Change management and strategy experts suggest that understanding these 10 principles can help executives implement changes in a way that ensures the significant changes happening today will endure.
According to a survey by Strategy&/Katzenbach of global senior executives on culture and change management, the success rate of major change programs is very low, at only 54%. Costs are high while change efforts are often misdirected – not only causing financial losses but also leading to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and diminished motivation to change. After employees have experienced real-world changes and spent hours on a highly publicized change program, they become discouraged when it doesn't actually work.
DeAnne Aguirre, a senior manager at Strategy&, has outlined several methods that can help businesses transform quickly and effectively.
Below is a compilation of 10 guiding principles that can help executives navigate the risky and challenging transition period systematically, and help ensure that significant changes can be effective in the long term.
1. VALUE CULTURAL FACTORS
According to a survey by the Katzenbach Center, 84% of surveyed executives stated that corporate culture plays a key role in the success of Change Management, and 64% believe that culture is even more important than the company's strategy or operating model. However, leaders often fail to overcome cultural barriers or to leverage the values that culture brings.
Instead of trying to change ingrained culture, successful transformational leaders leverage its strengths. They understand how people think, behave, work, and feel to inspire them to change. To harness this emotional energy, leaders must identify elements of corporate culture that influence change, raise issues, initiate discussions, and engage the attention of those who will be affected by the transformation.
2. STARTING FROM THE LEADERSHIP
While employee participation at all levels is crucial, change management programs must begin at the highest level, with a committed executive team supporting the CEO. This alignment is not accidental. Instead, a series of pre-existing actions are needed to ensure everyone agrees on the transformation and its implementation. This means executives must engage in discussions, listen to each other, and resolve disagreements to achieve a shared vision for any change. The leadership team—the driving force behind change—must work collaboratively and remain committed throughout the process.
3. Engage all departments
Strategic planners often underestimate the crucial role of middle management and frontline departments in the success or failure of a change program. Change processes can be more successful if leaders can leverage the knowledge and expertise of these individuals to identify factors influencing their work. Frontline departments often have a deep understanding of issues that in-house departments may never see firsthand, such as potential risk locations, technical or logistical problems that need addressing, and how customers will react to the change. Furthermore, their enthusiasm and dedication can facilitate the implementation of complex change programs, while resistance (if any) can create significant challenges.
4. REASON GOES HAND IN HAND WITH EMOTION
Leaders often implement change programs based on strategic business goals such as "we will penetrate the market" or "we will achieve 20% continuous growth for the next three years." These are sound goals, but they struggle to emotionally engage individual employees and ensure their genuine commitment to the transformation.
People will take action when their hearts and minds are aligned, making them feel as though they are an integral part of the organization. By leveraging the company's history and cultural traditions, leaders can build a strong connection between employees and the company.
5. CONDUCT WORK WITH A NEW MINDSET
Many change programs assume that people will begin to change their behavior once formal elements such as directives or reward systems are introduced. However, what is more crucial to the success of any change program is people's daily behavior, reflecting the urgent need for change. Start by identifying some behaviors that are vital to the success of the change program. Then, focus solely on these behaviors in the reform process. Senior managers must be role models for the right behavior from the outset, because employees only begin to believe in real change when they can clearly see the behaviors being implemented by their leadership.
6. JOIN, JOIN, JOIN
Leaders often make the mistake of thinking that simply shouting slogans from the start will ensure everyone understands how to proceed. This is completely wrong. Significant and sustainable change requires continuous communication, not only during the planning phase but also during the execution phase. The more diverse the communication, the more effective it becomes. Actions that complement words are what truly matter.
7. UNLIMITED CHANGES
Reforms are best implemented in an organization when all those with authority and influence participate. Beyond those with official titles who naturally lead the company during transformation, those without official titles must also be involved. Their influence stems from their expertise and networks capable of building trust.
We call this group the “special force.” They could be a highly respected supervisor, a skilled project manager, or even a receptionist who’s been with the company for 25 years. Businesses that successfully implement key changes identify these individuals early on and find ways to have them participate in or guide the change program. The “special force” needs to be identified before they officially join. The best way to do this in a large organization is to conduct a network analysis. By mapping out the connections within the organization and finding out who people talk to most, you can integrate the formal organizational chart with those on the periphery – individuals who don’t hold management titles but have influence and leadership abilities comparable to those of the management team.
8. UTILIZING OFFICIAL SOLUTIONS
Persuading people to change their behavior will not be enough to bring about transformation if formal elements such as structure, reward systems, management practices, training, and development are not redesigned to support each individual within the organization. Many companies fail to meet this crucial criterion.
There's a case like this: after a very impressive start, a training program for employees at a law firm stalled because management failed to establish a formal mechanism for rewarding or rewarding participants. In calculating rewards, the company overlooked development in its equation. Therefore, despite management praising the program, the lack of a reward system meant the training team was essentially a volunteer group. When the law firm recognized this problem, key members implemented a series of policy changes, beginning with the introduction of a reward system for the training team that would acknowledge their contributions.
9. UTILIZING INFORMAL SOLUTIONS
Even when factors change, ingrained cultural patterns can undermine them if people revert to unconscious behaviors deeply rooted in their minds. That's why formal and informal solutions must coexist. A leading tech company tried to instill a customer-centric mindset after 10 years of focusing on cost reduction. A new set of processes was introduced, but strangely, the most effective solution wasn't a formal process but a non-standard, culturally focused one – changing the motto that had been guiding decision-making for the external operations department, "Customer-centric." By requiring everyone at every level to be accountable for quality and through reward mechanisms, leaders can create a work culture where people consider their responsibilities as their own.
10. EVALUATION AND ADJUSTMENT
The Strategy & Katzenbach investigation revealed that many organizations, despite their transformation efforts, fail to measure success before moving on. Leaders are eager to declare victory without taking the time to understand what worked and what didn't in order to adjust the next step accordingly. This failure to track results leads to inconsistent change and doesn't provide the organization with the necessary information on how to support the change process.
These 10 guiding principles serve as a framework for leaders committed to sustainable change. The work may be difficult and require precision. But the need for change is becoming increasingly urgent. We need unity to achieve it.
Source: Saga.vn
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