Membership Profile
Valerie Johnson
Tell us about yourself.
I am an independent consultant specializing in Strategic Change Management. My consulting experience and knowledge stem from over twenty years of leadership development, team effectiveness consulting and IT project work across multiple business sectors. I have extensive experience leading change management projects and find the most satisfaction working with leaders and employees to build their change capability with a focus on sustaining changes in order to reap the intended benefits. I am Prosci certified and have completed the CCMP Certification process (waiting to hear if I passed the exam!). I recently took on the Vice President role for the ACMP Vancouver Chapter.
How did you get into Change Management?
I began in 1992 with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and later with IBM Global Services. Change Management was quite new in those days and the big firms were making the most significant advancements in building and selling the competency. After completing my MBA, I knew I wanted to work in change management before I knew what it was called!
What are you working on?
I am just coming off a 4 month sabbatical and starting to look for the next opportunity. My goal is to find an engagement that allows me to work with senior leaders to execute and sustain changes aligned with their strategic objectives.
Do you have any recommended change management books / resources to share?
I have read several books over my sabbatical, however, Influencer from VitalSmarts remains the book that has had the most impact on my thinking in the past several years. It gives practical advice on identifying the behaviour shifts that are required to drive the benefit of the change and tactics for influencing the shift.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
I am a recent empty nester so I now have lots of time to focus on playing sports (hockey and squash mostly), playing guitar, singing in a community choir, and volunteer work.