A sign of leadership insanity is repeating the same failed change implementation approach and expecting employee change adoption. In reality, what happens is another missed opportunity, wasted time and resources that could have been put to better use, no sustainable change, and no return on investment. Even worse, you have allowed the competition to get ahead.
“To achieve future organisational change management success, analyse previous change history to mitigate previous weakness and enhance future success”
A Change History Assessment© (CHA©) can provide organisational insights that can be used to mitigate previous weaknesses and enhance previous successes. Most organisational changes require key elements to be properly resourced and managed in order for change to be successful. These elements range from: People involvement, communications, and perceived future success.
1. Employee Involvement: Are employees involved in the change? The simple human truth is that people want (and like) to be involved in issues that affect them, or they resist change.
2. Change Readiness: Was the organisation ready for the change? Change experts have emphasised the importance of readiness.
3. Organisation Structure: Was the organisation structure in place to support the change? For the change implementation to be successful, employees may need extra support in their day-to-day roles as they divert time and energy to the change.
4. Previous Change Success: Was the previous change in your organisation successful? A good indication of future change success is to look back at previous successes and then try to identify what will be different.
5. Communication: Was the previous change communicated succinctly, clearly, and repeatedly? Communication is one of the biggest single success factors in implementing the change. Our data from a 2015 global Change History Assessment© (CHA©) survey, which included employees from over 25 countries and organisations, provided the lowest score of all ten key elements.
“If an organisation has a history of change failure, future success will require a different approach”
6. Organisation Work Load: Was work load considered during organisational change? Work load should be a key consideration when changing existing processes.
7. Sponsor Support: Was there active sponsor support for organisational change? Sponsorship is probably the single most important element in any change journey. Without effective and proactive project sponsorship, the project will eventually fail.
8. Change Approach: Was the change approach soft, with interventions and a resistance strategy? Is it a ‘Tell’ or a ‘Sell’? Compliance changes are usually a ‘Tell’, especially if they are legal, regulatory or safety-related, while business improvements are a ‘Sell’ and usually about winning hearts and minds.
9. Change Resources: Were change management resources a part of the change? Success can be enhanced if change agents and a change methodology are put in place to support the change transition.
10. Perceived Future Success: Will future change management be successful? People will assess their organisations future success from previous change experience and knowledge.
“A sign of leadership insanity is repeating the same failed change implementation approach and expecting employee change adoption”
Further Reading: Change Management Handbook - Leadership of Change Volume 3
Peter consults, speaks, and writes on the Leadership of Change®.
For further information please visit our websites:
Peter F Gallagher is a Change Management Global Thought Leader, Guru, Expert, International Speaker, Author and Leadership Alignment Coach.
Listed #1 by leadersHum Top 40 Change Management Gurus You Should Follow in 2022 (Mar 2022).
Ranked #1 Change Management Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Change Management (2023-2022-2021-2020) by Thinkers360.
Ranked #1 Business Strategy Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Business Strategy (2022) by Thinkers360.
Ranked #2 Leadership Global Thought Leader: Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Leadership (Aug 2020) by Thinkers360.
Business Book Ranking
Change Management Behaviour - Leadership of Change® Volume 6, listed among the 50 Books from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders to read in 2022.
Change Management Adoption - Leadership of Change® Volume 5, listed among year-to-date’s (Jul 2021) most popular books on business and technology from Thinkers360 member thought leaders.
Change Management Handbook - Leadership of Change® Volume 3, listed among the 50 Business and Technology Books from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders to read in 2021.
Change Management Pocket Guide - Leadership of Change® Volume 2, ranked within the top 50 Business and Technology Books (Jan 2020) from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders.