Everywhere we look, change seems to be accelerating. Of course, change is inevitable. Change is relentless. Change is ever-present.
Trouble is, as our family obstetrician used to say, for most folks it’s easier to conceive than to deliver. That truism applies not just to making babies. It also applies to dealing with change.
By nearly every account, the majority of leadership strategies aimed at creating change are doomed for failure.
The Association for Corporate Growth, a top player in the merger and acquisition arena, says only 20% of deals live up to original expectations. The Association for Talent Development, the world’s leading group of workplace learning and performance professionals, says employers are spending record amounts on training. Yet Quality Magazine reports that less than 30% of all training is being used on the job a month later.
At a time of widespread agreement that improving education is critical to America’s future, the National School Board Foundation says systemic reform nearly always breaks down because of poor implementation.
How challenging are effective change and implementation? Consider this analogy from the chief operating officer of a large corporation, quoted in the Harvard Business Review:
“It’s like the company is undergoing four medical procedures at the same time. One person is in charge of a root canal, someone else is setting the broken foot, another person is working on a displaced shoulder, and still another is getting rid of a gallstone. Each operation is a success, but the patient dies of shock.”
Here’s a story to help put all this into perspective.
When our children were very young, my wife and I took the family on a cross-country trip. Several days in the close quarters of a car can be challenging, especially so when many of the conversations begin with the question “Are we there yet?” So, we carefully planned every detail of the journey.
For each of our various stops along the way, we reserved a room at a Howard Johnson hotel. We knew that all across the country these hotels were decorated with exactly the same wall colors, lamps, and bedspreads. To help our children feel more “at home” each night, we even specified that each room must have the beds on the right and the TV on the left. Sameness, we reasoned, would be comforting.
The trip seemed to be going well. The children were patient, and the parents were still relatively sane. Then on the third night we checked into yet another Howard Johnson hotel. As soon as we walked into our room—which was identical to the others we’d slept in that week—our four-year-old son threw up his hands and with a tone of utter despair said, “We’ve been driving forever and we keep coming back to the same place!”
That’s exactly what change can feel like. Despite your best efforts, some people will continue to ask “Are we there yet?” Some won’t mind taking a trip, just not in the direction you’re headed. Others will resist getting in the car at all.
For most people, change really is a big deal. Change can involve the adoption of new technologies, reengineering, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, culture blending, or any of a number of other forms. Change is a big deal because it often requires leaving our comfort zones. Change is a big deal because it touches on our sentiments and devotions, some of which may not be apparent even to us.
The big deal about change is usually not about strategy or structure or systems. All of those things are of course important. But the core of it all is feelings. In the world of human commerce, nothing changes unless and until people’s behaviors change. And the kind of behavior change that results in lasting (sustainable) change must accommodate people’s feelings—feelings that involve trust, confidence, passion, and all those other intangible but very real things that make us human.
You can rent a person’s back and hands, but you must earn their head and heart.
Change really is a big deal. Work hard to accommodate people’s feelings—their heads, hearts, and hopes—and your change effort can be one of the success stories.
A version of this article appeared on forbes.com, posted on November 28, 2023
EXPERD, Human Resources Consultant, Jakarta – Indonesia