Learning and Leading Through Change: Kailyn Haskovec Intern Success Story
By Kailyn Haskovec, Process Improvement Intern
November 2, 2020
Kailyn Haskovec started her internship in December 2019, after recently completing the Masters of the Environment degree program from the University of Colorado with a specialization in sustainability, planning and management. Having been exposed to process improvement concepts and participating in Denver’s Peak Academy’s Greenbelt Training during her time working with the City of Boulder, she was enthusiastic about learning more about state government, process improvement and change management. Just as the world began to experience unprecedented levels of change, these newly acquired skills have proven to be helpful.
Kailyn attended the last in-person change management course of 2020 in March and learned to think through the people-side of change during project management, which has been helpful with managing the change 2020 has brought .She enjoyed producing three Public Sector Change Practitioners webinars and three 3-day change management courses where these important conversations were taking place.
Kailyn Haskovec with facilitator Michelle Malloy after completing Prosci's Change Management Professional certification
She states that one of the most important concepts of change management that will guide her career after the internship ends is empathy. She was proud to write communication plans, work breakdown structures and charters about how a change would affect all employees at the individual level. Kailyn said, “ It was great to use the skills I learned through the change management course and apply it to the project I was working on, the Summer of Spreading Innovation Success. I made sure we had active and visible sponsorship support and communicated about the change multiple times and through different avenues such as videos, articles and person-to-person conversations”. Through thinking through each step of Prosci’s ADKAR (awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement) and how it affects individuals, Kailyn’s project had a higher rate of success.
The Summer of Spreading Innovation Success was another highlight of Kailyn’s internship. She was able to focus on spreading awareness of the great process improvements that were occurring throughout the state. Through the video series, she communicated with staff in various departments across the state and enjoyed learning more about the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) as an organization. She presented on this series for the American Society of Quality, which was well-received, and helped to inspire others in the field of quality and excellence. She also had the opportunity to present on change management to the Project Management Institute and gained additional public speaking skills and became more confident in her ability to communicate change management theory and practice.
Screenshot of the first virtual 3-day change management course
Kailyn is proud to have worked with such an innovative organization and during a unique time in history. Although the majority of the internship has been remote, she says she continues to feel close to her colleagues on the team and around the state. As she continues her career, she will have the tools to help changes be successful, manage projects in a Lean manner, and maintain a network of dedicated professionals with goals of continuous improvement.