Change Management Fatigue Part I: Avoiding “Red Zone” Failures
Posted by Todd VanNest on Wed, Oct 06, 2010
I was coaching an executive the other day who was wigging out about a pending systems implementation. He had a good bit of fear, but it was based on rational observations about how the corporation’s commitment to seeing through a long change process was “peterin’ out.”
Having a good "Red Zone" offense results in a 60% winning percentage (good enough to win a playoff spot in the NFL).
Being above average on both offense AND defense in this zone results in a 70% winning percentage and Super Bowl prospects (see Pittsburgh & Indianapolis in recent years).
Many organizations that struggle with change have experience with “Change Fatigue” (see link to related HBR blog post at bottom). Not only is change complex, but implementation across a large organization makes this a natural part of the process. It can increase to the point of derailing a major change initiative due to three unwitting accomplices:
1-The “Necessary, but not Sufficient” Factor (Organizational Change Management (OCM) processes allow this influence by fostering a false sense of completeness—see related post on this site, “Five Ways Change Management Models are Incomplete"). All models we’ve reviewed, whether illustrated in as few as 3 or as many as (believe it!) 10 steps, do the Change Leader a disservice by overstating the focus on just one step—implementation (and we wonder why we struggle to get change to “stick”…).
2-The “Look What We’ve Already Done” Factor (Long periods of stress take their toll--e.g., “We’ve already portaged around this dam by carrying the canoe over fallen trees and boulders (i.e., investing in lots of change management models, processes, tools, training, and consulting)…Can’t we just float downstream now?!”)
And
3-The “Auto-Pilot” Factor (This happens when you invest a great deal in a system or process, then expecting it to do the work of leadership FOR you).
So…my advice to this leader was:
*Ask for a moment of time with the Project/Change Leader. Be calm and engaging; don’t light the fuse on the “crisis bomb.” Say, for example:
“I am sure you’ve probably encountered these questions before (even if YOU feel your situation/demands are unique), so I was hoping you could share your best thinking on how to avoid (insert tangible outcome) and work to mitigate the concern that I have about that (without pointing fingers about who’s causing the problem or demanding what they must do for YOU to solve it).”
*Recognize the successful implementations already under the project’s belt and ask the leader to share those learnings s/he has discovered so far…and how you can work together to leverage those throughout our own implementation.
*Offer your full support and ask how you can help make this the BEST, not just next or last implementation.
*And finally, don’t beat around the bush—have a courageous and constructive conversation when necessary to address unrecognized concerns, e.g.,
“I have heard from other divisions that went just before us that they felt there were fewer and fewer “dedicated” resources provided by Corp, or the PMO, for those of us going late.
I know that’s probably not fair, that resources have been resized based on things you’ve mastered along the way and feeling you’ve exhausted many of the unique, unanticipated obstacles.
I’ve sensed some fear throughout my own division about things like this, frankly the whole organization is probably tired. I know you can help us make sure this effort is sourced right--What can you and I do to make sure we’ve accounted for the demands in a way that helps with that?"
Level heads prevailed and the right resources were provided to make change stick...Everyone wins!
If you believe that the answers often lie in simplicity and leadership, as opposed to complexity and nuance, check out the balance of our website.
http://www.lastwordonchange.com
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Link to HBR article on what I call Change Fatigue:
