Top 20+ change management mistake to avoid

Mistake - #1 - Starting too late

Pressure to act quickly undermines values and culture Leaders take drastic steps quickly with no time to explore alternatives Values about participation, involvement, or concern for people disappear Cynicism grows

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #2 - No winning strategy

The best change program in the world wont do any good if your organisation doesnt have a strategy for getting where it wants to go

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #3 - Fanfare
All too often organizations announce big changes and new programs with big events and fanfare, but then very little actually happens

The initial energy and enthusiasm fades, specific changes are never identified let alone implemented, results arent realized, managers dont adjust, or maybe something even better comes along leading to a new launch with new fanfare

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #4 - Employees hear it from the media first

Journalists dig for information, and items can run in the media before employees hear about them Middle managers look dumb and uninformed Employees feel insulted and left out

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #5 - Failure to make a compelling and urgent case for change

Failure to create a strong sense of urgency causes a change movement to lose momentum before it gets a chance to start Establishing a true sense of urgency without creating an emergency is the first objective achieved to overcome the routine of daily business

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #6 - Only focusing on the rational elements

Organizational change will be extremely difficult in most cases if managers rely only on making a case to the rational, analytical, problem-solving side of the brain Instead, they must also make an emotional case for change and align the rational and emotional elements of the appeal Before you can get buy-in, people need to feel the problem

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #7 - Not dealing proactively with resistance

Managing resistance to change is challenging and its not possible to be aware of all sources of resistance to change Expecting that there will be resistance to change and being prepared to manage it is a proactive step Its far better to anticipate objections than to spend your time putting out fires, and knowing how to overcome resistance to change is a vital part of any change management plan

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #7 - Not dealing proactively with resistance

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #8 - everyones reaction will be even remotely like yours

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in initiating major company changes is to expect that everyones reaction will be even remotely like yours. Regardless of the catalyst for the change, it will be your employees who determine whether it successfully achieves its desired outcome. Organizations dont change . People do or they dont.

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #9 - Lack of communication

Change management communications need to be targeted to each segment of the workforce, and delivered in a two-way fashion that allows people to make sense of the change subjectively

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #10 - Not enough leadership

To many leaders focus too much on management and too little on leadership

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #11 - Ignoring current corporate culture

All change in organisations is challenging, but perhaps the most daunting is changing culture

When people in an organization realize and recognize that their current organisational culture needs to transform to support the organisations success and progress, change can occur.

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #11 - Ignoring current corporate culture

Do not under-estimate the status quo culture What are the values of the current culture and will they need to change to ensure success? Culture eats strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #12- Failure to understand and shape the informal organization

Organizations usually have networks and coalitions of people that are not visible on the formal organization chart. These networks and coalitions help shape opinion They can either accelerate or retard change. Ignoring or circumventing these groups can result in actual resistance

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #13 - Not involving the employees

Leaders must actively involve the people by the change in its implementation

most affected

This will help ensure employees at all levels of the organization embrace the proposed changes

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #14 - Over-reliance on structure and systems to change behavior

Structural and systems changes help create a new context and orientation. And they have the surface appeal of being visible and fast But people do not become different just because you put them in a new context Structures and systems, by themselves, dont change peoples behavior or give them new skills

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #15 - Failure to distinguish between decision-driven and behavior dependent change
Getting people to change their behavior requires a different mindset and a different set of leadership skills than making decisions about strategy

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #16 - Lack of skills and resources

Change does not happen through goals and exhortation alone. Like any business operation, It also calls for the right skills and resources Organizations often simply fail to commit the necessary time, people, and resources to making change work Paradoxically, successful behavior change often demands the very skills the change Is trying to create

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #17 - Focusing only on the long term

Large-scale organizational change is a long process

Break down your vision into smaller short-term goals, and communicate short-term successes at each opportunity

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #18 - Failing to plan small successive successes

An important part of sticking to the vision is to create opportunities to achieve smaller goals along the way These small successes will not only work directly toward achieving the desired change, but will create positive feelings of accomplishment and the drive to pursue the next goal

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #19 - Using the wrong indicators to measure progress

When a major change effort gets under way, executives often are scared off by the symptoms of their success Dont panic if you see problems vis--vis morale, job stress, loyalty, the trust level or job satisfaction It could be proof that youre doing precisely the right things

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #20 - Assuming that change is complete once initial goals are achieved
If you declare victory too soon, the focus will be taken away from your efforts, and all traces of your hard work could soon disappear Successful companies consistently re-evaluate their change efforts to determine where other areas can be improved, such as employee development and retention, new projects and new systems and structures

14 September 2013

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Mistake - #21 - Excessively open-ended process

Achieving fundamental change in an organization is at least a 2 to 3 year process But organizations often run out of energy or lose focus after 9 to 15 months

14 September 2013

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Good luck
Torben Rick http://www.torbenrick.eu Blog http://www.torbenrick.eu/blog/