Most organizational change efforts, large or small, life-saving or mundane, are destined to fail. Generally, they don’t fail because of a weak concept but because of poor execution, often stemming from a lack of buy-in from the people who have to actually change their attitudes or behavior — your employees.
In this inaugural column on organizational leadership and change, I will suggest a simple rule of thumb to strengthen any change effort. In future columns, I will expand on the idea and offer additional tips.
In most pre-change situations, your staff will fall into a pattern something like this: 20 percent are way ahead of you, wondering why it took management so long to figure out what needed to change; 60 percent are open to change, if they can understand what exactly you have in mind and if it feels safe; and 20 percent are unalterably opposed to the change, even seeing it in apocalyptic terms.
Your firm’s proportions may vary from time to time and issue by issue but this formulation is solid; my firm has seen it in action dozens of times.
Where to focus?
If you are like most leaders, you spend 80 percent of your change-related energy trying to persuade the 20 percent that are unpersuadable. It is human nature to want to convince these naysayers of the rightness of your thinking, and they can form a very effective squeaky wheel.
Let’s face it, simply by distracting your energy, the naysayers can derail the change effort, causing you to waste valuable management time trying to solve the wrong problem.
Instead, try to focus 80 percent of your change-related energy on the 20 percent of employees who are ready for the change. Instead of gripe sessions with resisters, find ways to showcase early wins produced by these risk-takers, give them stretch assignments and feature their successes in internal company communications. The benefits of this approach are manifest:
- A cadre of change-makers who will form a ready group of allies for future change efforts.
- A visible alternative to the naysayers that the large, silent middle can adhere to as models.
- Less frustration.
Deal with naysayers
But what about those naysayers? Won’t they derail your change effort? Here is a three-step process for dealing with them:
First, ignore them. Some will grow quieter and even acquiesce if they are not given management’s attention and “air time.”
Second, marginalize them. By focusing on the early adopters, the power of resistance is moved to the shoulder.
And finally, if all else fails, remove them. Some will leave on their own, seeking a better fit for their values and thinking, while a few may need to be encouraged to find work elsewhere. You may also be surprised that when the tide clearly turns in favor of a successful change effort, some naysayers may turn out to be part of the 60 percent in the middle and are supportive. ●
David La Piana is founder and managing partner at La Piana Consulting. David’s strategy firm helps those in the philanthropy and nonprofit sectors effectively collaborate, create and accelerate change. He is the author of six books and numerous articles on topics ranging from mergers to competitiveness.
Learn more about David La Piana at:
Twitter: @DavidLaPiana
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