Did you know that two out of three change management projects fail for one reason or another? All too often, major organization redesigns create little, if any, value, yet the cost of change is high. The ability to change is a key differentiator in today’s fiercely competitive global economy. Yet studies consistently show that two out of three major change efforts fail.
Programs to improve corporate organizational performance have become increasingly common. Yet they are notoriously difficult to carry out. Success depends on persuading hundreds or thousands of groups and individuals to change the way they work, a transformation people will accept only if they can be persuaded to think differently about their jobs. In effect, CEOs must alter the mind-sets of their employees, which is no easy task.
Successful change projects usually have some common themes running through them, and the project implementation team have likely been good at the following:
- identifying the right business issues,
- pinpointing the right underlying obstacles,
- adopting the right design characteristics,
- implementing change the right way.
In the 1998 paper by Jeff Dooley entitled A Whole-Person/Systemic Approach to Organization Change Management, the application of Aikido principles in workplace training was recognized as beneficial. This provides a potentially powerful new form of organizational learning. He points out that there are four organizational layers of this model of nested core competencies, which are listed here, from the outside in:
- Structural organizational and work craftsmanship
- Group process and teamwork management tools and practices
- Leadership through skillful speaking and listening
- Leadership through Inner Mastery
It is common for change management processes to deal with and address the first two layers of this model, as they will likely have a structure decided before they start. In a corporate merger, for example the new CEO will probably have identified a central management structure, with two or more divisions, as the vision of a unified corporation. Most change mentors would advocate use of documented processes, lean management techniques, and that the best management tools and practices should be enshrined in the change methodology. Some enlightened project managers might even recognize the importance of leadership in successfully negotiating the many change management hurdles, and include a slide on Leadership in the presentation to the board.
However few would be so bold as to advocate Leadership through Inner Mastery and encouraging effective action through mindfulness and managed temperament. This smacks of mysticism, mumbo-jumbo and is out there with burning insence and Jedi mind power. Unfortunately this limiting decision to ignore something because it is internal and therefore intangible is a fundamental mistake, and could eventually lead to the failure of a change management project.
All meaningful change takes place in the mind of the people involved, and indeed in the unconscious mind of every individual, rather than on a white board or in a process manual. You can have the best, most detailed process charts, but they are meaningless if people just go on doing what they have always done before. To change the behavior or a department or organization it is essential to change the beliefs of the groups and individuals in order to change the way they work.
While Inner Mastery is a key leadership skill, it is not practiced extensively, or even overtly acknowledged. Yet leadership manifested through Inner Mastery could be the key to a change program’s success, or the limiting factor. All responsibility for the success or failure of a change program is internal, and within the control of a project manager if she accepts the responsibility.
In their 2003 article The Psychology of Change Management, Colin Price and Emily Lawson suggest that four basic conditions have to be met before employees will change their behavior
- A compelling story – they must see the point of the change and agree with it, at least enough to give it a try
- Role modeling: They must see colleagues they admire modeling the desired behaviors.
- Reinforcement systems: Surrounding structures, systems, processes and incentive must be in tune with the new behavior.
- The skills required for change: They need to have the skills to do what is required of them
If these basic conditions are met through a truly effective communication strategy, and the leadership genuinely embrace the core competencies, then the change program is likely to succeed. Put the right systems and tools in place, publish the processes and project plans, and remember – all meaningful change takes place in the unconscious mind.
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