Have You Doomed Your Change Management Initiative?

Leading researchers estimate that change initiatives succeed only about 30% of the time.  While a 30% success rate might get you into the Hall of Fame in baseball as a hitter, it will get you into the Hall of Shame as a business operator.  The reason why change initiatives fail is as varied as the types of change initiatives themselves.  How many of these roadblocks to effective change are you guilty of allowing in your organization?

1.       Over-informing about the change:  Do you have a meeting to prepare for the meeting, then have the meeting, then have a meeting to recap the meeting?  If so, your initiative is getting worn out before it ever gets going.

2.       The Congress Effect:  As your initiative passes through committees, work-teams and the silos of corporate America, has it been “marked” by everyone to ensure their “needs” are met?  Sounds a bit like Congress, and how quick are they to change course?

3.       Driving Forward while only Looking Back:  Company history and values can be instrumental in defining your brand and keeping you true to who you are, but if you are stuck in the rut of “it’s how we’ve always done things”, you’ll never move forward.  To see how tough it is to only look back, try pulling your car into your garage forward, while only looking behind you. 

4.       Fear of Commitment:  Have you implemented twelve change programs over the last month?  If so, congratulations, you have a “Flavor of the Month” problem.  Not committing to an initiative and abandoning it too soon is a sure fire way to tell your people to “just wait a bit, next month we’ll try something different”.  And that is no way to gain commitment from your team.

5.       Reinstituting the Caste System:  “Because I have a title and it is higher than yours, I must know more than you and therefore my idea is better than yours” is one of the quickest ways to alienate your people.  Want to know how to really impact a process?  Try asking the people who work in the trenches every day.  Humility can be the best medicine.

6.       Welcome to My Silo:  The larger your company gets, the greater the chance you will have strong silo’s in your organization.  All these silos do is to impede true progress by placing individual needs ahead of the needs of the organization as a whole.  You’ll never get everyone to the same place at the same time.  Want to learn how to dismantle your silos?  Pick up Patrick Lencioni’s book Silo’s, Politics and Turf Wars.

7.       What’s the Rush:  Effective change needs to have a sense of urgency associated with it.  If there is no urgency to change, then the pain of staying the same will never outweigh the need to change.  To get people moving, there has to be a reason to move.  Why do you think retailers have limited time offers?  It’s to create movement.

8.       Help!  My Hair’s on Fire:  The opposite effect of not creating a sense of urgency is creating a sense of panic.  People don’t think straight when they are concerned about self preservation. This effect can happen either by having to many change initiates moving at once, having conflicting initiatives or waiting until too late to start the change process.

9.       The Pie Isn’t Done Yet:  Don’t wait until the change is perfectly planned to get moving.  It will never be perfect.  Conditions will change, adjustments will need to be made and people will adapt.  Analysis paralysis will keep you watching and waiting until it is “perfect”, which the initiative never will be.

10.   Yes Sir, Whatever You Say Sir:  Not having the guts to push back and say “no” will lead you to try to be all things to all people.  You can never satisfy everyone.  Someone will be disappointed and won’t agree.  But is your job as a leader to make the strategic decision to move in a certain direction and not be afraid to ruffle some feathers.  

Take some time to really analyze your organization.  Which of these obstacles do you see in place?  Which ones do you see that didn’t make the list?  What are you going to do about it?  Remember, your people are your organization.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the very people you count on every day to deliver your business to your customers.  Show the vulnerability to acknowledge that  you don’t have all the answers.  You’ll be amazed by their contributions.

Best regards,

Scott Brown

Chief Engagement Officer, The Hardie Consulting Group

Scott Brown, MSOL,  is the Chief Engagement Officer at The Hardie Consulting Group, an Orlando based consulting firm specializing in leadership development,  employee engagement, and transforming organizational potential into organizational performance.  He is an award winning speaker and an internationally recognized thought leader who has helped countless organizations learn how to meet shifting customer and employee expectations.   Follow him on Twitter @ScottBrownMSOL and visit his company’s website www.HardieConsulting.com to learn more about what Brown can do for you.