Delivering business change is difficult. It is vital for leaders to understand the human dynamics of change. That is, to create a sense of urgency.
Without a sense of urgency, business change endeavours are likely to fail or, at best, deliver lukewarm results. I know. I’ve seen it time after time.
A Sense of Urgency
Delivering business change is difficult. Your people make change happen. Only they can make change a reality. Accordingly, it is important that people know the reason for change, are fully engaged in the process, and have the opportunity to buy into the initiative.
Stretching it [change] over a long time period extends the discomfort. People will become impatient, confused and distracted. They will conclude that re-engineering is another bogus program and the effort will fall apart. – Michael Hammer and James Champy
Therefore, avoid false starts and haphazard efforts. These lead to anxiety and frustration and do nothing but delay the development of new attitudes and behaviours. What’s more, inertia is likely to set in and impede both current and future efforts.
When you listen to people you may hear them say: “What’s the point, it’s all going to change!”, “We will have to wait until the new structure is in place” or “I’m not leaving now, so I may as well hold out for a pay-off.”
