Member Spotlight, Maryann Heil

Maryann Heil, CCMP, PMP

Director, Organizational Change Management at Microsoft

Fun Fact

I have lived on every continental U.S. coast. In Ohio, I lived on the North Coast (Cleveland/Lake Erie). In Texas, I lived not too far from the Gulf Coast (though Texas is so big that "not too far" can mean a several-hour drive). In Savannah, Georgia I lived on the Atlantic Coast. And in Seattle, I live on the Pacific Coast. Our favorite is the Pacific or West Coast.

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Background

I grew up in the greater Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area and earned a B.A. from The Ohio State University in Columbus and an MBA from Ohio University in Athens.

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Path to Change Management

I started working in change management more than 15 years ago. I was working with different teams on several projects. We were struggling to finish them successfully and, in some cases, failing completely. I wondered why and began analyzing our process. The common thread? The lack of executive support combined with limited employee communication and training. What could our team do with this knowledge? That question marked the beginning of my journey. I started doing change management before I knew it was an actual job.

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Biggest Obstacle Getting Established in Change Management

When I first started doing change management, I had to win over project managers. They didn’t understand what I did and how it could help them. It taught me the first lesson which is work hard to earn buy-in from project managers.

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Biggest Reward from this Career

When we go-live and start seeing the value in all the hard work. I also enjoy being part of a team. The harder the project, the stronger the bond between team members.

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Bucket List Yet to Accomplish

In October, I completed one bucket list item. I went to Lisbon, Portugal on vacation. It was as wonderful as I imagined. Food, people, history. So much to see and do. I walked the neighborhoods of Lisbon, ranging from the sea-level Praco do Comercio, the large public square facing the Tagus River, to the hilly neighborhoods and narrow winding streets of Barrio Alto and Alfama. I also visited the mountainous Sintra region as well as coastal resort towns. And there is so much left to see and do. Another trip is now a second bucket list item.