Resources/Change : Pitfalls and How To "Make it Happen"
The influencers weren’t on Board.Before embarking on any major change initiative, it is vital you gather your inner circle together, explain what you’re thinking and why, gain their input and buy-in and then announce the change to the rest of the organisation. If you can’t influence the influencers, your initiative is dead.
There wasn’t a clearly articulated vision.
If your desired outcome is covered in fog, detractors will leverage that cloudiness to distort and water down your real goal. Make your objective crystal clear. Otherwise, it is impossible to measure progress or hold people accountable for results as you seek to achieve it.
You under-communicated it.
Once your initiative is announced, your work hasn’t ended, it has just begun. People must understand that what you’re embarking on isn’t an experiment or flavour of the month. By keeping people abreast of progress toward the new goal, articulating it one-on-one and in every public meeting possible and tying what you are doing personally into the change effort, you convince people you mean business.
You didn’t arrange for short-term wins.
It is vital you secure and announce short-term wins soon after proclaiming your change effort. Show where you’ve made progress or where others have had successes within the new system. These victories will validate what you are doing and the subsequent momentum will help bring the stragglers along.
You didn’t adjust your strategy.
While it is vital to lock like a laser on your new goal, it is just as important to be willing to change your course as necessary in order to reach it. If your strategy isn’t working, change it. Don’t fall in love with your plan.
You failed to involve others in the strategy.
While you have the privilege of choosing the new initiative, you are remiss if you don’t include others in the process of how to reach it. People support what they help create. Get their input and you’ll gain their buy-in. It is not the leader’s job to come up with the entire strategy. Instead, he should create the context for others to contribute to the content.
You failed to reinforce and acclaim those producing the new behaviours publicly and quickly.
The fastest way to communicate the importance of your new expectations is to quickly and publicly acclaim and reward those exercising the behaviours and getting the new results you’re after. Since you get more of what you reinforce, makes sure you acknowledge all behaviours that support your goal.
You didn’t maintain pressure to perform.
Many times when you announce a change or new direction, people will give it the “kiss of yes”, while they silently hope it fades away. Maintain pressure to perform by continually clarifying and communicating what is expected, offering fast feedback on performance and holding others accountable for their behaviour and results. You must maintain this pressure long enough for them to grasp that the “good old days” are over.
You and your other leaders didn’t model the changes you wanted in words and deeds.
The most effective way to communicate a change initiative is to live it. Your deeds must be consistent with what you say you want and where you say you’re going. In other words, if part of your change is to become less tolerant of poor performers and maintain higher performance standards in your business, you must follow through by reprimanding or removing those not hitting the expected standards. Otherwise, your new vision is relegated to more lip-service from the “blow hard” boss that expands cynicism and deepens resistance to future change efforts.