Classic change theory: leadership drives change; leadership must be committed for change to work.
Seems to make sense, but in reality leadership is irrelevant. The organization’s ability to change is dictated by the operational units and employees, not leadership. The reality: culture eats strategy for lunch. Your workers dictate change and strategy.
Leadership doesn’t drive change, total quality management, Lean manufacturing, or Six Sigma. None of it relies on leadership. Change relies on culture and in the case of culture, leadership is along for the ride and rarely in the driver seat.
The reason your changes fail is because you don’t get that change has less to do with you and everything to do with them. They change for their reasons, not yours, not the stockholders, not the competition, not the tax payer. If leadership does not get culture, if leadership does not realize culture is more powerful than they, themselves, are, if leadership thinks their winning smile and advanced degrees are enough to influence change, then, sadly, yes – change will fail.
In the assessment stage, I generally lead with John Kotter’s 8 Step Process for change:
Step 1: Create Urgency
Step 2: Form a Powerful Coalition
Step 3: Create a Vision for Change
Step 4: Communicate the Vision
Step 5: Remove Obstacles
Step 6: Create Short-term Wins
Step 7: Build on the Change
Step 8: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture
I believe Kotter’s 8-steps, but the slow reality I experience time and again is that Kotter presents less a prescription than a wish list. The one, and only one, of the 8 steps that really matters is Step 8: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture. This should not be the 8th step, it should be the 1st step. Better yet, start your change assessment with a diagnosis of your culture to understand how change will roll out or whither.
Culture will dictate the compelling urgency and at what level the term “compelling” means to whom. I am, in no way discounting John Kotter. His book, Leading Change provides a top framework. I am simply amping up the role culture has in any change effort’s likelihood of success. Culture drives your organization’s success or drive’s your organization out of business, through a culture-driven framework how does your organization or business unit look at your change initiative?
Think through your organization with the organization or business unit culture when thinking change and you’ll get a better gauge of the road ahead. Even Kotter estimates 70% of all change fails. Isn’t your next effort worth a better effort and the right planning? Culture and competing values is what drives your organization’s resistance.
No one individual, or leader, can change a culture, only when a majority acts on change and localizes change can the majority not only commit to the change, but find a commitment to change by contributing themselves to the evolution of the change. People conform because it helps them escape uncertainty.
Leaders can inspire through a vision, but groups define that vision by placing their future in a position comfortable within that change, if there is not a comfortable position for each or for the team, the future is rejected, no matter how powerful the CEO believes their are. There is wisdom in crowds.
As it stands statistically your strategy will fail, so let’s start with culture, forget leadership. Once you know more about the culture you can manage the scope needed to impact change.
No doubt I got some things wrong, or left out some important ideas. Please let me know what you think and suggestions you have for me to add value.
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