Inatiatives Fail
Why change initiatives still fail?
In his essay ‘Making change last: How to get beyond change fatigue’, Author Eric Beauden provides some reasons for the failure of change initiatives taking real world examples. In focus groups and one-on-one discussions with directors and middle managers, he was surprised to know that traditional reasons like unclear communications, half-hearted executive support or insufficient resources had nothing to do with change fails in organisations. He observed that in each case, the executive team initiated the change and everyone in the organisation worked hard for the its implementation but after two or three months into each change, paralysis set in and eventually everyone returned to their old operating mindset. Reason for this according to Eric Beauden, is that most change plans fail to adequately anticipate internal resistance and other unforeseen factors that cause change failure over time. The more change leaders focus on starting a change, the less energy and thoughtfulness they reserve for overcoming any issues arisen in the mid-course period of the change effort.
Another reason for change failure according to Eric is the resistance builds during the critical mid-course. This passive resistance build up occurs during the launch phase and remains mostly underground.
Author’s theory is that every change reaches a point where it runs out of energy. According to him, a change curve has three components: 1. launch phase: people are enthusiastic and supportive at this stage 2. Mid-course phase: at this stage, stall occurs frequently. 3. Completion phase
The author gives six signs of change fatigue as follows:
1. The objectives of the change effort constantly being questioned by outsiders 2. Coordinators of change effort leaving 3. Reluctant to comment on effort 4. Resources being diverted to other initiatives 5. Impatience among customers because of the duration of change effort 6.
In his essay ‘Making change last: How to get beyond change fatigue’, Author Eric Beauden provides some reasons for the failure of change initiatives taking real world examples. In focus groups and one-on-one discussions with directors and middle managers, he was surprised to know that traditional reasons like unclear communications, half-hearted executive support or insufficient resources had nothing to do with change fails in organisations. He observed that in each case, the executive team initiated the change and everyone in the organisation worked hard for the its implementation but after two or three months into each change, paralysis set in and eventually everyone returned to their old operating mindset. Reason for this according to Eric Beauden, is that most change plans fail to adequately anticipate internal resistance and other unforeseen factors that cause change failure over time. The more change leaders focus on starting a change, the less energy and thoughtfulness they reserve for overcoming any issues arisen in the mid-course period of the change effort.
Another reason for change failure according to Eric is the resistance builds during the critical mid-course. This passive resistance build up occurs during the launch phase and remains mostly underground.
Author’s theory is that every change reaches a point where it runs out of energy. According to him, a change curve has three components: 1. launch phase: people are enthusiastic and supportive at this stage 2. Mid-course phase: at this stage, stall occurs frequently. 3. Completion phase
The author gives six signs of change fatigue as follows:
1. The objectives of the change effort constantly being questioned by outsiders 2. Coordinators of change effort leaving 3. Reluctant to comment on effort 4. Resources being diverted to other initiatives 5. Impatience among customers because of the duration of change effort 6.
References: * Do 70 Per Cent of All Organizational Change Initiatives Really Fail? By Hughes, Mark. Journal of Change Management, December 2011, Vol. 11 Issue 4, p451-464. 14p. DOI: 10.1080/14697017.2011.630506. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/results?sid=d440d7a3-db10-423a-a333-425a3973d5e9%40sessionmgr11&vid=11&hid=7&bquery=why+change+initiatives+still+fail&bdata=JmRiPWJ1aCZ0eXBlPTAmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl * Reversal of strategic change, by: Mantere, Saku; Schildt, Henri A.; A. Sillince, John A. Academy of Management Journal, Feb2012, Vol. 55 Issue 1, p173-196. 25p. 4 Diagrams, 2 Charts. DOI: 10.5465/amj.2008.0045. http://web.ebscohost.com * Why Most Changes Fail, By: Maurer, Rick. Journal for Quality & Participation, Jul2011, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p17-18. 2p. http://web.ebscohost.com * Why improvement efforts fail and what to do about it, By: Cenek, Robert E. Journal for Quality & Participation, Jan95, Vol. 18 Issue 1, p66. 8p. 1 Black and White Photograph, 4 Charts. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=20&hid=7&sid=d440d7a3-db10-423a-a333-425a3973d5e9%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=9510053326