Leading Change: 6 Questions Every Leader Should Ask

“Guiding change may be the ultimate test of a leader [and/or leadership team]—no business [or Department] survives over the long term if it can’t reinvent itself. But human nature being what it is, fundamental change is often resisted mightily by the people it most affects. Leading change is both absolutely essential and incredibly difficult”    Harvard Business Review 2006 

There is nothing more difficult than change, when change is resisted. Why Change? Change doesn’t uniformly lead to a better organization, or on a personal note--a better life. The more important question may be, “What are the consequences of maintaining the status quo?” John Kotter, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School believes change typically happens when there is urgency. Sometimes the state of emergency is readily apparent. But, more often than not, those involved fail to see a sense of urgency as the culture, financials, and competitive advantages declines over time.

DeAnne Aguirre and Micah Alpern suggest the presence of 3 hurdles to overcome when instituting a major change within an organization. There is “change fatigue”, Aguirre and Alpern write—"the exhaustion that sets in when people feel pressured to make too many transitions at once.” Sustaining change over time is another challenge. All the enthusiasm in the beginning must be aligned with resources and expertise to maintain early momentum into the mid and longer terms. Change is often decided in the leadership teams and more than often, fails to engage all members of an organization. Ensuring major initiatives have been vetted by all levels of an organization is recommended, but rarely practiced.  

“Change cannot be put on people. The best way to instill change is to do it with them. Create it with them.” Lisa Bodell

 Consider your next big change. Ask yourself the following 6 questions. How you answer them will determine your organization’s readiness and the likelihood of success. 

 Question 1: Has a “sense of urgency” for change been communicated? The status quo must be seen by all as unacceptable. Moreover, staying the same should be viewed as threat to the viability and vitality of the enterprise, whether commercial or academic.

 “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Peter Drucker

 Question 2: Are the right people in the right positions to ensure a functional team?Change often begins with re-alignment of the organizational structure. The leadership suite needs to be high functioning, trustworthy and capable of managing the organization of the future. Simply put, the leadership must reflect where the organization is going, not where’s it been. A 2015 McKinsey report 366 public companies found that those in the top quartile for racial and gender diversity in management were 35% and 15% more likely, respectively, to perform above their industry means. Arig al Shaibah writes, diversity and inclusion is a “smart policy to ensure creativity, innovation, and competitive advantage ” Difficult decisions must be made to align the vision, and strategy with the right team. Typically, those who lead during a period of “status quo’ are not those who lead during periods of change.

A Harvard Business Publishing survey suggests that only 32% of global leaders are confident that their teams have the required skills and talent to achieve company goals.

 Question 3: Is your organization aligned,at all levels, on a few simple shared goals?Leading an organization--whether a Department, a Division, or a team (large or small)—requires both vision and strategy. “A vision without a strategy remains an illusion” says Bolman. Without a vision, your organization is like a ship without a rudder, constantly in danger of drifting aimlessly. The truth be told, without a clear vision, no strategy will save you. When your organization has a vision, it should relay a clear sense of purpose to all its members. Visions are driven by passion and dreams, but rooted in action. Jim Collins says, “If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any.” 

Another benefit of having a simple plan is that it creates a shared goal that will offset the tendency of people to identify themselves as part of smaller groups. Think of a football team, for example. There are many “tribes” within a team – offense and defense, linemen and receivers, running backs and defensive backs. But because the goal of the team is clear, and there’s an external scoreboard to track progress, there is a greater sense of “us” on the team than the “us and them” dynamic that can often divide colleagues in companies. Adam Bryant

Question 4: Are the key members of the organization on board? Kotter argues that major change is impossible without the head of the organization actively supporting the plan. A coalition of leadership is needed, however, to ensure change processes have the sufficient support during the initial phase. Coalition building continues throughout the process as the leadership reinforces the need for change, and re-states the vision. You can never re-state your vision enough! It often takes numerous attempts for the story to stick.

 “Once you have a simple plan, you have to keep reminding your team of the priorities, even if it can feel repetitive. People often have to hear something a few times before they truly remember it” Marc Cenedella

 Question 5: Does the change ensure growth of people with their strengths? Many of us work each day realizing that we juggling many roles that distract from our core strengths. Aligning an organization’s workforce with their strengths is critical for productivity and talent retention. Individuals who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job and are less likely to leave their company. A workplace Gallup poll (www.gallop.com) suggests that employees become about 8% more productive when they align with their strengths. Teams that focus on strengths achieve 13% greater productivity [Joe Hirsch].

Question 6: What will be the early wins, and how will they be quickly established? Creating short term wins is very different from hoping for short term wins. As Kotter puts it, “one is active, the other is passive”. Big change requires the members of the organization to see the fruits of the ‘change effort’ within 12-24 months. Targeting deliverables is critical to maintaining momentum, resources, and most importantly organizational morale. A clear scoreboard with definable metrics is critical to ensuring everybody is keeping score with the same scorecard.

“If you have a company where everyone has their own ways of keeping score, you’ll get incessant fighting and arguments, and they’re not even arguing about what to do,” he said. “They’re arguing about how to keep score. They’re arguing about what game we’re really playing. That’s all counterproductive.” Adam Bryant 

 A Final Thought  

 “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.