both sides—stakeholders and employees
Managing complexity: Since the company is large, the network approach ensures that no one person is overwhelmed. Rhea focuses on her department while others do the same in theirs

Developing Change Champions

Till now, we’ve focused on spotting the change champions, which is arguably the more accessible part.

The hard part is upgrading their skills to make the most of their contributions. For this, you will need to cover the following steps.

Training and skill development

Training is the bedrock of any successful change implementation process. Just like Rhea ensures her team is fully equipped, your change champions should receive proper training on new procedures and systems.

Workshops, webinars, or even mentoring can help them become confident leaders.

You can also offer training to further develop their emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership skills.

Providing resources and encouragement

To get the best out of your change champions, give them the autonomy and resources to implement changes and experiment with new ideas.

Building a supportive network

A community like the change champion network will create a safe space for them to share ideas, insights, and best practices.

Monitoring and feedback

Finally, regularly check in on your change champions.

Use surveys, interviews, or analytics to track their progress and challenges. Provide constructive feedback to help them grow and recognize their achievements to keep the momentum going.

This is where ClickUp Dashboards can play a significant role in helping your change champions make a difference.

ClickUp Dashboards allow you to track the progress of each change initiative at a glance, offering a data-driven view of what’s working and where improvements are needed.

You can set up customizable widgets to track each change champion’s key performance indicators (KPIs), monitoring metrics such as task completion rates, feedback from team members, or timelines for specific goals.

Empower your change champion with insights via ClickUp Dashboards — *Use ClickUp Dashboards to prioritize tasks, enhance project outcomes, and manage sprints and teams.*

The ‘C’ in Change Stands for ClickUp

You might think the title is a bit ambitious, but as you’ve seen above, the feedback from ClickUp users says otherwise.

ClickUp is the perfect bridge between management and teams. This alignment ensures that everyone works toward the same company goals—no more lost emails or missed updates.

With an all-in-one project management tool like ClickUp, you can better plan and execute change management efforts at your organization while keeping all teams aligned and productive.

Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.