John Kotter’s book ‘A Force for Change’ highlighted some key areas that help us to identify why change can fail and what to do about it.

He suggests there are a number of reasons why many change initiatives fail, and they include:

* Too much complacency within the department
* Failing to build a substantial team effort towards the change
* Not understanding the need for a clear vision
* Failing to clearly communicate the vision
* Allowing obstacles against the vision to build up
* Poor planning and lack of short-term wins
* Finishing the process of change too soon
* Not anchoring the changes in the corporate culture

Kotter suggests there are a number of stages to go through in order for change to stick:

* Establish a sense of urgency as to why change should happen
* Create a team that will drive the change forward
* Develop a clear vision that everyone can buy into
* Share the vision through out the team and other stakeholders
* Empower people to get rid of obstacles to the change
* Create short-term wins so everyone can see progress
* Keep moving toward the end goal
* Ensure the change is deeply embedded in the culture

We can see that following Kotter’s ideas can create a foundation for change that can be a normal force acting on the business. Instead of fearing change, therefore, everyone can embrace it as the way forward. By not doing so, your competition will quickly overtake you in the mission to achieve corporate success, because, as Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

You may have tried to initiate change in your team, seen the benefits of the change and even communicated it well to every team member. Then you may have been puzzled by certain people’s reactions where they resisted the changes and wondered why they put up such a defense of the current position.

Well, you’re not alone. Many managers have hit the wall of resistance and created real challenges by not approaching the situation in the right way.

Here are four reasons why the resistance to change may be quite large:

The need for security and stability: some people rely heavily on the current status quo for their self-worth. Changing something may affect their secure position and all they associate with change is pain.

They fear the results of the change: personal effects for themselves may outweigh the benefits they see happening.

A misunderstanding of the reasons for change: the person may lack information as to the reasons for change, or it hasn’t been communicated properly with them.

Disagreement as to the reasons for change: they assess the situation differently or may disagree that change is needed at all.

Any of these reasons may produce obstacles to the changes you are attempting to put forward.

There are many ways that these obstacles can be overcome, though they seem to boil down to specific methods that lay the foundations for change.

They include;

• Communicating an effective message using the correct medium
• Involving the people concerned in the change process instead of insisting they follow directions
• Support the change mechanism and help people adjust to it
• Agree what will happen to those who may lose out in the change
• Work with people to create a team consensus where they play a major role in the development of the change
• As a last resort, managers can use force by making clear what the end results of not changing would be.

It’s important to ascertain the reasons for the resistance before prescribing the way forward, as using the incorrect means may crank up the resistance levels and you’re left with even more obstacles than before.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”