Is your change ready for ‘curtain up’?

By Mark McAleer

One of the pioneers in organisational development, Richard Beckhard[1], likened change to a stage drama unfolding before us.? An observation made by Shakespeare[2]; ‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players’.

Have you ever experienced that sense of déjà vu when you know that despite a compelling business case and logical ‘technical’ solution, you intuitively sense that something is rotten in the state of Denmark? You just sense that the people side of change does not feel right. It could be down to stage fright, missing members of the cast, a sceptical audience, faulty scenery, or heightened expectations from the production’s Director. Or all of the above!

A play like any complex transformation programme comprises many moving parts and actors that need to come together for a successful on opening night. Perhaps the art and science of a change management practitioner is like being a stagehand that seamlessly moves the scenery and props ready for each new act?

What are the odds for success?

We are frequently told that 70% of all transformation projects fail.? Is this true or an old canard which keeps being trotted out?? We reviewed some research:

?·?A study by Gary Hamel found that Globally companies are spending more than $4 trillion annually on IT, and yet this is not showing up in productivity data[3].

?·?Just 41% of change projects were described as successful in an IBM report[4]

?·?Large IT projects run an average of 45% over budget, whilst delivering 56% less value than predicted[5].

?·?The Home Office’s programme to replace the police national computer has been delayed by at least five years with an associated cost overrun of more than ￡400 million.[6]!

?·?Failure rates for analytics, AI, and big data projects is 85%[7]

So even being conservative we can say that at least 40% of transformations will either fail or fall well short of achieving the intended outcomes and business benefits.

So how do you know if you are set up for success?

Whilst you might conclude that the odds for success are stacked against you, there are some approaches which can enhance effectiveness.? Having excellent project and programme practices in place should be a given, so I shall focus on the people side of change management, which too often is an afterthought.

1.??? Ignore organisational context at your peril.

Adverts selling financial services often end with a warning that “past performance is no guarantee of future results”.? I have seen organisations that continue to add new initiatives (layer upon layer) based on the tacit assumption that more change will ‘make the boat go faster’.

Understanding the aggregate impact of multiple inflight change projects should be the starting point for any top team prior to launching a new programme. Any organisational ‘system’ has a finite capacity for the assimilation and adoption of change[8], before change fatigue and disillusionment set in.

Understanding the current mix of projects and programmes through the strategic portfolio lens can start to enrich the context and pinpoint parts of the organisation which might be experiencing change overload. This should not be misinterpreted as ‘resistance to change’. ?When it comes to organisational transformation, sometimes less really is more!

A second lens when considering the number of concurrent change projects, is the allocation of talent for leading change.? I have seen successful change leaders ‘rewarded’ with further projects and responsibilities; to the point where they inevitably become overwhelmed.? How many ‘double or triple hat’ roles do you have across your organisation? Whilst optimal performance is nigh on impossible to sustain under such conditions, the wellbeing of individuals should be paramount.

2.??? Are we truly Olympic or just benchmarking ourselves?

Optimism tends to trump pragmatism when it comes to considering an organisation’s track record for successfully delivering change programmes on time, within budget and to the expected quality.? I have worked with clients who have stated that they responded at speed to a crisis (agile, nimble, dynamic, take your pick etc) and were pleased with the collective brilliance of their work…….I then asked what they were comparing their performance against? Remember that Usain Bolt’s 100m world record time of 9.58 seconds has stood since 2009!

Whilst the ‘hard side’ of transformation programme management will track execution, cost overruns and business benefits, fewer organisations track user adoption well. Even fewer start with a coherent change impact / readiness assessment that gives them a tangible baseline for change.

I have seen too many examples of personas and user journeys that look great in a presentation yet are not underpinned by robust data and input from enough ‘real people’. The disciplines of UX/UI when done well can be immensely helpful for change adoption; the key is ensuring it moves beyond slideware.

3.??? Senior leaders are not necessarily effective sponsors.

Aha we have a stakeholder map, so we are all set with that sponsorship thing!? I have seen too many espoused fancy tables and graphics which purport to illustrate the comparative levels of sponsorship for a given change programme.? Frequently, they bear little or no resemblance to reality.

It is a cliché that sponsorship starts from the top, however, it is vital that the right tough sponsorship conversations are captured and reinforced.? This is essential, as sometimes to quote a phrase, “recollections may differ” as to what each leader thought he or she was signing up to from the start.

Asking a senior leader if they will support the programme results in an instant “yes”, but rarely much more. An effective sponsor is accountable for:

1.??? Defining and communicating the business case for change

2.??? The allocation of resources

3.??? Ensuring that sponsorship and ownership for the change is cascaded through the organisation.

4.??? Reward and recognition decisions.

5.??? Confronting poor behaviours – not to be confused with individuals expressing legitimate concerns and fears.

6.??? Tracking and measurement of change deliverables

7.??? Being authentic and prepared to own setbacks as well as successes.

The key lesson is never to assume that individuals who are in leadership positions are automatically signed up as aligned and powerful sponsors.? Whilst no programme will ever achieve 100% aligned sponsorship, especially across large complex organisations, it is certainly worth paying attention to the collective alignment prior to commencing work in earnest.

4.??? Avoid pseudo consultation.

Several years ago, I was facilitating a change workshop in Copenhagen, which I felt was going quite well until I was asked the following – “Are you really asking us for our views or are you just engaging in an exercise in pseudo consultation”?

Somewhat taken aback, together we started to explore how best to engage groups across the firm and how to ensure that feedback was used. My learning was that if a change is a fait accompli e.g. just installing a system with no optionality, then just be honest.

Working with another organisation, I was introduced to the TTT anacronym, which stands for Tell The Truth……..and if you can’t, then say when you can provide further information.? Too often I have seen leaders communicate ‘unwelcome news’ late on a Friday via email or worse still just before the Christmas holidays.? Major transformations typically require changes which are not always easy or palatable. It is better to be as upfront as possible with potentially impacted individuals so they can better understand the choices they have to make.? Procrastination and delay inevitably mean paying a higher price down the road i.e. lower levels of employee engagement and increased attrition.

Whatever your engagement approach, it is worth considering that the tipping point for effective behavioural change across an organisation is 25%[9] of your employees need to be committed to the new ways of working.

5.??? No plan survives contact with reality.

Harold Macmillan was once asked what the most troubling problem of his Prime Ministership was. ?‘Events, my dear boy, events,’ was his reply.? The same can certainly be said for a change management plan when it encounters reality!

Effective change management should always be founded on a robust plan underpinned by reliable data; however, it also means accepting a degree of ambiguity and anxiety. Change by its very nature is emergent[10], in other words you cannot predict the twists and turns of the plot in advance. I have personally found that adopting an action inquiry[11] mindset enables me to look at the stage and the actors from a more detached standpoint. Having good insights and data brings credibility with sponsors, however, at times it is about instigating tough conversations.

We have all heard of ‘Green reporting’ where a programme is all on track until it falls off a cliff.? A change management practitioner can at times be a lonely role, though I have found that tactfully ‘speaking truth to power’ comes with practice, experience and a dose of courage!

So, to recap, ignore organisational context at your peril, be honest about benchmarking your change performance, make sure you have the most effective sponsorship you can get, avoid pseudo consultation and be ready to adapt when your plan derails.

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Finally, returning to Shakespeare, try and not end up like poor old Antigonus in The Winter’s Tale[12] – ‘Exit, pursued by a bear!’

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[1] Organization Development: Strategies and Models by Richard Beckhard (1969) by Richard Beckhard

[2] As You Like It (c.1599) by William Shakespeare

[3] Study on Global IT spend (2023) by Gary Hamel, visiting professor at LBS

[4] Jorgensen, H., Owen, L., & Neus, A. (2013). Making change work. IBM Future of Enterprise

[5] The Science of Organisational Change (2019) by Paul Gibbons

[6] Challenges in implementing digital change: Thirtieth Report of Session 2021–22 House of Commons

[7] Failure rates for analytics, AI, and big data projects = 85% – yikes! (2019) by Brian T. O’Neill

[8] Managing at the Speed of Change by Daryl R. Conner (2006)

[9] Change – How to make big things happen (2021) by Damon Centola

[10] The most successful approaches to leading organizational change (2023) by Deborah Rowland, Michael Thorley and Nicole Brauckmann

[11] Action inquiry – The secret of timely and transforming leadership (2004) by Bill Torbert and Associates

[12] The Winter's Tale (c.1609-11) by William Shakespeare