Changing Change Management

Fact... drawn from a thousand anecdotes, personal experiences, conversations, studies, surveys and simple observation... most large changes, whether they be mergers, acquisitions, brand name changes, technology rollouts, application implementations etc. etc. Fail. Not because of technical problems, but by our inability to manage the change process.

Despite our failures, we resist making changes to how we manage change; instead we're more likely to place the blame on those who resist the changes we attempt to force on them. After all, if they didn't resist our attempts to bring change about, everything would move ahead much more smoothly. Right?

That last sentence is as accurate as saying, "If water wasn't liquid then we could walk on it." The problem is, water is wet, and people do resist certain types of change. To wish for a different state of affairs is very much like a child throwing a tantrum when they can't get what they want. The secret to Change Management is to deal with the world the way it is, and not according to some collection of myths and illusions.

Here's the #1 Change Myth: People Resist Change.

That's a commonly held belief, and it is the theme underpinning most books on change management. There's only one small problem with this widely accepted idea... It doesn't hold up under close examination. Surprised? The proof is easy. Are you married? Did you choose to get married? Voluntarily? If you answered yes, then you're faced with a peculiar contradiction. We resist change, but we willingly get married? What's going on here?

Marriage is one of life's great changes. It is second perhaps only to death and deciding to have children. Death we can't do much about. The grim reaper has our number and will come calling when our sand runs its course. But, we willingly, even eagerly get married and have kids of our own accord. Why, if indeed, we really resist change?

If you're like most people, you're coming up with at least a dozen reasons as to why getting married is a different type of change. Whatever reasons you're coming up with, even though I'm not a mind reader, I'll bet my reputation on the following... most of your reasons encircle the phrase, "I decided..."

That's the insight of course. People willingly embrace huge changes when it's their decision. We seek promotions, change jobs, get married, have kids, move house, emigrate to foreign lands, donate kidneys, learn to play the bagpipes, read new authors, risk falling to ride a bicycle and drowning to learn to swim... all to bring change into our lives.

At the same time we're inviting all this real risk and painful chaos into our lives, we resist trivial changes as if our lives depended on it! We'll actively resist a new accounting system, a new boss, a reduction or increase in responsibility, a new way of doing things etc. etc. All of these trivialities pale when compared to the life altering changes mentioned above.

Put as simply as possible, this puzzling dichotomy of action is solved if we transform our myth into a truism. People do not resist change, they resist being changed.

If there's a problem with that last statement, it's that it is far too simple. We strongly resist the notion that the secret of change management is summed up in nine words.

Really?

Think about it honestly. The change we resist with all our might is usually "forced" upon us either by individuals we report to, or by circumstances beyond our control. On the other hand, the changes we willingly embrace are either ones we initiate, or those that make perfect sense to us.

This is not to suggest that it is easy to assimilate the change we embrace. Getting married, no matter how great our determination, is at times, difficult to get used to.

The focus of this column is to question the accuracy of what we think we know about change. Is "Top Down Change" the right way to go? Should we describe ourselves as "Change Agents"? How effective is the tactic of seeking "Buy-in"? Is "Change Management" Impossible? Difficult? Easy? A non-issue?

The answers may surprise you. Naturally, I look forward to your active participation in this exploration of one of Management's greatest challenges... the implementation of continuous change. My e-mail address is listed below for a reason. I expect (hope for?) an active exchange of ideas.

Peter de Jager - Keynote Speaker, Consultant and Columnist. Peter focuses on how individuals and organizations initiate and assimilate change and thereby create the Future. Visit www.technobility.com or contact him at pdejager@technobility.com.

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