From an organizational perspective, many organizations don’t even recognize that they are undertaking — or about to undertake — a significant change. The process, the overhaul, the new system, the merger, the new product launch, the ___(fill in the blank!)___, are all types of changes taking place inside countless organizations every day. Wrongly labeling what is happening sets leadership and employees on a journey that is misguided from the beginning.
While it is clear that merging two organizations, implementing a new piece of technology, a new industry practice, new regulation, new competitors and so many other initiatives are big events, they are not acknowledged specifically as “change events.” The focus ends up being on how to implement the change without a discussion about the change. Thus, only a portion of necessary focus is created by leaders.
Untold amounts of resources are expended on new systems, relocation, developing new processes and procedures, merging companies, shifting strategies, but not on the most crucial resource in the organization — the people who, in the end, have to make the change happen.
In reality, those very people are your point of success — or failure — when it comes to change. Until enough of your people change, your organization will not successfully change. This can be time consuming and expensive to attempt a major change initiative without helping your people first develop the skills needed to change.
Individuals generally are not equipped to be effective at change. Most have grown up in a world where change was an event, a one-time deal. It came, you suffered through it, then you moved on with your life. However, change has transformed into something that happens continuously and at an ever-increasing pace. Today, more than ever, it is crucial for each of us to develop change skills that will help us benefit from change, rather than simply enduring it.
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