This article was first published here.
It is now accepted that many traditional change programs succeed only to a moderate extent. The success rates mentioned usually range from 30 to 50%. Whatever the exact number is, and it varies from project to project, it is clear that there are good reasons to question the efficacy of traditional change programs.
There are several reasons why the time has maybe come to look for new ways to bring change to organisations, especially in today’s world where change is more present than ever and is accelerating at an exponential pace.
First, traditional change processes tend to be laborious in scope and very complex. They take months to develop and the plan ends up residing in a large document that few people read or understand.
Second, they are very waterfall-based. The plan is sequential and is implemented over months, sometimes years. By the time some employees finally become involved in the plan, things have changed and parts of the strategy have become irrelevant. Most organisations today are aiming for some form of agility. Why not bring them there in an agile way?
Third, change programs tend to be top-down driven, with the hope that a good communication and training program will provide enough motivation for employees to accept the proposed change. In addition, top-down change tends to overlook how employee experience has evolved and how involving the employee in creating the change can increase chances of success.
And finally, and perhaps more importantly, change programs tend to completely underestimate the complexities of change at the human level. Change is scary and change is hard, very hard. Sometimes it can threaten people’s very identity and existence. A communication strategy, as good as it may be, will rarely transform what is perceived as a threat into a positive experience.
Therefore, we need to re-think our approach to change and look at new methods to increase our chances of successfully transforming an organisation. We need to use tools and techniques that put the employee and the customer at the centre of the change process and that can lead to a true mindset shift. This shift, along with strategic system nudges, can provide the foundation for a successful cultural transformation.
One of these new methods is Lean Change Management. LCM is a feedback-based approach to change that is based on co-creation. It is lean and agile, a good enabler of innovation, and is user and customer-centred. With the LCM method, we gather insights (from employees, leadership, market…), we create hypothesis and assumptions and we build experiments to test these assumptions. We then measure the results and adapt our approach based on these measurements. And we do this fast, efficiently and collaboratively. The benefits of this approach are:
- It allows for new and innovative thinking
- It focuses on the needs of employees and teams, as well as on their emotions
- It allows for experimentation and quick pivoting of priorities
- It empowers employees in the change process by co-creating the change
- It minimizes risk and waste by detecting early what works and what does not
- It is transparent and measurable
- It is based on delivering value to employees and customers
But even such a method as LCM will not work without digging deeper into the human psyche. Most change process expect employees to deal with a transformation in a rational way. While some people can manage change and uncertainty in such a way, many others are unable to do so. Thus, new change efforts must work with emotional and cognitive toolsto help people manage their resistance to change. Here are topics such as mindfulness, emotional intelligence, neuroscience and cognitive behavioural science particularly useful. They allow us to create programs and activities that enable teams and employees to understand the change process on a cognitive and emotional level, to evaluate their own reaction to it, and to give them tools to manage it better.
The way we do business has been changing rapidly over the past years. The way we lead and manage is also evolving. Our customers and employees demand it. Therefore, it is time to apply the same mindset change to how we help organisations transform. This will ensure that our efforts lead to higher rates of success, which in turn will mean more agile and innovative organisations, happier and more engaged employees, and more value for the customer.
