"How could we possibly fail? We followed each step of our organizational change formula perfectly! What went wrong?"
Too often, after launching a major change initiative--only to see it fail--the above regretful phrases are sadly voiced by the change leadership team.
One of my favorite leadership gems that I often use in preparing an organization for a major change effort is phrased as follows:
The key word here is "personal." When a change team overlooks that essential concept, then the change effort will sadly fail. We can never assume that those affected by the change are going to accept and support "the new and improved" one. In fact, my 40 years of working with change efforts in organizations of all sizes have demonstrated that people usually resist change unless they are part of the development of the solution.
Consider this recent example: The team leader of a huge organizational transformation project candidly and sadly tells his story. He and his team were tasked with modernizing a 60-year-old paper record system of a large construction firm by converting employee data to electronic records.
Over a nine-month period, the group leading the change tested and acquired a learning management system, set up network architecture, and manually entered 50,000 records. They did everything they thought was necessary to successfully achieve their objective. All of the steps they followed were very time-consuming, requiring hundreds of hours of preparation, testing, and launch.
Two weeks before the system went live, the team sent trainers to walk supervisors through the new process, showing them how "the new way" would make life easier for the supervisors. To the change team's surprise, the supervisors expressed concerns and were skeptical of its success. Dismissing these concerns as exaggerated outliers and inconsequential, the change team launched the new system anyway. When subsequent errors occurred during the rollout, it naturally increased the skepticism that the supervisors had in the new process and further eroded the credibility of the change management team.
Undaunted, the determined change team persisted with their schedule. Resistance on the part of those who would have to live with the new system grew to the point that the change team made the change mandatory, causing permanent damage to the relationships. (When you find yourself in a hole, keep digging, right?)
After the entire change effort failed, the team leader lamented: “What I perceived as a logical change, the key stakeholders viewed as an unnecessary new burden." When the dust finally cleared, and the change team accepted defeat, all of their efforts to make life easier for everyone were for naught. In fact, they had caused more damage to their credibility than if they had never even started. Everything backfired because they ignored the above gem from my book--they overlooked the essential ingredient that all organizational change is, in fact, PERSONAL!
The leader and his dedicated team made the fatal mistake that change teams frequently, yet unintentionally, make. Too often, change leaders assume that people will support the change and readily see its benefits. That is usually not the case.
Instead of driving change without input or buy-in from those who will be affected by the change, change leaders must have personal, sincere, genuine, individualized communication with everyone impacted as the solution is identified, designed, and tested.
In my 52 Leadership Gems book, Gem #8 is
Remembering this fact is the key to building a critical mass of support for your change efforts.
As the change leader, you cannot assume that everyone is on board with the change. Don't fall into the trap of believing that others will easily see and support your logic and the benefits of the change you clearly see-- because they won't! Avoiding this trap requires honest discussions with those directly and indirectly impacted by the change. That means that when your change team discusses the change with others, make sure you are open to their thoughts. Demonstrate that you are listening to and addressing their concerns.
Chances are good that the people impacted by the proposed changes already know there is a problem. If they don’t, they may see it as soon as it’s pointed out. Demonstrate that you understand the problem and ask for their input on how to address it.
As you explain the problem and proposed changes, avoid trying to sell the change or solution. Instead, ask questions and gather input. The impacted employees may be able to point out obstacles or challenges to your proposed solution, or they may offer input on additional issues that you can address at the same time. By keeping an open mind and resisting persuasion, you will be in a better position to hear and understand what others are telling you.
Listening is a vital ingredient to successful change initiatives. Those affected by the problem usually know more than you realize, and they have different perspectives that you may not understand. Before your change team agrees on any aspect of a solution, spend considerable time listening to others.
Give those you are having discussions with a lot of space to air their concerns and objections without recrimination. While there will probably be some unfounded concerns, there will likely be many legitimate ones as well. Compile a list of the major objections and issues that you can take back to your own team.
Did I mention how important it is to listen? Even as your change initiative begins and you roll out your communication strategy, continue to listen to incoming concerns and ideas. Address these as part of your ongoing strategy.
Even if the need for change is clear—as it was for the change leader who needed to modernize the 60-year-old paper record system—you still need buy-in from those impacted. At each step of the change journey, gauge their level of concern, skepticism, and support. Is it low or high? Is it improving?
Gauge the direction it is moving. Don't kid yourself. Don't minimize resistance. Be honest with yourself and your team. Too much is at stake. Do you need more communication or more listening? Adjust the solution as necessary.
Successful organizational change requires carefully orchestrated communication with all involved: BOTH the designers & developers of the plan AND those affected by the outcome. Everyone needs to be on board to succeed, which can often take more time and effort than initially anticipated. Each person affected will have individual views, which need to be understood and considered. During the design phase, gather opinions and seek advice from everyone impacted. Help them feel part of the solution.
Shared authorship of those who must live with the change needs to be a goal of the design team during the entire change process. To do this requires explicit, frequent, and personal communication at each step of the change process. The larger the change initiative, the more thorough and involved the communication must be. You cannot over-communicate!
SELF-CHECK: