12 Most Common Mistakes to Avoid in Change Initiatives

The pocket change, nickel-and-dime approach; inadequate budget, or none at all; no business case considered; nobody asks "Why are we doing this? What's the projected ROI'?"; no serious calculation of the dollar cost of the presenting problems that would justify appropriate funding for the change initiative

The curse of wishful thinking; a pie-in-the-sky approach; setting over-ambitious goals, attacking on too broad a front, or pursuing vague, abstract objectives that are too fuzzy to measure; you need focus, and specificity

Running plays without a game plan; data is collected (that's the easy part) but then it sits on a shelf; no systematic approach for operationalizing the data; absence of a viable change strategy and lack of project management discipline-no milestones, no assigned accountabilities, no timelines for completion; failure in execution.... the initiative has no legs

"Big hat and no cattle"; promising talk to begin with, but little action or constructive results; this creates cynicism in the workforce and weakens management credibility

"Give it to old so-and-so, he/she isn't busy"; the initiative gets dumped on a person(s) with little power and organizational influence, or delegated to someone who is mostly clueless regarding how to handle the challenge; you need a champion with clout and credibility who can and will make things happen

This is like asking the enemy to design your battle plan for change; remember, a culture's top priority is to sustain itself, to protect the status quo, to maintain the organization's equilibrium; the result is usually a go-slow (and fail) approach, or merely gnawing around the edges of real change, with little achieved beyond mere window dressing; frankly, you will need to violate the existing culture

This creates a petri dish for resistance; if you want new behaviors, your people may need new skills or a new focus, otherwise they push back; they also need to be educated on the nature of change---i.e, prepared for things to get worse before they get better

Paying people to remain the same; the current reward system typically reinforces the status quo, providing no incentive for people to change (and often an actual disincentive)

Acting like context doesn't matter; existing administrative and operating practices are well established, powerful, and often work at cross-purposes with change initiatives; this can confuse people regarding how they should function

Communication is the oxygen for change-when information flows poorly, the change initiative usually dies; you need to announce/launch the initiative powerfully and sustain it with ongoing promotional support; you need to track progress and trouble-shoot; showcase progress and salute/honor the advocates

"Everything looks like a failure in the middle"; significant change throws off sparks-if there's no friction, you're probably not changing much; too often a change initiative is ditched simply because it gets messy

A weak will is the best weapon for killing change initiatives; change makes enemies easily, and executive support often fades in the face of problems that are the inevitable side effects of change; the existing culture will fight the change, and it can be vicious; the critics get their "proof" first; too often executives get spooked; you need determination-true staying power­ in order to succeed