This is the second article covering the most common mistakes when leading change. The first set of five common mistakes are found in this article: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/two-ten-most-common-mistakes-leading-change-james-bradley-4cj3c/?trackingId=bOh4XUIhwK1rJZ4A%2BfdAZw%3D%3D
This article covers the second set of five common mistakes when leading change.
6. Lack of a formal change management plan
Without a structured approach to managing change, efforts can become disorganized, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
A change management plan is essential for providing structure, reducing resistance, ensuring clear communication, managing risks, maintaining accountability, optimizing resources, and measuring success. Without it, change initiatives are much more likely to fail or encounter significant difficulties.? Without a formal change management plan, you’ll likely find:
- There is no clear roadmap for how the change will be implemented. This can lead to confusion, misalignment, and inconsistent actions among team members, which may derail the change initiative.
- Change often triggers resistance among employees. A formal change management plan includes strategies to address and reduce this resistance, helping to ensure that employees understand the reasons for the change and are more likely to support it.
- Communication gaps. A formal plan typically outlines how, when, and what information will be communicated throughout the change process. Without it, communication can become sporadic or unclear, leaving stakeholders uncertain about what is happening and why.
- Higher risk of failure. Change initiatives without a formal plan are more prone to failure. Without a plan, the initiative may face unforeseen obstacles that could have been avoided or better managed.
- Without it, accountability can become blurred, leading to delays, missed tasks, and ultimately, an unsuccessful change effort.
- Resources may be mismanaged or wasted, and the initiative may exceed budget or timeline expectations.
Without a plan, it is difficult to measure success and assess whether the change has achieved its objectives or to identify areas that need adjustment.
7. Lack of a clear vision
Without a compelling and well-communicated vision, employees may resist change due to confusion or fear of the unknown.
- Define clear objectives and communicate them throughout the organization. Everyone should understand the reasons behind the change and what is expected to change.? Make it clear – align leaders around the strategic objectives, ambition, and scale of the change.? Make it known – communicate the change vision and case for change and being to create ownership of the solution.? Make it real – Translate the change vision into reality for people – define what it means for them (answer the question on everyone’s mind, “What Is In It For Me?”).? Conduct a change impact asessement to identify potential risks and migration strategies.? Recognize that tenured employees or middle management may have demonstrated attitudes of higher resistance.? Employees from acquired companies may also demonstrate resistance to adopting to a “new corporate” culture or operating models as change can cause feelings of uncertainty. ?Their reality may be ‘different’ compared to other stakeholders and a different set of tools and techniques will be required to translate the change vision into a relevant perspective that reduces resistance.
- Identify the best practices for change management and communications, understanding relevant to the number of impacted stakeholders regarding the application education and support. Ensure at go-live stakeholders have the knowledge, skill and resources they need to successfully adapt to the future state. ?Establish a robust change leadership and support network through the impacted company(ies) and business functions that Establish ae, lead, and champion the change through transition and sustainment.? Develop the case for change??
8.? Lack of Support from Leadership
If top leadership is not visibly committed to the change, it can be a significant problem that can easily lead to a lack of trust and commitment from the rest of the organization.?
- Lack of vision and direction: Leadership provides the vision and strategic direction for the organization. Without their support, employees may lack clarity on why the change is happening, what the end goals are, and how it aligns with the organization's overall strategy. This lack of direction can create confusion and diminish the sense of purpose among employees.?
- Reduced credibility of the change initiative: Employees look to their leaders to set the tone and demonstrate commitment to new initiatives. If leaders do not visibly support or actively participate in the change, employees may perceive the initiative as unimportant or temporary. This can lead to a lack of enthusiasm and reduced effort to adopt the change. Leadership’s commitment should be from start to finish.? Leaders should avoid commitments at the start of the project and parachuting back in, reactively, to the support the change initiative after issues have accumulated because, at that point, the project may already in danger of failing.
- Inadequate resources and support: Leaders are often responsible for allocating resources, such as time, budget, and personnel, all of which are necessary for implementing change. Without support from leadership, change management efforts, such as training, communication, and reinforcement, are underfunded or deprioritized.
- Increased resistance to change: Leaders play a key role in managing resistance by addressing concerns, accessing and providing tools and techniques to reassure stakeholders, and demonstrating the benefits of change. Without their support, resistance to change may grow, with employees feeling uncertain, anxious, or unwilling to embrace the new direction. This resistance can manifest in reduced productivity, low morale, and active opposition to the change.
- Poor communication: ?A key element of effective change management is clear, consistent, and frequent communication about the change process. Leaders are crucial in delivering key messages and reinforcing the change vision. Without leadership support, communication may be inconsistent or lack authority, leading to misinformation, rumors, and decreased trust in the change initiative.
- Leadership support is essential for setting a clear vision, mobilizing resources, managing resistance, and ensuring sustained commitment to the change.
9.? Not Measuring Successes?Appropriately
One of the most predictable concerns for leaders is how to measure the progress and results of change management.? The need for measuring outcomes is a one reason why classic project management methods (on time, on budget, on scope) are attractive for leading change because it provides quantifiable measurement resulting in a sense of comfort and control. These methods apply well for changes that are predictable and controllable.? But how to you apply measures of success to transformative change can impact people and the organization’s culture in many ways that are not predictable, controllable, or easily evaluated? ?
For many organizations, leaders have used measurements as control mechanisms and induce certain behaviours and actions.? Adherence to these historical measurements may actually impede innovation or the course corrections that you want to see from your organization as it reacts to the change.? Explicit measurements and preconceived outcomes are ok, but we recommend balancing historical measurements with measurements suitable for course corrections (in this case, measurements aren’t used to control rather to drive innovation and support change).? Leaders can determine the measurements of change by asking these questions (Anderson et al., 2010):?
- How has measurement been utilized historically?
- Does this traditional approach align with the desired outcomes, mindset, and culture for this transformation?
- What aspects do the change leaders intend to measure in this change process?
- What is the objective behind measuring these elements?
- Are all target areas for measurement quantifiable? If not, how will you develop an approach for subjective measurements?
- How will you communicate the metrics for this change to the individuals who will be evaluated by them??
10. Not integrating change management into project management
Integrating change management with a project management plan is recommended because this approach ensures that both the technical and people aspects of a project are addressed simultaneously, leading to a higher likelihood of project success. ?Benefits of this approach:
- Improved stakeholder engagement. ?Communication and engagement with stakeholders throughout the project is improved because this approach helps to anticipate resistance, concerns are understood, and stakeholders are informed and involved, which increases buy-in and support for the project.
- Resistance to change is minimized. ?By proactively addressing the people side of change, you can reduce resistance and build readiness for the change.
- Improved outcomes. Projects that integrate change management tend to have better outcomes in terms of achieving project goals, meeting deadlines, and staying within budget. This is because both the project delivery and the adoption aspects are managed together, reducing the risk of project delays or failure due to resistance or lack of adoption.
- Increased efficiency and effectiveness: Resources are efficiently allocated and efforts are aligned towards a common goal. It allows for coordinated activities, streamlined processes, and better use of time and resources.
- Improved risk management. Integrating change management helps identify potential risks related to people’s acceptance and adoption of the change early in the project. This allows for the development of mitigation strategies to address these risks before they become critical issues.