Don’t Change … by ignoring your Work Culture!
Almost all change fails!
The only change that tends to succeed is the kind of change that improves or supports the existing; vision, processes or people in power. This is because nearly everything in the organization is designed to maintain the status quo. Organizational systems, according to Tom Northup, “… are perfectly designed to produce the results they are getting” – and so, Why mess with perfection?
Yet, there is likely a compelling reason to change. So, what should you do?
If you are designated as a change-agent for your initiative, you might as well understand and prepare for the meta-structure that your change initiative exists within. The name for that meta-structure is Work Culture, and it is the master of resistance in seemingly invisible and unanticipated ways!
Why resistance? Well, for example, one person’s efficiency improvement just might be eliminating another person’s paycheck. So, when change is forced, people go “underground” and wait for the time they can return to the status quo, which is why change typically only lasts as long as the leader does.
Change journeys typically follow the mythic hero’s journey; 1) Challenge, 2) Ordeal, and 3) Reemergence. Leaders aspire to make an impact and be recognized as the hero or heroine for their efforts. Yet, ironically, that can become the seed of future failure. This is because it is the organization that needs to succeed in a way that supports its parts, without dependency upon a hero. A hero culture will only last as long as the hero is present. And heroes don’t last – they move on – and, so do leaders.
So, if you have to make a change, one secret to success is to build flexibility or change into your initiative as part of the system itself. The invisible hand of resistance, which is part and parcel of work culture, can be reduced when your resistors to the initiative have a voice to nudge and influence along the way. Doing so will at least give you a chance to make your initiative (your change) last longer.
A second secret of success is changing your initiative from “push” to “pull”—a concept borrowed from Lean. Learn what people NEED, what processes NEED (as if they had a voice), and what the organization NEEDS (as if it had a voice) to succeed— offer that, and then watch people ask for change.
There are many change models. They all work, and they all fail. They work or fail based upon the situation: Application, Fit, and Technology. The part people tend forget about or ignore is the “Fit” part. Your change initiative needs to be designed to fit within your Work Culture.
Your change initiative and Work Culture are like “hand in glove.” Even if people agree with “what” needs to be done, they will fight over “how” it gets done – again, the issue is fit and alignment. The required work creates the need for the organization to exist. So, all visions, missions, systems, processes, methods, resources, people, etc. need to be aligned regarding “how” the work is done.
People are the source of resistance (as an acceptable part of their Work Culture). Yet, change-agents usually choose to define their change initiatives in terms of the more solid parts (the work at hand) and simply tell people to adapt. The less solid parts (the people and Work Culture) seem squishy, indefinable, soft, and immeasurable. Countless leaders have said, “…our Work Culture needs to change” but then act in ways that often leads to more of the same, in spite of their good intentions!
Consider which is harder to do: 1) Asking people to change, or 2) Redesign the work for alignment? The self-evident answer is that it is much harder to actually change people than work content. Yet, time and time again, we simply ask people to adapt to the change initiative.
The new thinking in the book Work Culture helps combine the change initiative work at hand with your own Work Culture. It helps you identify the right tool to apply at the right level, at the right time, in the right sequence, in the right way, by the right people, for the right purpose – for your Work Culture.
Arguably, those who comes into an organization and suggests they have the answer for you is likely speaking to only one aspect of your system; and, likely not the whole system, and almost certainly without Work Culture in mind. The right answers are almost always custom solutions designed to fit your Work Culture – if you think otherwise; you will likely be pushing a rock uphill like Sisyphus.
For a more successful change initiative, consider integrating and linking your Work Process and Work Culture in a new way that guides your change initiative designs and actions.
The Work Culture Model is a system of reinforcing behaviors regarding “how” work gets done across many projects and efforts over time. The Work Process Model is the current instance of “what” you are doing to respond to a given project or stimulus (internal or external). Focusing upon only the challenges of the current work at hand essentially sets your work culture free to dictate how things get done – which means, typically, you will simply get more of what you have already gotten a.k.a. “status quo.”
The key to making lasting change is to understand the alignment between the “Work” you need to accomplish for your initiative and your Work Culture that your initiative exists within. This is true for both ongoing work and also when you implement change.
Business Analysis for change
I came across an interesting business assessment. It focuses upon the process vulnerabilities in a business. When I thought about it, and realizing that process improvement always is contained within a work culture, I realized that is a very good way to learn what to do (what to change) in one’s business processes to better achieve a business goal or outcome.
These would be in support of Leaders and the Employees as the other two corners of the triangle. This takes some of the norms out of the process to objectively evaluate and do the right thing that makes a difference. And some of the methods it proposes using to conduct and implement improvements are in line with, and are supported by, this site’s effort to spread the word on work culture.
As such, it is my pleasure to recommend my site visitors wishing to know some practical guidance on making change to consider the assessment(s) that best apply to your situation.
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