As hard as it is to believe, there are still many organizations and leaders that believe just telling someone how to change or what to do when a change occurs is sufficient for implementing a successful change. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Research and extensive practice indicates that change is much more about helping people through transition than creating or implementing new steps, processes, or procedures. William Bridges said it best:
Successful change entails managing the “messy middle” of how people naturally deal with alterations to their environment.
CHANGE IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN CRITICAL
One of the most prominent memes in business today is that the only constant is change; Heraclitus first said it 2500 years ago, and it’s been repeated ad nauseum ever since. Yet, for the most part change initiatives are painful at best and unsuccessful at worst. Unfortunately, it is the latter that is the most common.
WHY DO LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS EXPECT COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING TO INTEGRATE CHANGE WITHIN THE INSTITUTION?
The short answer is that they are simple and straightforward. Each is controllable and has a defined beginning, middle, and end. Creating training and communication as the sole means of implementing change within an organization requires little, if any, input from those impacted by the change. It enables strict control on the message. It is also based in a belief that somehow change is a process with defined inputs and outputs. Leaders see change from a rear view mirror standpoint: they have already come to grips with why the changes are necessary and have done the heavy lifting internally to “get right” with the need for change. Not allowing or insuring that each and every impacted employee, as much as possible, has the opportunity to understand the change, internalize the need for change, and become an advocate for change is dooming the change to failure before it even begins. It is analogous to forcing someone to jump out of the window without convincing them there is a fire.
ENGAGE TO SUCCEED
Training and communication are vital to the success of any large-scale organizational change. There is no doubt that these are critical tools to ensure that people are well informed and prepared to be successful when a change occurs. However, it is unrealistic to think that just telling someone how to change and that the changes are coming is enough for them to believe that the changes are necessary. Engaging those impacted by the change in creating it will dramatically increase the likelihood of the success of its implementation and sustainability over time.
What part does training play in change? How important is it to the success of change? Please email us (info@cube214.com) or leave your comment(s)!
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.
Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
