When Change Management Fails

Change management isn’t new – it has been around for a long time and there are fantastic experts that have guided many leaders and organizations to implement phenomenal changes.

Experts including John Kotter the guru on change have provided ideas and strategies for companies to manage change in a successful way.

But what about when change management fails – have you ever wondered why? or do you already know?

Why are there still organizations failing at creating a culture change, systems changes or customer delivery changes?

It’s simple there may have been desire to make change and possibly a vision but the PLAN was not embraced and embodied by the people who have to implement the changes.

The PLAN includes having change leaders in place who are focused on the beginning, middle and the end goal of the change.

The biggest reason change management fails is because it is just that ‘managing change’ as if its something that is ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ rather than having a culturally embedded focus on EVERYONE being a change leader. With a focus on creating innovative and sustainable changes for the betterment of the company and the industry.

We need to flip the mindset and the approach away from ‘managing’ as the sole approach and focus more on a ‘leadership’ approach and there is an integration of the two for ultimate success. In my new book, “The Art of Change Leadership – Driving Transformation In a Fast Paced World” I provide stories and examples of companies who are moving the needle in a big way with change because of the focus on creating a company of ‘change leaders’.

We don’t need to go far when we see where change management fails – when an organization plans to improve customer processes and does not deliver – rules and old systems prevail.

Or when an organization wants to improve the culture to create more engaged employees and fails to provide training, communication or resources towards the goal.

I am sure you can think of many company examples where change management has failed and we don’t have to go far for political examples as well.

What are the results when change management fails?

• increased apathy among employees
• decreased market relevancy
• loss of talented employees
• lack of innovation
• risk of becoming redundant in the industry
• and more……

The key requirement for change management to succeed is to shift to a change leadership approach and create a culture of change leaders driving transformation.

The upsides of a change leadership approach are:

• increased engagement among employees
• increased synergy among teams
• increased focus on creative solutions
• increased retention and attraction of top talent
• being a leader in the industry
• and more……

In today’s reality there isn’t a company out there that can risk a change management failure – the good news? A rapid shift to a change leadership approach can change EVERYTHING.