For various interconnected reasons, intelligent individuals who spearhead change in organizations fail to create sufficient urgency at the start of a business transformation. They underestimate how difficult it is to push people out of their comfort zones.
Fremont, CA: To some extent, the negative consequences of change are unavoidable. When human communities are forced to adapt to changing circumstances, pain is always present. However, a significant amount of waste and anguish can be avoided due to some common but fundamental mistakes in change management.
Allowing Excessive Complacency
People's most common mistake when attempting to change organizations is to forge ahead without instilling a strong sense of urgency in fellow managers and employees. Unfortunately, this is a fatal error because transformations never succeed when high complacency levels.
For various interconnected reasons, intelligent individuals who spearhead change in organizations fail to create sufficient urgency at the start of a business transformation. They underestimate how difficult it is to push people out of their comfort zones.
Failing to Form a Sufficiently Strong Guiding Coalition.
Efforts that lack a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition can make visible progress for a short period. However, countervailing forces will eventually undermine the initiatives. Regardless of how capable or dedicated the staff head, guiding the coalition without line leadership never seems to achieve the power required to overcome what are frequently massive sources of inertia.
Underestimating Vision's Power
Vision is essential in producing beneficial change because it helps direct, align, and inspire prominent people to take action. Without a clear vision, a transformation effort can quickly devolve into a slew of confusing, incompatible, and time-consuming projects that go in the wrong direction or go nowhere at all.
Failure to Communicate the Vision
Major change is typically impossible unless the majority of employees are willing to assist, often to the point of making short-term sacrifices. People will not make the sacrifices, even if they are dissatisfied with the status quo, unless they believe the potential benefits of change are appealing and a transformation is truly possible. Employees' hearts and minds are never captured unless there is a lot of credible communication.
Allowing Obstacles to Obstruct the New Vision
Any major change necessitates the participation of a large number of people. New initiatives fail far too often because employees, even if they support a new vision, are disempowered by massive impediments in their path.
