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Change Management Fatigue Part II: The Organizational Solution

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In yesterday’s post, I shared the story of a Chief Administrative Officer who felt that his organization was “peterin’ out” just as his division was to go through their implementation of a new information system.  That post focused on practical advice for him as the local Change Leader (unit/division).  Today, we use this common tale of institutional Change Fatigue to highlight what the ORGANIZATION must do differently to avoid/mitigate the impact of fatigue through the long journey of implementing a complex change.

Here’s a bit more detail on his situation:  He constructively pointed out how he and his team had (a) Raised their hand to point out unique implementation needs in his division; and (b) Experienced extreme difficulty accessing resources, and worse, even getting someone from the project office (PMO) to return his phone calls soliciting support.

Here’s the larger organizational problem--the very process (their version of Organizational Change Management, or OCM) that was supposed to optimize deployment, maximize ownership by all stakeholders, and create meaning in the change process was faltering.  More research revealed that:

*Communication became limited to deployment of approved messages and recycling of “templates” used in other divisions;

*Modeling the values outlined for the “desired-state” culture that was to be shaped through the new commitment to managing this change (e.g., decisiveness, adaptability) was, apparently, no longer a priority; and

*The most important facet of effective communication, listening, well…just ended!

Again, change fatigue is not uncommon—even where there is a diligent focus on OCM.  In this case, the organization had (to their credit) invested unprecedented time, talent, and treasure in learning about managing change and supporting the process.  However, fatigue started setting in after deployment of the new technology in the first divisions.  It happens—not only do over-extended change teams simply get tired, further fatigue in the form of an unconscious avoidance of negative news and unique demands sets in as implementations continue to roll out. 

So…how do you avoid CHANGE FATIGUE and avoid its potential to sabotage your change initiative?

1-Put an advanced, dynamic process in place—Don’t get too enamored with it and begin applying it like a static tool (ala, a hammer).  By dynamic, this means that the typical change process must be supplemented by things that ratchet up responsiveness, adaptivity, and learning by the Change Team.

2-Put many open-ended listening posts (not vendor/consultant-provided surveys) in place and create an “Independent Board,” to represent stakeholders—avoiding the trap of coming to rely exclusively on in-group (biased, too close to the process and work) feedback sources.

3-Keep a frank, open dialogue with stakeholders, using their actual feelings and experience as leading indicators of change success.  Signs of concern should activate further listening and action—not dismissal as “resistance” or distractive comments that pale against the tide of generalized support you get when you only use formal surveys or meetings for feedback.

4-Place a highly visible emphasis on leadership, i.e., creating meaning through the change process and modeling agreed values—not simply winning an adversarial, zero-sum game by anticipating and mitigating “resistance” (a core teaching of all OCM models).

5-Educate the Change Sponsor(s), the Change Team, and stakeholders about the nature of Change Fatigue. Recognize it as a natural part of the change process, enabling an “army of advocates” to be on the watch for its signs so that it can be addressed in a timely and constructive way.  This helps avoid building a culture where some players wear their fatigue on their sleeve as a badge of honor—all while things are crashing down around them, putting the change initiative at risk.

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Learn more about how to KNOW that you are sustaining stakeholder trust through the long cycle of change.  Preview our FREE tool at: 

http://www.changemanagementmetrics.com/Change_Management_Help.html