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The Collaborative for Higher Education Shared Services (CHESS) has developed the CHESS Way, an integrated Change Management approach to working in multi-institutional projects that acknowledges the unique cultures of the organizations, emphasizes project team development, and recognizes the importance of the person, throughout the project life-cycle. Strategies will be presented for team-focused change management, communication, and de-escalation in challenging situations.

Presentation Objectives:

1. How to recognize and support the stages of team development

2. Encourage engagement through asking questions versus a questioning attitude.

3. Introduce de-escalation techniques during difficult conversations.

Presenter Bio:

Mindy Watson is the Strategic Change Officer at CHESS. She has 18
years of higher education experience including more than 15 years managing grants and special projects. She has most recently served as the Change Management Workstream Lead for a multi-institution collaborative implementation of an ERP for 4 independent community colleges in NM.

Presenter Bio:

Trish Heaton is the Talent Training & Development Officer for CHESS. She has over 16years of experience in higher education. Trish works  side by side with Mindy and served most recently as the Training lead in the CHESS ERP project. Before joining CHESS, Trish was the Director of Learning and Development at CNM, Previously, she has held roles in human resources, organizational development, and training at UNM. Watson and Heaton were instrumental in the development of the CHESS Way which establishes the guiding principles for the multi-institutional framework being presented.