The Reality of Making Change

Change does not always come easy!

This can be a challenge to business leaders who need to move their organization quickly in a different direction.

I have worked with some clients who were tough-minded and results-oriented leaders. Often, the solution of these leaders to organizational resistance was an either/or strategy of accept the change or pick up your final check and exit at stage left.

It is true that significant change efforts often involve some realignment of functions and positions to make the change happen. Unfortunately, it is also true that leaders who adopt this singular strategy of do it my way or hit the highway  rarely bring meaningful and lasting change to their organizations.

I often explain to these clients that they must find the balance between forcing change and leading change if they want to make fundamental improvements that are lasting AND also not lose the commitment of their critical talent in the organization.

How to Make Meaningful Change

To make meaningful change, leaders must accept the following four realities:

1. People (not processes) are the Center of all Organizational Change

It is tempting for senior leaders to put a process at the center of an organizational change effort.  I have seen this occur many times with change initiatives like continuous process improvement, re-engineering, lean management, Six Sigma, ISO 9000, etc.  Many of these efforts were only marginally successful because of this incorrect focus, however. In reality, people are at the center of all organizational changes.  The process is the vehicle for reaching the destination but the people in the organization are the drivers and operators of the change effort. Get the people part right and the process part will work well!

2. Expect Some Resistance to Change No Matter How Worthy the Effort

Resistance to change is rarely irrational.  In fact, it makes perfect sense from the perspective of the person resisting.  From their perspective, it can even be on principle.  Some may resist because they genuinely believe the change that a leader is proposing will be less effective than what is already in place. Resistance to change comes with any change effort.  Often, just slowing the process down, piloting a few initiatives, and obtaining some positive results can help the leader overcome resistance. And, above all do not take all resistance personally!

3. Change Will Not Occur Unless Employees Feel Motivated

Implementing significant organizational change requires the sustained commitment of organizational stakeholders as the process is not easy work.  Frequently, there are problems that occur that were not anticipated (in addition to those that were) and there are people issues that arise that take time to resolve.  Employees will not be engaged to provide the necessary sustained commitment for a change initiative if they work in an environment where they do not feel motivated to give their best.

4. Authoritarian Directives & Micromanaging Practices Yield Limited Results

For a change initiative, employees and managers do not thrive under authoritarian and micromanaging leaders.  Instead, they comply and some resist!  Leaders do best when they limit their use of these styles and engage organizational stakeholders in “helping to own the change” by making them real contributing partners in the process. This does not mean the leader should accept poor performance.  That is not leadership! Instead, leaders should exert control and issue directives at strategic points in the change process when clear, decisive actions are needed. They should delegate and use participative management approaches for other phases of the initiative.

Making significant organizational change is not easy but it is worth the effort.  It requires leaders to accept these four realities and adapt accordingly.  When they do accept them, leaders have a much better chance of making meaningful organizational change that stands the test of time.