The Secret to Why It's So Hard to Change Things Around Here
He was new in his position and knew that things needed to change in order to see the kind of results he was expecting from his team. So, he did what most people do and went about implementing changes, tweaking this here and tweaking that there, knowing his team would be super excited as they saw their results improve. Needless to say, he was stunned when they responded to the changes he was implementing with frustration, retaliation, and digging their heels in deeper and deeper.
If only he had known how to help the team get excited about the direction he knew they needed to go, align their priorities towards this direction, and get increased commitment to the direction, his change efforts would have been successful. Instead, a year later he was moved to a different position and his old team was exactly where they had been when he started with them.
As a leader, you know that not only is change inevitable, it’salso vital to the health and sustainability of your organization. Change iswhat enables you and your team to continue to meet and exceed people’sever-changing needs and expectations. But if there’s anythingI know about leadership it’s that implementing change can be one of the most challengingand resisted parts of leadership.
No team or organization exists within a vacuum. As theexternal environment is increasingly volatile, uncertain, changing andambiguous [1], organizations and teams must respond in order to not onlysurvive but thrive in the long run.
Just because change is constant and important does not makeit easy, as I’m sure you already know! So,let’s drive into why that is and how you can successfully lead change on yourteam and throughout your organization.
Why Most Changes Fail
When it comes to making changeswithin organizations, research has discovered that "as many asthree-quarters" of organizational changes that did not involve a culturalchange have failed entirely or threatened the survival of the organization![2]
Research reveals that “cultures act to preserve themselves, which is why so many… change programs fail."
Cameron & Quinn, 2011
Culture is how and why we do things around here through thevalues-in-use, behaviors, and norms. So, when you try and change anything, youmust remember that the culture and values-in-use are currently driving how andwhy things are done the way that they are.
And as you probably already know, people are extremelyattached to culture and values. So, without first addressing the values-in-use,making even seemingly surface-level changes will not ultimately have any effectexcept to annoy someone and/or create conflict.
The goal is for you as a leader to use your influence to help the team get excited about the direction of the organization, align their priorities towards this direction, and see an increased commitment to the direction. [1] Remember, most change efforts fail because they focus on superficial alterations rather than looking first at the root of why things are done the way they are – aka the culture and values-in-use.
So how do you use your influence to help your team get excited about making necessary changes? In next week’s blog, we’ll look at the steps you can take to effectively lead your team through changes.
What's your experience with implementing change? Comment below and let me know!
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- Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., &Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming astrategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Cameron 1997 as citedin Cameron, K. S. & Quinn, R. (2011). Diagnosing and changing organizationalculture: Based on the competing valuesframework, 3rd ed. SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.