Myth #2 — Change is about getting others to change ​
By: Michael Leckie
Tags: Digital Marketing, Organizational Change, Michael Leckie, Digital Transformation, Organizational Culture

This is part of a continuing series on the Five Myths of Organizational Change. If you’ve started from #1 you know that ever since I began the study of organizational change, I have struggled with the fact that there are lots and lots of very logical approaches and models but yet there seems to be very limited success in actual change. For most “change initiatives” it has been boiled down to Gantt charts of activities, communication campaigns, and claiming victory because we’ve completed the tasks on our timelines. But rarely do I see measures that reflect true change in how people see the world, how they work in that world, and the positive business results desired as a result.In my forthcoming book, The Heart of Transformation; Build the Human Capabilities That Change Organizations for Good, I talk about how behaviors change beliefs (not the other way around) and the individual changes and capabilities that actually drive organization-wide change.

The Five Myths of Organizational Change — Myth #2 — Change is about getting others to change

When I am called in to help an organization transform (or, more likely, to help them figure out why their previous and expensive transformation efforts failed), I usually hear real concern about the seemingly insurmountable difficulties in overcoming “resistance”. Ahh, the “R” word. It is such a wide and deceptive umbrella. We are frustrated with our change efforts usually because we believe we are encountering resistance to the changes that need to happen. This is because, we look at change as about others needing to make changes in their ways of working — telling them what they need to now do and holding them accountable to do it. Now, tell me, how do you respond when someone says to you that “What your extensive experience has taught you will work is now wrong. Sorry!” Do you jump for joy at the revelation they shared and abandon all that you have learned as a successful professional? Or do you look for, and see, all the cracks in their argument and position? I’ll tell you what I see. I see people nodding politely and smiling but then saying (quietly, later, to each other) “So, what changes have they made? Why is this all about us?”

It’s a fair question. Generally, people don’t follow what they hear, they follow what they see. So the question is, are you leading the way with your change — are you the role model setting the example? Because change is about starting with ourself and role modeling the journey of change. If we cannot show them how to act then telling them is a hollow exercise that only breeds mistrust, cynicism, and increased resistance — the very thing we are trying to mitigate.

Change leadership is about the much harder job of getting ourselves to change — so we understand and have empathy, so we see what works and what doesn’t, and so we have credibility as leaders through leading from the front, not the back.

You can reach me at michael@silverbackpartners.net, or reply directly to this email. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Michael

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