The Pilot Group
A Pilot Group is a key strategical element in the process of change.
Every living system starts from a very small form. In the world of business and management it is an everyday situation to form work teams. However, there are some times, specially with small teams, that can be treated as Pilot Groups.
In a previous post I wrote: “A seed has the potential to become a tree”, and I mentioned that a Leader of Change has to be like a gardener, taking care of all the barriers that can appear across the whole process of change that a seed goes through in order to become a tree.
But, how this can be done in an effective way? There are several answers. One of them is that, when a process of change is initiating (either it is a big or a small one), it would be good to empower and give responsibility of the change development to a Pilot Group.
What is a Pilot Group?
The Pilot Group is a key strategical element in the process of change. It is a quick way to see whether the proposed initiative will have success at a greater scale or not. The Pilot Group can be a small one (maybe 3 to 5 people) or it could be a whole Part of a company. In some cases, it could be a functional team in a certain location, region or globally set. Sometimes, it could be a network of people informally set without any direct relationship, but based on their reputation and prestige.
However, it is important for the Pilot Group to take place in a smaller scale real scenario with similar conditions as in a bigger reality.
It is such a pity to see when change initiatives are not including the Pilot Group concept. And I can tell you this because I experienced it: on one hand, I saw line leaders implementing Pilot Groups for different initiatives and arriving to successful outcomes, on the other hand, simply did not succeed because they were not able to structure it at all or properly.
The Pilot Group has to lead , love and feel passionate around the initiative. Always understanding that it can become an example for others. And of course it requires good leaders to drive them through.
Which are the characteristics of the members in a Pilot Group?
They are usually openminded and capable of sharing their experiences of previous jobs or studies, and this automatically generates innovation and motivation to the change initative. The members of a Pilot Group are usually very pragmatic and wishing to experiment. They are open and innovative in their interactions; fast and able to move under the surface; they usually are very curious, and they set a great space to find the hidden diamonds that are in the organization with an undiscovered great potential.
The ‘hidden diamonds’ in an organization is a great topic to talk about and I will do it soon in a next post.
Inside a company there may be many Pilot Groups working at the same time in different change initiatives.
Some examples of success come from Microsoft to Ford; from Shell to British Petroleum. They do it as a common practice, but it is possible also to observe this in PMI’s around the Globe where entrepreneurs and owners also practice it.
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What do you thing about it? Are you ready to test your ideas with a Pilot Group?
Leave me your comments in the box below.