Change champions and opinion leaders are fundamental personalities in implementing a change with a certain organization. Change champions include the people who volunteered or were selected by an organization to facilitate a change. The champions play an active role in all the stages of the change management project. These individuals embrace the need for change and are motivated to advocate, facilitate, and support the team tasked with executing the required changes. Change champions can come from any rank within the organization, with research stressing the importance of adopting champions from multiple levels of the organization (“Role of a Champion,” 2022). Thus, it is important to note that change champions should come from the management position and lower ranks of the organization.
Change champions participate in various critical functions, including introducing a change, advocating and promoting the strategies facilitating the change, and implementing policies and measures of the change. They are essential communicators in the whole change process and are always motivated to prevent de-escalations of conflict. They champion problem-solving to eliminate barriers to change and create the required environment to facilitate the change (“Role of a Champion,” 2022). Change champions participate in various processes relating to change, such as promoting the strategies for change, supporting the ideas, and motivating other people involved in the change implementation process.
There are differences between a change champion and an opinion leader. While change champions are people involved in implementing ideas relating to a change, an opinion is an individual with specific mastery skills concerning a specific industry or market and has built trust within the population as a decision-maker or an industry insider (“Opinion Leader,” 2021). These people are influential, meaning that they have built a large audience who believe in their views. For example, in the current project regarding implementing a change that seeks to reduce benzodiazepine (BZD), the champion may include healthcare workers from Umass Memorial Community Health Link in Massachusetts. At the same time, opinion leaders maybe business leaders with vast experience in the healthcare industry or a celebrity like LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo, to mention but a few. It, therefore, goes without saying that an opinion leader is a person with a strong social media presence, which is not always the case with change champions. Reputable business leaders and celebrities have the power to influence an audience, and that’s why most companies prefer them to drive their brand forward.
After meeting with the stakeholders, I found that Umass Memorial Community Health Link in Massachusetts clients are using BZD as a long-term treatment regime for mental disorders. At the same time, CDC recommends short-term use of the drug for less than six months and discontinuing its usage because it leads to long-term effects. Therefore, this project aims to implement a change that promotes the proper use of BZD as a short-term adjunctive medication for psychological conditions. Various resources are required to execute these changes, including healthcare workers, trainers, money, and training materials. An opinion leader may also be fundamental in facilitating the necessary change for several reasons. First, these people have a sense of charisma and the capacity to influence many people. Besides, they are well knowledgeable and respectable, meaning that they can easily convey information regarding the change. A change champion is also a crucial resource in implementing the strategies related to the change, improving communication, and solving problems related to the change.
“Definition and The Role of a Champion”. The Role Of Champions Within The Change Process, 2022, http://639969719114303356.weebly.com/definition-and-the-role-of-a-champion.html.
“What Are Opinion Leaders and Why Is Their Influence Important?”. Indeed Career Guide, 2021, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/opinion-leader.
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