Resistance to change is the inevitable consequence when senior management overlook the people related issues that are crucial to success, but there is a further, closely related, reason and that is to do with organisational culture.
There is no single "golden bullet" that guarantees a successful change initiative, and that overcomes all resistance to change. Dealing with resistance to change is based on a composite understanding of a number of inter-related factors, including: clarity about what you are doing and why; good leadership; an appropriate change model and methodology; and clear understanding of what is required to translate the change vision and strategy into actionable steps.
Understanding the cultural composition of your organisation
One often-overlooked yet important dimension of resistance to change lies in a clear understanding of the cultural composition of your organisation.
The process that leads to this understanding involves a thorough cultural mapping and analysis focusing on the key questions of "How we look now" and "How we want to look in future". You need to define a cultural framework for the organisation that identifies the:
(1) Dominant-culture of the company now, how it really is now
(2) Espoused-culture - what senior management think (or wish) the culture is - often reflected in so called "mission statements"
(3) Desired-culture - how it will all look after a successful change initiative
But you need to go deeper than that and specifically, you need to know how to identify and connect with all of the "sub-groups" or sub-cultures in your organisation that will assist or resist the change initiative. These can be categorised as:
"Regressive-subcultures" and "Subversive-subcultures"
There are sub-cultures that are "regressive" and who show resistance to change, and there are sub-cultures that are "subversive" and who will go beyond mere resistance to change and seek to undermine it.
"Emergent-subcultures" and "Aspirational-subcultures"
Fortunately, there are other sub-cultures that are "emergent", moving forward and receptive to change but doing so "unknowingly" (that is without full conscious awareness of the significance of their attitudes and behaviour). These people just naturally and automatically seek to do things in the best way possible, and they are naturally open-minded about change.
Better still tho, there are sub-cultures that are "aspirational" and who embrace change and seek it positively. These sub-cultures behave knowingly (that is with full conscious awareness of what they are doing). These are the people who are constantly seeking to "up their game" and who are naturally change-positive.
It is these last two groups who will be key to overcoming resistance to change and who need to an integral part of what John Kotter refers to as your "coalition for change".
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Strategies For Managing Change - The Excellent Case For Creating Your Own Culture Maturity Model
Maturity models are usually associated with projects and programmes. However, I want to make the case for developing your own culture maturity model as a preparation to the development of your own strategies for managing change.
I first became aware of the significance and importance of organisational culture in 1994 when I was involved in a business development exercise with a colleague and the significance of organisational culture - initially seen solely from a business development perspective - became firmly established on our radar.
We rapidly made 5 discoveries:
(1) That we can construct a simple matrix that can enable us to very rapidly identify the type of organisational culture we are dealing with.
The basic structure of the matrix can be used to define a template of an organisational culture, namely:
- Type of culture
- A summary definition of the culture
- Evidence of the culture - i.e. its characteristics
- Key issues faced and addressed by that culture as can be seen in actions and behaviours
- The areas of major focus - or key areas of impact - of the culture
(2) That these cultures are obvious and instantly recognisable and indisputable from the company's own perspective [i.e. they recognise themselves as such]
(3) That these cultures as seen from a business development perspective form a maturity model. In other words, organisations migrate along a clearly identifiable and predictable path as their own business development skills evolved
(4) That the structured template of this cultural matrix is universal and transcends our original business development perspective -i.e. you can use this template to define ANY organisational culture
(5) That any organisation has more than one culture and that we are able to define a subset of characteristics of the likely orientation of these sub cultures in relation to the primary or dominant organisational culture
This template has been used on many companies and in many, many different situations over the years - overtly [with client involvement] and covertly [i.e. I use it but don't involve my client as it may not be relevant or they may not be receptive.]
My definition of a generic maturity model
Following this I formulated my own definition of a generic maturity model:
"A maturity model [usually represented as a schematic] is a structured description that shows the stages of evolution of an organisation in transition through various developmental states. It is pre-supposed that this evolution represents progress to more developed or advanced states of learning, insight, understanding and practise."
Having established a cultural template of where your organisation is now, you can determine the template of how your organisation will look after your step change initiative and clearly see the gaps between these positions.
Navigating through the issues to where you want to be
This, in turn, enables you to determine a route that will navigate you through the issues that will arise - and especially to help you identify the full impacts of the changes on those people who will be most affected and to plan accordingly.
And in conclusion - the reason why using a cultural maturity map to understand your cultures is so important is that they are the single biggest determinant of how people in your organisation will behave - and especially in the context of a step change - and thus determine the success or failure of your initiative.
Properly applied in a change management context, this will provide you with an excellent pre-programme planning analysis process that will provide the input to the preparation and delivery of an executable [holistic and wide view perspective] programme based approach to change management.
I first became aware of the significance and importance of organisational culture in 1994 when I was involved in a business development exercise with a colleague and the significance of organisational culture - initially seen solely from a business development perspective - became firmly established on our radar.
We rapidly made 5 discoveries:
(1) That we can construct a simple matrix that can enable us to very rapidly identify the type of organisational culture we are dealing with.
The basic structure of the matrix can be used to define a template of an organisational culture, namely:
- Type of culture
- A summary definition of the culture
- Evidence of the culture - i.e. its characteristics
- Key issues faced and addressed by that culture as can be seen in actions and behaviours
- The areas of major focus - or key areas of impact - of the culture
(2) That these cultures are obvious and instantly recognisable and indisputable from the company's own perspective [i.e. they recognise themselves as such]
(3) That these cultures as seen from a business development perspective form a maturity model. In other words, organisations migrate along a clearly identifiable and predictable path as their own business development skills evolved
(4) That the structured template of this cultural matrix is universal and transcends our original business development perspective -i.e. you can use this template to define ANY organisational culture
(5) That any organisation has more than one culture and that we are able to define a subset of characteristics of the likely orientation of these sub cultures in relation to the primary or dominant organisational culture
This template has been used on many companies and in many, many different situations over the years - overtly [with client involvement] and covertly [i.e. I use it but don't involve my client as it may not be relevant or they may not be receptive.]
My definition of a generic maturity model
Following this I formulated my own definition of a generic maturity model:
"A maturity model [usually represented as a schematic] is a structured description that shows the stages of evolution of an organisation in transition through various developmental states. It is pre-supposed that this evolution represents progress to more developed or advanced states of learning, insight, understanding and practise."
Having established a cultural template of where your organisation is now, you can determine the template of how your organisation will look after your step change initiative and clearly see the gaps between these positions.
Navigating through the issues to where you want to be
This, in turn, enables you to determine a route that will navigate you through the issues that will arise - and especially to help you identify the full impacts of the changes on those people who will be most affected and to plan accordingly.
And in conclusion - the reason why using a cultural maturity map to understand your cultures is so important is that they are the single biggest determinant of how people in your organisation will behave - and especially in the context of a step change - and thus determine the success or failure of your initiative.
Properly applied in a change management context, this will provide you with an excellent pre-programme planning analysis process that will provide the input to the preparation and delivery of an executable [holistic and wide view perspective] programme based approach to change management.
Project Management Maturity Model - And the case for using a Culture Maturity Model
The origins of the concept of a project management maturity model, is lost in the mists of time.
With the evidence of project management skills as far back as the time of the building of the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China and other great wonders of the world - it is quite logical that there could have been an early model to map the progress of developing project management skills. After all, for an ancient project manager the price of failure came high!
In more recent times the concept of a project management maturity model has evolved considerably from the software industry with the need to understand and measure many variables, manage great complexity, obtain consistent results and achieve stringent delivery targets within budget.
With regard to which model is the "best" or most appropriate for any specific situation [I fully appreciate that project management professionals reading this may disagree with what I am about to say, but] I feel the far bigger challenge is actually in getting ANY model applied.
From that point on, and with director level sponsorship and support - all things are possible.
There are many maturity models [I am aware of over 35] and the dominant model is the P3M3 Model created and sponsored by the OGC [UK Office of Government and Commerce] in association the APMG [UK Association of Project Management Group.
This is a composite and enhanced model that addresses the 3 related aspects of large-scale project management and that glories in the full title of "Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Mode".
In relation to your [or your client's] organisation:
Try this simple test - review the different levels listed below based on the P3M3 maturity model - firstly in relation to project management and then secondly with programme management - and see which best describes your organisation:
Where you and your organisation sit on the maturity model is one of the biggest key factors in leading change that will determine your chances of success [the others are (a) the quality of leadership, and (b) the cultures in your organisation].
In 2003 "The Project Management Institute" came up with the following definition: "Organisational Project Management Maturity describes an organisation's overall ability to select and manage projects in a way that supports its strategic goals".
Well that all sounds very noble - but the simple rationale for having and using a project management maturity model is quite simply that projects fail! [And the same is true for programme and change management.]
A survey conducted in 2003 by the Standish Group(US)showed that 66% of IT projects are either totally abandoned or fail against a measure of budget, scope, time or quality (i.e. 'challenged'). A similar study in the UK by Computer Weekly that 84% of projects either failed or were challenged.
It has been estimated that the cost to US business of failing or abandoned IT projects runs into hundreds of billions of dollars.
Closer to home the UK government have wasted countless billions of pounds on failed projects.
At the programme level - with the wider perspective beyond a project delivery of capability to the actual realisation of a defined organisational benefit - the failure rate is a consistent 70%.
And given that every programme encompasses a signifcant change element, the same failure rate applies to any significant change management initiative.
In most organisations the evolution of project management, programme management and change management skills typically lags far behind the development of other capabilities within the company. So the state of maturity to a large degree reflects the prevailing dominant corporate culture.
Given that companies [or more accurately directors] don't know what they dont know - the level of maturity of the company remains invisible.
In fact the very concept of a maturity model remains invisible.
So nothing changes until things go wrong - and pain is felt and someone at director level is facing an exposure as a result of a significant project failure.
This is the point at which progress becomes possible as progress needs sponsorship.
And as the focus shifts to improving performance, there are two principal targets.
(1) To improve how any specific project, programme and change is managed.
(2) To improve performance in overall organisational capability in project, programme and change management.
The purpose of this assessment is to show the extent to which the infrastructure within the organisation supports the project, programme and change management efforts.
The main benefits of the subsequent structured assessment of maturity within the organisation isn't in understanding the current level at which the company is performing, but rather in setting direction, prioritising actions and beginning cultural change.
So, taking project management as an example: an organisational project management maturity model provides guidance to an organisation regarding how to: -
In 2003 The Centre for Business Practices produced its 'Project Management - the State of the Industry' survey. This survey measured organisational improvement over time, as a result of project management improvement programmes.
The highlights of which show significant improvements in terms of financial performance, customer retention and satisfaction, project and process improvement, employees satisfaction and productivity, and a dramatic 70% increase in project alignment with strategic objectives.
I first became aware of the significance and importance of organisational culture in 1994 when I was involved in a business development exercise with a colleague and the significance of organisational culture - initially seen solely from a business development perspective - became firmly established on our radar.
We rapidly made 5 discoveries:
(1) That we can construct a simple matrix that can enable us to very rapidly identify the type of organisational culture we are dealing with.
(2) That these cultures are obvious and instantly recognisable and indisputable from the company's own perspective [i.e. they recognise themselves as such]
(3) That these cultures as seen from a business development perspective form a maturity model. In other words, organisations migrate along a clearly identifiable and predictable path as their own business development skills evolved
(4) That the structured template of this cultural matrix is universal and transcends our original business development perspective -i.e. you can use this template to define ANY organisational culture
(5) That any organisation has more than one culture and that we are able to define a subset of characteristics of the likely orientation of these sub cultures in relation to the primary or dominant organisational culture
This template has been used on many companies and in many, many different situations over the years - overtly [with client involvement] and covertly [i.e. I use it but don't involve my client as it may not be relevant or they may not be receptive.]
Following this I formulated my own defintion of a generic maturity model:
"A maturity model [usually represented as a schematic] is a structured description that shows the stages of evolution of an organisation in transition through various developmental states. It is pre-supposed that this evolution represents progress to more developed or advanced states of learning, insight, understanding and practise."
Having established a cultural template of where your organisation is now, you can determine the template of how your organisation will look after your step change initiative and clearly see the gaps between these positions.
This, in turn, enables you to determine a route that will navigate you through the issues that will arise - and especially to help you identify the full impacts of the changes on those people who will be most affected and to plan accordingly.
And in conclusion - the reason why using a cultural maturity map to understand your cultures is so important is that they are the single biggest determinant of how people in your organisation will behave - and especially in the context of a step change - and thus determine the success or failure of your initiative.
Stephen Warrilow: www.strategies-for-managing-change.com
With the evidence of project management skills as far back as the time of the building of the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China and other great wonders of the world - it is quite logical that there could have been an early model to map the progress of developing project management skills. After all, for an ancient project manager the price of failure came high!
In more recent times the concept of a project management maturity model has evolved considerably from the software industry with the need to understand and measure many variables, manage great complexity, obtain consistent results and achieve stringent delivery targets within budget.
With regard to which model is the "best" or most appropriate for any specific situation [I fully appreciate that project management professionals reading this may disagree with what I am about to say, but] I feel the far bigger challenge is actually in getting ANY model applied.
From that point on, and with director level sponsorship and support - all things are possible.
There are many maturity models [I am aware of over 35] and the dominant model is the P3M3 Model created and sponsored by the OGC [UK Office of Government and Commerce] in association the APMG [UK Association of Project Management Group.
This is a composite and enhanced model that addresses the 3 related aspects of large-scale project management and that glories in the full title of "Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Mode".
Try this test ...
In relation to your [or your client's] organisation:
- Do you use project management?
- Do you use programme management?
- Do you know the difference?
- Do you know why knowing the difference matters?
Try this simple test - review the different levels listed below based on the P3M3 maturity model - firstly in relation to project management and then secondly with programme management - and see which best describes your organisation:
- Level 0 - No process - the organisation has no project and /or programme management skills or experience
- Level 1 - Awareness process - the organisation is able to recognize projects and/or programmes - but has little structured approach to dealing with them.
- Level 2 - Repeatable process - there may be areas that are beginning to use standard approaches to projects and/or programmes but there is no consistency of approach across the organisation.
- Level 3 - Defined process - there will be a consistent set of standards being used across the organisation with clear process ownership.
- Level 4 - Managed process - the organisation monitors and measures its process efficiency, with active interventions to improve the way it delivers based largely on evidence or performance based information.
- Level 5 - Optimised process - the organisation will be focussing on optimisation of its quantitatively managed processes to take into account changing business needs and external factors.
Where you and your organisation sit on the maturity model is one of the biggest key factors in leading change that will determine your chances of success [the others are (a) the quality of leadership, and (b) the cultures in your organisation].
Why bother?
In 2003 "The Project Management Institute" came up with the following definition: "Organisational Project Management Maturity describes an organisation's overall ability to select and manage projects in a way that supports its strategic goals".
Well that all sounds very noble - but the simple rationale for having and using a project management maturity model is quite simply that projects fail! [And the same is true for programme and change management.]
A survey conducted in 2003 by the Standish Group(US)showed that 66% of IT projects are either totally abandoned or fail against a measure of budget, scope, time or quality (i.e. 'challenged'). A similar study in the UK by Computer Weekly that 84% of projects either failed or were challenged.
It has been estimated that the cost to US business of failing or abandoned IT projects runs into hundreds of billions of dollars.
Closer to home the UK government have wasted countless billions of pounds on failed projects.
At the programme level - with the wider perspective beyond a project delivery of capability to the actual realisation of a defined organisational benefit - the failure rate is a consistent 70%.
And given that every programme encompasses a signifcant change element, the same failure rate applies to any significant change management initiative.
Progress driven by pain
In most organisations the evolution of project management, programme management and change management skills typically lags far behind the development of other capabilities within the company. So the state of maturity to a large degree reflects the prevailing dominant corporate culture.
Given that companies [or more accurately directors] don't know what they dont know - the level of maturity of the company remains invisible.
In fact the very concept of a maturity model remains invisible.
So nothing changes until things go wrong - and pain is felt and someone at director level is facing an exposure as a result of a significant project failure.
This is the point at which progress becomes possible as progress needs sponsorship.
And as the focus shifts to improving performance, there are two principal targets.
(1) To improve how any specific project, programme and change is managed.
(2) To improve performance in overall organisational capability in project, programme and change management.
The purpose of this assessment is to show the extent to which the infrastructure within the organisation supports the project, programme and change management efforts.
Benefits of a structured assessment
The main benefits of the subsequent structured assessment of maturity within the organisation isn't in understanding the current level at which the company is performing, but rather in setting direction, prioritising actions and beginning cultural change.
So, taking project management as an example: an organisational project management maturity model provides guidance to an organisation regarding how to: -
- * Articulate project success
* Measure project performance
* Make the delivery of projects more predictable
* Help projects work together instead of against each other in a multi-project environment
In 2003 The Centre for Business Practices produced its 'Project Management - the State of the Industry' survey. This survey measured organisational improvement over time, as a result of project management improvement programmes.
The highlights of which show significant improvements in terms of financial performance, customer retention and satisfaction, project and process improvement, employees satisfaction and productivity, and a dramatic 70% increase in project alignment with strategic objectives.
The case for using a Culture Maturity Model
I first became aware of the significance and importance of organisational culture in 1994 when I was involved in a business development exercise with a colleague and the significance of organisational culture - initially seen solely from a business development perspective - became firmly established on our radar.
We rapidly made 5 discoveries:
(1) That we can construct a simple matrix that can enable us to very rapidly identify the type of organisational culture we are dealing with.
- The basic structure of the matrix can be used to define a template of an organisational culture, namely:
- o Type of culture
o A summary definition of the culture
o Evidence of the culture - i.e. its characteristics
o Key issues faced and addressed by that culture as can be seen in actions and behaviours
o The areas of major focus - or key areas of impact - of the culture
(2) That these cultures are obvious and instantly recognisable and indisputable from the company's own perspective [i.e. they recognise themselves as such]
(3) That these cultures as seen from a business development perspective form a maturity model. In other words, organisations migrate along a clearly identifiable and predictable path as their own business development skills evolved
(4) That the structured template of this cultural matrix is universal and transcends our original business development perspective -i.e. you can use this template to define ANY organisational culture
(5) That any organisation has more than one culture and that we are able to define a subset of characteristics of the likely orientation of these sub cultures in relation to the primary or dominant organisational culture
This template has been used on many companies and in many, many different situations over the years - overtly [with client involvement] and covertly [i.e. I use it but don't involve my client as it may not be relevant or they may not be receptive.]
Following this I formulated my own defintion of a generic maturity model:
"A maturity model [usually represented as a schematic] is a structured description that shows the stages of evolution of an organisation in transition through various developmental states. It is pre-supposed that this evolution represents progress to more developed or advanced states of learning, insight, understanding and practise."
Having established a cultural template of where your organisation is now, you can determine the template of how your organisation will look after your step change initiative and clearly see the gaps between these positions.
Navigating through the issues to where you want to be
This, in turn, enables you to determine a route that will navigate you through the issues that will arise - and especially to help you identify the full impacts of the changes on those people who will be most affected and to plan accordingly.
And in conclusion - the reason why using a cultural maturity map to understand your cultures is so important is that they are the single biggest determinant of how people in your organisation will behave - and especially in the context of a step change - and thus determine the success or failure of your initiative.
Stephen Warrilow: www.strategies-for-managing-change.com
Organisational culture - determines how your people will respond to a change initiative
This is a subject that I find tends to get a somewhat polarised reaction whenever I discuss it with directors.
There is either a polite indifference and "...well let's get on with discussing the practical aspects of how we're going to do this?" type of response; or considerable interest then the question: "How can we actually deal with it and change it?".
In both cases there is the feeling that culture is a "soft" intangible subject that is difficult to discuss in specific terms, and in the first response the belief that because we can't see it or really get a handle on it then it's irrelevant.
Can I challenge you now... as you are reading this... how do you feel about the culture(s) of your organisation?
Do you feel that it's an important aspect of your step change initiative - or to be truthful, do you feel that whilst it's an interesting abstraction it's not really THAT big a deal?
There are several key factors that will determine whether you join the long list of 70% failures with your step change initiative - or whether you really do succeed and realise the benefits. Those factors are:
(1) Determining that you are embarking on a step change that sits outside of business as usual and needs to be handled as a specific initiative
(2) The quality of leadership that you provide
(3) Using a programme management based approach to your step change initiative
(4) The thoroughness of your pre programme review and planning process
(5) The extent to which you identify and address the cultural change in your organisation that is required to deliver the step change and the desired business benefit.
Organisational culture is the sum of your organisation's key characteristics, values, and beliefs and is evidenced in actions and behaviour.
In my experience, it is the single biggest determinant of how an individual will behave within a business or organisational environment. It will over-ride education, intelligence and common-sense.
I have seen many senior people in large organisations behave in ways that on occasions defied common sense and the "blindingly obvious" - and they weren't aware of it [or if they were, they certainly weren't letting on!]
It is also a major determinant in how people will react to change and your attempts to apply change management.
"Meaningful change in results requires meaningful change in people, processes or technology; usually all three. The difference between a passing fad and lasting change lies in the extent to which you are able to change people's attitudes and behavior." [Tom O'Dea]
Organisational culture is - in my experience - most effectively changed by basing organisational change on personal change. The rational for this perspective:
The process of change goes through these stages:
People who are undergoing the processes outlined above will be aware of the need for change, and may accept it in principle. But due to "hard wired" resistance to change and the "hidden software" of individual unconscious attitudes they will fall into 1 of 3 categories (usually the first two):
(1) Wanting to be seen to want to do something
(2) Wanting to be seen to be doing something
(3) Wanting to actually do something
Each of us has deeply ingrained within us the instinctive WIFM response to change..."What's in it for me?"
It is only when we see the individual and personal benefit that we will truly accept and embrace a change of business culture.
This does not mean simply: "How can I profit from this?" but can also have the deeper meaning: "How is this consistent with my aspirations, and values and what's ultimately most important to me?"
The effective and successful leader needs to attend to the needs of each and every person impacted by the cultural change.
Restated and put very bluntly - you cannot make a successful step change [and realise the benefits] without changing your organisational culture.
Stephen Warrilow: www.strategies-for-managing-change.com
There is either a polite indifference and "...well let's get on with discussing the practical aspects of how we're going to do this?" type of response; or considerable interest then the question: "How can we actually deal with it and change it?".
In both cases there is the feeling that culture is a "soft" intangible subject that is difficult to discuss in specific terms, and in the first response the belief that because we can't see it or really get a handle on it then it's irrelevant.
Can I challenge you now... as you are reading this... how do you feel about the culture(s) of your organisation?
Do you feel that it's an important aspect of your step change initiative - or to be truthful, do you feel that whilst it's an interesting abstraction it's not really THAT big a deal?
There are several key factors that will determine whether you join the long list of 70% failures with your step change initiative - or whether you really do succeed and realise the benefits. Those factors are:
(1) Determining that you are embarking on a step change that sits outside of business as usual and needs to be handled as a specific initiative
(2) The quality of leadership that you provide
(3) Using a programme management based approach to your step change initiative
(4) The thoroughness of your pre programme review and planning process
(5) The extent to which you identify and address the cultural change in your organisation that is required to deliver the step change and the desired business benefit.
Organisational culture is the sum of your organisation's key characteristics, values, and beliefs and is evidenced in actions and behaviour.
- There are usually sub-cultures [often many] within any organisation
- It is frequently "invisible" to those within it
- It filters and distorts data received via the organisation - in line with the beliefs and values etc stored within it
- It holds the "hidden software" that will determine how the organisation behaves
- It determines what it focuses on
- It is the source of the "hard-wired" resistance to change
- The successful "reprogramming" of it is critical for a successful change programme
In my experience, it is the single biggest determinant of how an individual will behave within a business or organisational environment. It will over-ride education, intelligence and common-sense.
I have seen many senior people in large organisations behave in ways that on occasions defied common sense and the "blindingly obvious" - and they weren't aware of it [or if they were, they certainly weren't letting on!]
It is also a major determinant in how people will react to change and your attempts to apply change management.
"Meaningful change in results requires meaningful change in people, processes or technology; usually all three. The difference between a passing fad and lasting change lies in the extent to which you are able to change people's attitudes and behavior." [Tom O'Dea]
Organisational culture is - in my experience - most effectively changed by basing organisational change on personal change. The rational for this perspective:
- An organisation can be regarded as a "macro individual"
- An organisation comprises individuals
- An organisation is transformed by transforming individuals
The process of change goes through these stages:
- Understand the business culture(s) - a process of cognition, to
- Be able to communicate and articulate the business culture and how we want to change it - and have the language and framework to do so, and
- Have the appropriate tools, techniques and processes to make the changes.
People who are undergoing the processes outlined above will be aware of the need for change, and may accept it in principle. But due to "hard wired" resistance to change and the "hidden software" of individual unconscious attitudes they will fall into 1 of 3 categories (usually the first two):
(1) Wanting to be seen to want to do something
(2) Wanting to be seen to be doing something
(3) Wanting to actually do something
Each of us has deeply ingrained within us the instinctive WIFM response to change..."What's in it for me?"
It is only when we see the individual and personal benefit that we will truly accept and embrace a change of business culture.
This does not mean simply: "How can I profit from this?" but can also have the deeper meaning: "How is this consistent with my aspirations, and values and what's ultimately most important to me?"
The effective and successful leader needs to attend to the needs of each and every person impacted by the cultural change.
Restated and put very bluntly - you cannot make a successful step change [and realise the benefits] without changing your organisational culture.
Stephen Warrilow: www.strategies-for-managing-change.com
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