The Rocket Science of Change- 5 Reasons Why is Change Difficult
Change is uncomfortable.
I know you dislike change. You are not alone!
Disliking change or being afraid of change is normal human behavior. Normalcy is comfortable and after all, you have spent lots of time and effort to be where you are. However, change is constant. “The only constant in life is change.” Heraclitus. Not only is change always happening but it’s unavoidable.
What makes change implementation so difficult?
Most organizations that try to implement change fail in the first instance. Below are some of the thoroughly researched reasons that have been proven to be some of the major change failures:
Telling people what to do instead of why they are doing it
People need to know what is in it for them and the organization before they move out of their comfort zone and adjust to new ways of doing things. They also need to understand why it was necessary to move from their old ways and the benefits outlined should be visible in the new process.
Poor preparation
Involving all stakeholders in the whole process of change have also proved to be more beneficial than involving them at the implementation level. They also need to understand that the change does not affect their job security. This can be done by the use of education and multiple pieces of training until the change is successfully implemented.
Changing too many things at once
Most organizations want to achieve too much in too little time. This approach often fails and is not sustainable. If you pressure employees to learn too many processes at the same time, they will prefer their older patterns which they consider easier and eventually fall back into them.
Lack of support from key figures in the organization
Appointing a project sponsor from the top management any other person who the employees associate to be part of the organization success is critical. By the time change is being implemented, there is already a formed opinion among employees that the project is likely to succeed and they do their best to support the change.
Insufficient resource allocation
Most organizations concentrate their resources on the implementation of change and forget to allocate resources for the reinforcement phase. Albeit being the last phase of a successful change process, reinforcement is often ignored. This however leads to a lack of sustainability and the project is likely to fail.
If change has been your organizations nightmare, then you have the answers.
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