It is generally estimated that between 60 and 70 percent of corporate change initiatives fail.\u00a0 Leading and managing change can be daunting in any organization, but it becomes even more so in large, multi-layered, multi-national ones.\u00a0 Regardless of your situation, here are a couple of reasons why change initiatives may fail.<\/p>\n
People don\u2019t necessary need or want to be sold, energized, or forced to conform.\u00a0 They want to feel part of the process and take with them something in return of satisfaction for the contribution \u2013 to feel worthwhile or valuable.\u00a0 This is especially true as one moves deeper away from top leadership where the perceived \u201cus vs. them\u201d mentality can quickly occur.\u00a0 Emotional issues on the front line must be addressed as early as the planning process.<\/p>\n
\u00d8\u00a0 The needs to change are promulgated by logic rather than emotion. <\/strong>While the “oughts and shoulds” point toward the need for change, it won\u2019t successfully happen until the “I feel” also agrees.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 Too much emphasis on groups<\/strong> and not enough on individuals.\u00a0 You must focus upon the smallest unit to assure the larger one is strong.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 Failure to understand or appreciate the microenvironment <\/strong>of \u201cfront line\u201d and have good feedback mechanisms there.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The relevance of the need to change is not sufficiently linked<\/strong> to the business and market dynamics.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The roles and rules<\/strong> of governing the change are unclear<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The organization is not adequately set up for change with no enterprise agenda<\/strong> nor common modalities for implementation between different functions or entities.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 There is too much focus upon the structure<\/strong> and not enough on the people in it.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The energy to change is half-hearted<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The change agent is not sufficiently mandated<\/strong> or supported by top management.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 There is insufficient preplanning<\/strong> to assess in advance the commitment of higher management, the complexity of the anticipated change, the resources available to implement it, what mindsets and attitudes must be changed in addition to policies or procedures, and the fit with the current corporate culture.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 There is not enough organizational bandwidth<\/strong> or capacity to accommodate the demands of the change.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 Leadership doesn\u2019t adopt<\/strong> the essence of the changes themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 Leadership adaptation to change is always monitored closely by subordinates.\u00a0 Executives must lead by \u201cwalking the walk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The change process fails to address the emotion resistance<\/strong> or reaction and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0does not design the process to minimize them.\u00a0 There is not sufficient buy-in and inadequate monitors to measure that.<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 Inability to articulate<\/strong> the tangible benefits or \u201cwhys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00d8\u00a0 The engagement and communications process is not collaborative enough<\/strong>.\u00a0 It does not engage its constituency in meaningful ways relying on one-way \u201ctell\u201d communications versus meaningful two-way dialogue.<\/p>\n An IBM survey in 2008 revealed that the top six things that make change successful are:<\/p>\n 1. Top management sponsorship We all want to feel part of something meaningful. Beware the decision-making process in which the human element gets lost in the economic rhetoric. A business is like a garden.\u00a0 When the garden is not producing, a common first inclination is to weed the garden.\u00a0 Rather than do that, it is better to take the garden back to the way nature intended it.\u00a0 That means examining the grass roots system in a way that some would call “holistic.” When organizations start doing this, the system will be built on human spirit, and the change will more naturally follow.<\/p>\n Bob Fagan is a Performance Coach and Consultant who has successfully led transformational change for more than twenty-five years and consulted with companies and executives in a variety of industries since 2000.\u00a0 He may be reached at rsf4653@aol.com.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n All Rights Reserved \u2013 Robert Fagan\u00a0\u00a0 2010<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n2. Employee involvement
\n3. Honest and timely communication
\n4. Corporate culture that motivates and promotes change
\n5. Change agents (pioneers of change)
\n6. Efficient training programs<\/p>\n