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Change that Lasts l Part 1 of a 2 part series

Sustaining Change at an Organizational Level: Initiatives that impact a group of people by M.P. Sriram , Partner, Aventus Partners

We learn more from failures than from successes. This is true for most change efforts .Failure includes

inability to meet more than 50 % of the initial objectives.

As a professional consultant for over 16 years I have had my fair share of seeing my clients and their

people fail to sustain change that I would have helped initiate, plan and execute. Feelings of

disappointment, helplessness, wasted energy, a sense of failure are some of the emotions that many of

us involved are left with. Over the years I have tried to channelize these into meaningful learning’s that I

keep applying in each subsequent client engagement with incremental success and further refinement.

1. Change sticks when the people who are the implementers of the change continue to live the new

ways after all the hype has died down and the initiators and sponsors have moved onto other

priorities/roles within or as in many cases outside the organization. This is a true indicator that the

intended change has become a part of the culture of that group.

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2. Among the first things to do is to identify a set of people (around 5-10% of the implementing

population) who are truly engaged with the organization; People who are willing to push themselves

and others and shake the organization to better the status quo. I call them the “Movers and

Shakers”. These people need to believe that the proposed change is for the benefit of the

organization. You need to engage with these individuals and include them in the process right at the

outset. They need to be involved while assessing the current state of readiness, the gap between

the current and the desired state, the enablers, the inhibitors etc. While this might make the process

longer than planned misgivings on the part of this group if left unaddressed can almost guarantee

long delays if not failure.

3. Theory and research studies tell us that for change to be successful it needs to be driven and

championed by the line leaders and supervisors. No Disagreements. But what if in the pursuit of this

goal one drifts to the other end of the continuum i.e exclude members from the enabling functions (

HR/Marketing/Technology etc )during the design and the planning phase . The learning is that there

needs to be a healthy balance of people from both the line functions and the enabling functions to

ensure what is planned is successfully implemented and sustained. A key role of the enabling

function is to be the custodian of the initiative, champion it and ensure the initiative is monitored

periodically in terms of its impact, results reported and necessary actions taken to course correct. A

part of the custodian role is to ensure the initiatives don’t slip because of change in personnel.

4. One needs to be cognizant that any change initiated by the leadership (More so when it is with the

help of external consultants) is invariably viewed by most of the implementers with suspicion and at

best with cynicism. They see this as an unnecessary distraction from an already cramped work

schedule, stretch responsibilities and goals. It is imperative that communication addresses these

concerns upfront. Implementers need to see how the change will make their work life better, easier

and more effective. How it will make their relationships with key stakeholders (Customers, partners,

team members) smoother and stronger. Greater the clarity in communication greater the chance of

success.

5. Give the “Movers and shakers” room and resources to reinforce the positive benefits of the change

and take the lead in living the change. Their passion and conviction coupled with a demonstration of

the tangible benefits will catalyse the other implementers. This is far more powerful than the

leaders and initiators professing endlessly about the positive benefits of the proposed change. Not

to say the leaders and the catalysts shouldn’t do their part. The belief in change becomes stronger

when you see someone you identify with and who you can relate to, living it and talking about it.

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6. Respect the “Nay Sayers”. Make an effort to understand their concerns and fears. Some of these

could be fear of more workload, uncertainty of outcomes or a genuine conviction that the change is

not what the group or the organization needs. In their desire to push through the change and in a

strong belief in its utility, many a times, the initiators try and muscle their way through the people

who resist it or are not fully convinced . This invariably is read as a lack of respect and the narrative

shifts from the proposed change to one of “ Hurt Self Image “ and “ Wounded Pride”. Be cognizant

of this and your conversion rates will be healthier and faster. Ignore this and people will “WILL” the

change to fail.

How you make the implementers “Think “and “Feel” about the change will ultimately determine how

well it sustains.

Next time you embark on a change, whether it is a new business strategy ,a customer management

process, an employee mentoring program, a knowledge sharing platform , a house keeping

initiative or doing away with the bell curve think of these experiential learning’s as an addendum to

the Change management framework that you choose to use .

Part 2: Sustaining Change at an Individual Level: Initiatives that are specific to an individual