During times of change we need more leaders making choices and working out where to go and how to get there. However, with all the best intentions, we often create followers instead, to the detriment of our change management goals. In this article I want to highlight some of the less obvious reasons why this happens. If you’ve ever been part of a change initiative and you were not happy with the results, you might recognize them.
Change happens to you
Change happens to someone because they are not proactive. They prefer not to fail, not to have to work it out, not to take responsibility for the outcome. They prefer someone else to take these risks and preferably that their direct superior does so by instructing them what to do, thus making the choice for them.
From the perspective of a superior, they will often prefer people to do as they are told and offer little resistance to their ideas. They often have the urge to prove that they can do things so they tend to micromanage and leave little room for those below them to participate and succeed with their own ideas and work.
The sum of the above makes it difficult to escape the self fulfilling cycle which can stop ownership from happening and lead to people becoming mere executioners and observers, with the result that they feel that the change happens to them – i.e. they are victims of the change rather than co-leading it.
Leaders have created a sense of urgency
Often, instead of energizing and inspiring our people to lead change, leaders attempt to manage them by creating a sense of urgency that is often not real or exaggerated. This tactic leads to fear driven behaviour, and even if based on a real threat, it isn’t sustainable in the long term – i.e. it will not embed the change being sought. In addition, it runs the risk of segregating the leaders from their people and reinforce the use of fear driven tactics which could become part of the company’s leadership culture with implications for leadership credibility and their longer term ability to lead change.
Leaders who use such tactics, have a tendency to believe that the only way their people will follow them is when they are coerced to do so. As a result, and in the absence of any other ideas on how to lead in a different way, management choose to create a sense of urgency and situate their people in a position where action would seem the logical choice.
In most cases, people can see if there is a real sense of urgency. If they sense it’s not real, they will withdraw support for the change and lose faith in their leaders. They will not be proactive, or make the changes, both personally and in their environment, that need to happen for the change to succeed.
Consultants take over
Change initiatives can also fail because consultants are hired by senior management to carry out and deliver the change program. They are often put in the lead, resulting in employees (including middle management) becoming bystanders to the change program. In many cases rivalry between consultants and middle management leaders can emerge. Such situations can be counterproductive to achieving the change objectives with much frustration and loss of energy.
In addition, senior management often use consultants to promote and give credibility to the change that they want to achieve in the organization. This makes the consultants the de facto project managers of the change process at the expense of middle management’s leadership and ownership. Silent disagreement and lip service become the behavioral norm awaiting the day that the consultants leave.
Leaders are not given the opportunity to lead
During times of change, leaders have 3 key roles:
- Explain why change is desired and needed.
- Provide direction and relevance (show the way – what, how and what it means for employees).
- Walk the talk.
For change management to be effective, you need the involvement and active participation of all layers of leaders in your organization in fulfilling these roles. When leaders are bypassed, their ability to support the change is taken away from them and as a result their credibility as leaders is diminished.
People generally experience change with uncertainty and have questions and doubts about what these changes mean for them. They expect their manager to know what it all means and look to them for reassurance and guidance. If these needs are not met, they could feel worried and helpless in influencing the process, leading to a lack of effectiveness and focus on their work.
Too often, poorly thought through communication and lack of a co-leading mindset by senior management, results in leaders with people reporting to them being left out of the change project loop and finding themselves unable to support their people.
