Do You Have a Change Monster in Your Organization?

By Renate Rooney

Think of the last time you chose a color for a painting project. Was the decision easy? If you are like me, the answer is No. Light, dark, neutral, glossy, or matte? Instituting change is hard! It's no cakewalk on the corporate frontier either. Study after study shows that strategic change initiatives consistently fail at a rate of 70%. The number one reason for failure? Resistance to change. All too often we see employees attitudes and management behavior proving to be major obstacles on the road to change.

Typically, when RCR Associates beings a change initiative with a client, we hold a kick-off meeting. During the meeting, we'll ask them to draw a picture of what change looks like in their organization. This year we have consistently seen "The Change Monster" emerge in these drawings.

When asked what the Change Monster represents, clients replied that it ranged from lack of leadership, to poor communication, to limited resources, to the lack of a change management process - all of which are significant issues. The majority of answers, however, were emotion based; fear apprehension, denial and anxiety. in Chip and Dan Heath's book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard,

the authors indicate there is conflict built into our brains causing us to think two ways about any issue. There is the rational, analytical side of our brains, which may suggest "I need to lose weight." Yet, the emotional side of our brain is controlled by impulse or routines and wants that hot fudge sundae. In business, the rational side may say that the company needs to implement a new ERP system, but the emotional side is comfortable with the old system and wants to keep the status quo. This tug-of-war can stall or even end a change initiative before it begins. 

As a leader, you can help associates overcome emotional trepidation and exponentially increase your business' chance of successful change. How? By creating the emotional case for change along with the analytical case.

• DO motivate. People lose confidence. They get tunnel vision. Help them beyond the here and now and see the future desired state.
• DO simplify. Make systems and procedures easy to use and understand. 
• DO promote creativity and flexibility. Give people the time to be innovative. 
• DO communicate, frequently and effectively.
• DON'T give too many choices. Indecisiveness paralyzes people.
• DON'T allow people to focus on the negative. Stay focused on the positive. Promote your successes.
• DON'T avoid conflict, deal with it.
• DON'T use your authority to demand the change. Use your power and authority to minimize the obstacles and challenges that your employees face.

All too often leaders ignore the emotional side of change. Recognizing, understanding, and dealing with people's emotions can help reduce their resistance to change and significantly increase the success of your initiative.