In his book, Leading Change, John Kotter states, “The combination of cultures that resist change and managers who have not been taught how to create change is lethal.”   Isn’t that the truth!  Research indicates that 50-70% of all change initiatives end in failure, or worse yet – doing more damage than good. The problem - leaders try to answer “the call” without proper preparation and guidance.

It appears that over time we’ve dealt with so much change that we’ve become comfortable thinking “business as usual” IS change. So much so, that we approach it expecting employees to do change naturally. But that’s how it works? 

The failure rate for change initiatives doesn’t seem to be going down, so I would venture to say that we’re still coming up the learning curve on what is required to initiate and implement change in order to achieve our business objectives. Often leaders struggle to articulate the benefit of investing in a proactively planned and managed change process. The reason is usually connected to the fact that by the time they are ready to initiate a change they have been thinking and dealing with it for so long that they wrongly assume everyone is on board and supportive of what needs to be done. They just want to get on with it!  This type of approach ultimately leads to failure.  For change to happen successfully, the organization needs, in addition to patience and resources, its people to be on board, and that requires a process of education, engagement and transition.

The drivers of change are basically the same as what we experienced in the 80’s and 90’s.  What’s changed is the pace at which these drivers are impacting business.  We’re now dealing with the following at a much quicker pace:

• Globalization – we’re living and working in a smaller, more interdependent world
• Technology, or more appropriately labeled for the 21st century as digital technology
• Commoditization, a growing trend occurring across all markets, brands, and sectors
• Intellectual capital – developing, recruiting and retaining it

Whether an organization is considering a minor change, or an entire culture shift, it’s not uncommon for leaders and managers to be uncertain or even overwhelmed by the process, reactions, and emotions that go hand-in-hand with letting go of the past and embracing the future. Usually executives and leaders of change will collaborate with internal and/or external Organization Development consultants.   These professionals, who are experienced with organizational behaviors and human dynamics, are also skilled with a variety of techniques and methodologies to design, guide and support a reasonable and realistic change plan.  An important element to success is to acknowledge that some of the work we do to integrate change into an organization has to do with the heart and the head.  Leaders need to envision and inspire change, but the actual “change” work needs to take place by each employee all the way through the organization.  Not something that can be dictated through a memo, but rather a vision that must be seen, acknowledged and embraced by each worker. This process will play out at different speeds for different people, and their willingness to accept and embrace the changes the organization wants to make will most likely involve some management of resistance.  Author Rick Maurer provides an approach for anticipating and dealing with resistance, “If you understand why people resist change, you will also understand what it takes for people to support change.”  

Successful change requires:

• time and patience
• resources; financial, experts (internal and external)
• preparation and planning 

This includes the time to gather and understand the gaps between where your organization currently is and where you want it to be. In addition, we don’t suggest that leaders plan and implement change without the appropriate level of expertise. You wouldn’t design a bridge over a river without the appropriate technical guidance of engineers, so why would you venture down the road of requesting change to the day-to-day routines of your employees without an expert at your side?

The following 8-step model from Kotter is provided as an overview of the key events any organization planning to implement change should be aware of.   Leaders should be aware of both the operational issues that will need to be addressed with a change initiative as well as the human side and assemble their change team appropriately.   Further information on Kotter’s model 

Kotter's 8-Step Model

1.  Create Urgency – Open an honest dialogue about the drivers impacting your organization. The more your employees are talking about the proposed changes and the impact of ignoring them, the more urgency they will feel for integrating the required change into the organization.

2.   Form a Powerful Coalition – You have to LEAD change, not just manage it.  Identify true leaders across functions and job titles and get their emotional commitment to help you ignite support throughout the organization.

3.   Create a Vision for Change – Help employees “see” what you want to achieve. This will make it easier for them to understand what’s in it for them, and what they need to do to make it happen.

4.   Communicate, Communicate, Communicate – Through frequent communications, using all avenues available to you, tie company actions, decisions and performance to the vision of the changed organization.  Keep the new vision front and center in everyone’s mind so they’ll see, understand and begin to integrate the performance and behaviors you are seeking.

5.   Remove Obstacles – Take proactive steps to understand resistance and deal with it.  Keep a vigilant eye out for barriers to success.  Confront and resolve obstacles that stand in the way of success.  Engage and empower employees to achieve change goals and objectives.

6.   Create Short-term Wins – Success breeds more success.  Identify and achieve quick successes – (this could be measured by a month or a year, depending on the type of change you are initiating) – that employees can identify with and feel good about. This will also help quiet opponents and negative thinkers.

7.  Build on the Change – follow the kaizen methodologies and keep building on each win.  Each success provides an opportunity to build on what went right and identify where improvements can be made.

8.   Anchor the Change in Corporate Culture – behavioral change without culture change cannot be sustained.  Make the values that support your change a part of your day-to-day philosophies and work.  Keep the vision alive with existing and new leaders.

There’s no doubt about it, change is hard, and often painful work.  Working with the right experts will ensure you do the right level of preparation, as well as improve the probability for successful and sustainable change by designing and facilitating interventions at the individual, team and enterprise level to help the organization honor the past, as they embrace and become excited about the future. Your OD experts will also provide a good gauge for you to measure the speed and intensity at which the organization is ready to assimilate change.  If you’re too impatient and if you expect too much too soon, your plans for change will most likely fail.  Being prepared and knowledgeable about what a change initiative will require, as well as working with the guidance of an experienced OD team will greatly improve your chances to answer the call with the right message.  

If you are currently thinking about initiating a change within your organization and would like additional information on managing change initiatives, please feel free to call me.  EMI has extensive experience with change management in both the private and public sectors.  I’d be glad to share our insights with you to help you ensure your success.