Organizations face a constant barrage of change, whether they’re grappling
with shape-shifting technology, avalanches of data, or the relentless demands of
global integration. It’s no wonder that this constant fire drill makes it
difficult for even the most forward-thinking companies to manage the constant
pace of change, let alone think strategically about it.
Yet, being able to anticipate and make the most of these disruptions is
what distinguishes market leaders from followers. How do organizations
compete--and even thrive--in a world where the business of business keeps
shifting? How do you make change work, when the work keeps changing?
We learned that the organizations that make the most of disruption are
embracing three critical building blocks:
1. LEAD AT ALL LEVELS
Why do most companies struggle to manage change successfully? Because they
don’t cultivate a change-centric culture.
Change has to start at the top, and it needs to include the entire
organization.
Whether it is top or middle management, change must become a personal
responsibility. Change-leadership activities and skill building need to be
included in personal goals.
Companies that harness disruption also consistently engage employees
communication channels and collaborate.
Finally, they recruit emerging internal leaders. These new leaders, with
their collaborative networks, can have thousands of followers internally, giving
them more influence over employees than many top managers.
2. MAKE CHANGE MATTER
It’s crucial to create a clear vision of the importance of change within an
organization. Yet, 87% organizations say not enough focus is put on change
management in critical projects. And most invest only 5% or less of total
budgets in change management activities.
Study respondents point to five barriers that create a discrepancy between
the financial resources allocated and those needed, ranging from a lack of
understanding of the benefits of change management to little understanding of
how change management roles relate to one another.
It is critical that top managers establish the right organizational context
by making change a priority. They must create this vision, reinforce the
benefits, and inject change management into the corporate culture.
3. BUILD THE MUSCLE
The accelerating pace of disruption is accompanied by difficulties to keep
up with shortage of resources, process changes, and IT. It's the job of change
professionals to manage and direct highly skilled, enterprise-wide resources to
mitigate these risks.
But the demand for change capabilities is outpacing the efforts by
organizations to address it. Most companies report that the average amount of
in-house change management experience is six years or less. Companies need to
attract, retain, and develop change professionals and build up internal
knowledge and skills. They can’t wait to address these needs by reinventing
activities and roles on a project-by-project basis.
Change leaders know this. They’re formalizing change expertise and
systematically building enterprise-wide change capabilities.
Disruption today is a constant. Despite the fact that many companies have
solid know-how in making change work, they haven’t gotten better at actively
managing it. By understanding the gap between themselves and change leaders,
they can start to close it.
