If you are seeking transformational change, you will need a change management methodology that unifies the organization with one approach, one vocabulary, and one set of tools. While leaders may resist the need to invest, you just can't overcome the cultural barriers to transformational change that most organizations face:
One of the common questions that comes up in our change management consulting work is why the organizational climate for transformational change matters. The reason why you need to fully understand your organization's current climate is simply because that is the environment in which you will be implementing the transformation. In common language, "It is what it is."
Most transformational change management plans rely heavily on communication as the cornerstone of the plan. Based on our thirty plus years in the trenches of global organizations, we have seen what communication techniques actually create "speed bumps," and which techniques can be employed as "accelerators."
One of the greatest challenges of transformational change is getting people to let go of the old ways, and adopt the new changes. Unless this happens, there is no real transformation-- simply stated, if there is no behavior change, there is no transformation.
One of the great challenges of transformational change is that very often you are confronted with multiple sponsors who each bring their own vision, or "Frame of Reference," to the change. How do you "line up" these individuals so that you can harness the power and influence these authorizing sponsors can offer in a positive way, and overcome potential barriers to change that you may find in your organization-- for example, turf-guarding (hypothetically-speaking, of course....).
Just how important is sponsor contracting to successful transformational change? Don Harrison, IMA President and developer of AIM (Accelerating Implementation Methodology) will tell you that all failed transformational change can be traced back to poor sponsor contracting with the Authorizing Sponsors.
One of the major dilemmas of transformational change is how to get people to adopt the new behaviors. How do you reinforce the change? It was interesting to note, then, that one of the research conclusions that Richard H. Thaler stated in his July 8 New York Times' article on "Watching Behavior Before Writing the Rules" was this simple, yet profound guideline: "If you want to encourage some activity, make it easy."
Question: What's one of the first things many organizations do when they embark on transformational change?
Answer: A new vision and values statement.
But is this really a meaningful way to start the transformational change journey?
There’s little doubt that building a “high-trust” organization is desirable if you are in the throes of transformational change. It’s helpful to have respect between employees and leaders, and there may well be a correlation between trust and credibility and employee performance.
