Effectively addressing these change initiatives in our organizations is an important skill set for leaders, yet literature would suggest that over half of all major change efforts result in failure.
There are literally hundreds of different change models, theories, and strategies. It is possible to spend years studying all of the different efforts to address change management.
With all of these theories, models, and plans for change, why do over half of all change initiatives still fail? In large part, people fail to recognize that the change process goes through a series of phases that in total requires time. People tend to get impatient and rush or skip steps, and while this may create the feeling that the change process has been accelerated, it really results in a loss of satisfactory results. Critical mistakes in any phase can have a negative impact on the change initiative as a whole, reduce the change momentum, and negate or reverse any gains. John Kotter’s Leading Change is one of the seminal works on change failure, and he details eight primary reasons that change efforts fail
- Not having a great enough sense of urgency
- Not having a guiding coalition with enough power
- Lacking vision
- Under communicating
- Not removing obstacles
- Not planning for and creating short-term wins
- Declaring victory too soon
- Not anchoring changes in the organizational culture
Sense of Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency for a change is the most basic first step in the process. Without motivation for a change, people will not get involved and the initiative is unlikely to move forward, yet many organizations fail in this first basic step as a result of paralyzed senior management. This often comes from too many managers and not enough leaders where the focus is on minimizing risk and keeping current systems operating instead of recognizing the need to change.
Change by definition is about creating new systems which demand leadership not management. It is also a common mistake for leaders to fail to recognize how difficult it is to get employees out of their comfort zone. For almost all people change is neither sought after nor welcomed—no matter how good the idea is. As a leader it is critical to recognize that for a major change a new compact is being created between employees and the pharmacy service. It is important to remember to answer these four key questions for change for employees to get them involved
- What is happening?
- Why is it happening?
- How will it affect me and my job (what is in it for me)?
- What is the plan for getting this done?
Guiding Coalition
Not creating a powerful enough coalition also builds on the first error with a sense of urgency. A powerful enough coalition to continue to drive the change forward is needed. In any organization there will be a bell curve in terms of change readiness as depicted in figure below. In his 1962 work Diffusion of Innovation, Rogers estimated that 2.5% of employees will be change innovators—they are constantly looking for and leading efforts to change and improve and 13.5% of employees will be early adopters. Early adopters are influenced by the innovators and quickly embrace a change when they perceive the positive value.
About 34% of employees are an early majority and take some convincing, but easily adopt the change once the concept appears proven and sound. About 34% are the late majority, and you have to work a little harder to get them to embrace the change but with the right motivation and support they will move forward with it.
Finally, 16% of employees are laggards. Laggards actively and passively resist change no matter how good it is. They are stuck on the status quo and are big proponents of keeping the “way we do things around here” in place. These are the people who generally are not happy unless they are unhappy. Long-time football coach Bill Curry coined a great term for these people: “the fellowship of the miserable.” Leaders often make the mistake of spending too much time on this group when there is little chance they will ever move much higher on the curve. Leaders’ time is better spent with people on the front end of the curve where all of the innovation, creativity, and change are happening.
For the laggard group, the change should be clearly and definitively spelled out with the pros and cons of the change defined, and then all employees should be held accountable for the change. If the “laggards” cannot or will not make the change, then leaders need to be prepared to quickly remove them and replace them with more productive people.
Vision
If the vision for the change is lacking, this will cripple the change effort from the start. The vision has to go beyond just numbers, and it has to really say something to clarify the direction in which the organization needs to move. It has to appeal to employees’ hearts and minds, and it has to offer them something better than they have now. It should not be full of big words and abstract verbiage. Leaders need to be able to clearly communicate the vision to any employee in less than five minutes and get a reaction that demonstrates understanding and interest.
Communication
Even with a powerful vision for change, if it is under-communicated, the change will be in jeopardy. Employees will not change even if unhappy unless they believe useful change is possible and worth the effort. To accomplish this it is important to establish a persuasive communication campaign. Leaders need to clearly communicate to employees that change is imperative, and demonstrate why the new direction is the right one. Leaders should position and frame plans positively and gather feedback and incorporate good feedback ideas. The employee morale should be monitored through constant communication and reinforcement.
Obstacles
With any change a variety of obstacles may present themselves during the process. Employees may be perfectly positioned, understand the vision, and committed to making the change happen but something gets in the way and prevents them from moving forward. Leaders must be cognizant that no matter how good the planning has been there will always be unexpected contingencies that arise during the change process, and the leader must be continually on the lookout for these obstacles and remove them to maintain credibility for the change effort.
Celebrate
It is important to celebrate short-term wins as the change initiative progresses. Short-term wins keep the momentum moving forward and keep employees engaged. Failure to celebrate short-term wins reinforces the laggard position and the desire to return to the status quo. Leaders need to build in and actively work to develop short-term wins. It is not enough to just hope for them. Good change processes plan for wins to keep the staff engaged and motivated and keep the change moving forward. Leaders need to be sure to celebrate and promote these wins when they happen.
Declaring Victory
It is also important as a leader not to relax and declare victory with a change too soon. Leaders must make sure the change is embedded in the organizational culture as the new norm so that employees do not lose focus and change resistors are not provided an opportunity to regress and bring things “back to the old ways.”
Anchor
In the final analysis, change sticks when it becomes “the way we do things around here.” Until new behaviors are embedded in organizational norms and values, they are subject to degradation as soon as the pressure is off. Leaders must ensure changes are firmly anchored and are the new norm for things to get done. The people who model the new change should be recognized and rewarded, and any behavior that hints at backsliding should be immediately addressed and corrected.
