Practical tips on introducing and successfully implementing new ideas, processes, etc…
For the past several years I’ve spent the majority of my time in Europe, which I discovered uses an extraordinary amount of change (coins). “Change” –whether used to mean “coins” or “transition” - is not popular nor convenient (it is heavy and bulky); it is necessary (from the most trivial to the most unexpected activities), and it is everywhere, and ultimately becomes part of one’s normal life. In many respects, Europeans pride themselves on their resistance to change through preservation of culture and traditions – and they continue to use coins for most transactions. Yet, Europe is also a symbol of political and economic change as it seeks to break down national borders and create a single currency. . . Notwithstanding the images of 1000 year old castles, and clinging to traditions, in many respects they are much more advanced than the “innovators” on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. I can’t help but think that if Europeans can resist change, and at the same time embrace it as political and economic borders begin to erode, then we need to carefully identify why some change can take hold, while other is impossible to implement.
Why is it so difficult for some kinds of behavior change to take hold? How do we reduce the amount of time fighting change and ensure high adoption rates?
In my function I often act as a change agent (I have mixed feelings about the term) and while I personally enjoy change (I thrive on it really), I am puzzled by how others behave when they are exposed to it. Because of that I’ve spent a good bit of time reading and studying change: behavioral change, change management, how to present change to increase its adoption rate, why it’s hard to change people, how to reset your brain, the latter two coming from articles and books such as: “Change or Die”, Alan Deutschman (#changeordie) and “Driving Change”, Mike Brewster (#drivingchange). They all explain that change and the perceived discomfort and the uncertainty it brings are scary for most people.
“Sixty percent of change initiatives result in failure. Change is always very hard, so choose your battles and focus your efforts…lawyers are typically more resistant to change than most,” claims a recent article in Managing Partner, a UK based publication catering to the legal industry, June 2014. I am not surprised with this number. In fact, my anecdotal research would claim that the number of failed change activities is even higher and closer to seventy-five percent across professional services organizations (law, accounting, advisory, etc.), my field of expertise.
Is it necessary to change? And, why are we trying so hard and over and over again to change people? For organizations to evolve, do we need to change? Should we just adopt the Darwin’s model and let organizations prone to change survive and let others become obsolete? Change is good and necessary. Placidity is stifling and brings conformity. The real question in my opinion is what are we really changing when we talk about altering organizations: people or their behavior? An article in the June, 2014 issue of Scientific American, titled “Good Habits, Bad Habits” talks about the complex process of building and re-programming habitual behavior. It turns out, what it appears to be a simple act of automatic behavior is not as simple after all. Multiple parts of the human brain are involved when building habits and almost as many once the habit is imprinted and is processed. Given that the majority of our daily existence is a series of habitual acts, which once laid down employ chunks of neural activity, it’s no surprise it’s so difficult to change human behavior.
All of the materials I’ve come across on the subject also talk about how to go about managing change –the traditional model of denial, the one of co-creation...There are some great frameworks to assist you in the process. Before you evaluate them and select which ones to employ I would suggest you gauge the adaptability of the organization / people. You can do so by looking at past performance, use structured assessment tests, etc. From my practical experience, openness to change equals desire to learn, so that’s usually my first clue. The organizations and professionals I’ve worked with and have had the highest rate of change management success are ones with obvious and exemplary attitude towards learning. I am referring to general curiosity and aptitude to absorb knowledge: industry and technically related, or even just generic (including pop culture, sports, etc.).
Once you have a sense of how challenging your change management task might be, multiply it by two as well as the project time and resources, and the chances are that you’ll still underestimate its complexity. Here are a few practical pointers to keep in mind through the process:
- Break the project down to small, digestible work streams.
- Articulate benefits – overall and individual (mind you that those might vary for different audiences).
- Provide a support system and tools.
- Let people process it at their own rate.
- Celebrate small wins.
- Have a failsafe plan (or a few).
- Provide constant cues and rewards in effort to build new habits.
- Equip yourself and the change management team with patience.
Progress and change are inevitable. For a sustainable change to take hold it takes time and perseverance – it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And for our European friends and their paradox – well, how it all plays out with the EU and euro in the long term will be the ultimate test of their ability to deal with change. Good luck!
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