A good way to ensure that change does not happen is to decide to change something. Everyone does it, so it must be right. The belief is that change is gradual and that its effect takes time to show up in things like customer satisfaction or market share.
Everyone knows how it is done: create a change initiative, put some people in charge, and give it a catchy name. Set metrics (maybe one for each quarter) and communicate profusely. At least for a few months or until your initiative gets replaced with something else.
The problem with change management interventions of this sort is that they did work in the past, supporting technology and process changes. Those days, organisations had clear pictures of the as is and the to be. There were well-defined gaps, measurable milestones and, of course, journeys. I spent over a decade leading large-scale change projects and, I promise, they did work.
But today we need something different. We need to change mindsets, attitudes, behaviours and cultures. Just tweaking a part of a complex system is more likely to generate distraction than traction. For instance, getting rewarded with short-term objectives is probably going to clash with pep talks on customer centricity, confusing people along the way and making matters worse.
Engaging an organisation with bits of frequent change costs time, opportunity and drains people, making them more focussed on themselves (careers, well-being, etc) than on organisational outcomes.
As tempting as it might sound, avoid the piecemeal approach if you can. Instead, and when fully ready, tackle the whole organisation at the same time. Only then, transformation would be possible.
I hope you will enjoy the current issue of Strategic HR Review!
Warmly,
Javier
Dr. Javier Bajer, Cultural Architect
Editor-in-Chief, Strategic HR Review
Founding CEO, The Talent Foundation
