Change Management: Mistakes Executives Make Managing Change

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

It’s every leader’s nightmare! A vital organizational restructuring, work-flow redesign or productivity mandate encounters jaw-dropping resistance. Even though the changes are unquestionably justified, it seems like half your staff are busy polishing their resume while the others keep watch and plot ways to sabotage the new initiative.

Rather than forging a bright new future as a unified, peak-performance team, it’s depressingly clear that old problems have resurfaced, anxiety levels are through the roof and staff motivation has plummeted. What blunders produced this impasse? And what concrete steps can be taken to fix them?

Crucial Mistakes

1. During organizational change, sweeping any discussion of what your staff are losing under the corporate carpet: Loss is an unavoidable consequence of any significant change. It might be the loss of status following a merger, loss of competence with new software or loss of security after downsizing. Fact is, any significant transition involves letting go of something valued.

That said, I’m often amazed at the lengths otherwise smart leaders will go to avoid addressing what’s been lost. I’ve had executives interrupt me during a conference call: “We don’t want to talk about loss. Let’s focus on the wonderful benefits of our reorganization.”

News flash: You don’t get to choose! Your employees will experience loss regardless of whether you want to discuss it. And, if you don’t discuss the elephant in the room, they will grieve anyway and blame you for it!

2. Inadvertently creating an environment ripe for toxic stories: Information is power. That maybe so, but lack of information will kick its butt! In an attempt to avoid anxiety and panic, leaders often withhold crucial facts from their staff. This information vacuum creates a massive drive for closure and triggers the telling of highly-toxic stories that create anger, panic and feelings of limp futility.

It’s important to be aware that the emotional tone in an office is set at the biological level. Each person influences the hormone levels, cardiovascular function and even sleep patterns of those around them. (It’s called interpersonal limbic regulation.) Toxic stories can sour the taste of this “emotional soup,” disrupting focus and work-flow.

3. Not harnessing the uncertainty of change for innovation: Business as usual is highly resistant to brainstorming, innovation and experimentation. When people are caught in limbo (between the old- and the new-way of doing things) their eyes open and creativity can be unleashed…but only if the appropriate structures are in place.

4. Expecting dry-as-dust facts and statistics to persuade flesh-and-blood people: It doesn’t matter that you’ve seen all the data and genuinely know what’s best for your organization. Having logic on your side isn’t enough to persuade your staff to follow you into unknown territory. Facts change thinking, not emotion and effective leadership during transition requires you to focus the passion (as well as the minds) of your employees. If you focus on facts and ignore feelings, expect to approach every organizational change you ever initiate with your fingers crossed.

5. When facts don’t do the trick, wielding fear and force to “motivate” recalcitrant staff: Here’s the thing, your staff are already fearful, and rubbing raw nerves will simply push them into denial. Absenteeism will skyrocket, while those who made it into work will sit around as if the changes were never implemented. Don’t believe me? Try it…

And if—when you think you’ve run out of alternatives—you default to using force…be prepared to never turn your back. Question: Can the changes you need to make be achieved without passion, creativity or independent thought? No, then forget force—“I’m the boss and I said so”—for anything more than a brief burst of reluctant energy. Hard methods won’t bring hard results.

Emotion Brain

These five screw-ups share a common denominator; a gross misunderstanding of Emotion Brain. Make no mistake, your Emotion Brain can freeze you (and your staff) to the spot and drive a steak through the heart of every new initiative you launch. FYI: Your Emotion Brain never sleeps and will keep resisting change until you, your staff and your organization die!

As a business leader (or leader-in-waiting) what are your solutions to the above tactical mistakes? Leave your observations, comments and questions in the box below…

In the interests of keeping these messages bite-sized (but not so short that they degenerate into cheesy motivational speaker cliches) I’ll discuss my solutions in the next Perspective Power^TM message. I’ll talk about Emotion Brain and describe change management essentials you can implement immediately. A bonanza of hyper-effective, change-accelerating tactics you can learn today and use tomorrow (crucial stuff for serious executives).

Let me know what you think…