In boardrooms and executive suites across the globe, leaders craft ambitious change initiatives with meticulous strategic planning. They often bring in consultants who present elegant frameworks and roadmaps as guidance, and leaders attend workshops on “leading through disruption.”
Yet despite these efforts, research consistently shows that 70% of organizational change initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes.
Why? Because we’ve been focusing on the wrong end of the equation.
While volumes have been written about leading change from the top, we’ve largely overlooked the true soldiers of transformation: the employees tasked with implementing change on the ground. These individuals—department managers, team leads, and individual contributors—are expected to translate abstract visions into concrete reality while maintaining daily operations and productivity targets.
“These frontline soldiers aren’t just passive recipients of change directives; they are the conduits through which change either flows smoothly or grinds to a halt,” said Krista Sheets, president of Competitive Edge and a certified delivery partner of the AQai method. “Whether they know it or not, organizations can’t afford to overlook the people involved in actually implementing the vision.”
Employee buy-in, leadership support, and Adaptability determine whether any change initiative succeeds or joins the scrap heap of failed corporate transformations.
Ignoring the Human Element Undermines Trust
With change coming so fast, it’s no wonder that over 70% of employees—including 86% of GenZ—feel overwhelmed (Source: Capterra) by the amount of change at work. And considering that only 43% feel their organization manages change effectively (Source: WTW), employees are losing confidence and trust in their leadership when it comes to navigating change (Source: Capterra).
When employees don’t trust the organization, it creates resistance toward the change and the organization as a whole.
“But this need for trust works both ways: if leadership doesn’t display trust in their people by communicating clearly and transparently, or by demonstrating that they value their expertise, it creates apathy,” Sheets said. “Employees start to think, ‘Why should I bother to invest in this effort? They don’t care about me anyway.’ And that begins the downward spiral.”
Too often, leaders keep employees on a “need to know” basis or fail to give them all the information, context, or rationale behind a change initiative. Or worse, they fail to even ask their team how a change might impact their day-to-day job or relationships with customers or vendors.
Left unchecked, this “arm’s length” approach can breed paranoia: when employees are suddenly asked for their input with no history of that ever happening before, they may immediately assume the worst— leaping to a conclusion that leadership is trying to figure out how to do the job without them. They become hesitant to share, and maybe even defensively horde withhold information, an instinct that could inadvertently sabotage the program.
“Ultimately, all of this leads to the organization losing out on the valuable expertise that boots-on-the-ground contributors bring to any change initiative,” Sheets said. “And of course, that lack of insight and investment translates to lack of progress and poor results.”
Prioritize People by Cultivating Adaptability
Developing Adaptability Intelligence can help individuals thrive in the face of change and make change initiatives more successful. Here are some best practices for putting people first by cultivating adaptability as the primary engine of sustainable transformation.
● Respect your team. Having and displaying respect for your team’s knowledge, contributions and expertise has a tremendous impact on their level of investment and resilience in the face of change.
Just like the shock absorbers on your car, you depend on them while the road is smooth sailing, but even more so when you hit the inevitable pothole along the way. If you’ve not maintained your “equipment,” you can’t expect it to work well under stress.
● Trust them as adults. Especially during times of change, clear communication is essential, and that includes as much transparency as possible. While there may be times when you can’t reveal all the details surrounding a necessary change, providing some insight as to the “why” can set appropriate expectations about why you’re asking certain questions and taking these steps.
“The less you can leave up to their imagination or depend on them to figure things out on their own, the more you can quell rumor, speculation, suspicion and distrust,” Sheets advises.
● Lean on their intuition. Your team is on the front lines with your customers, vendors and business partners. They’re the interface with the people who may be most affected by changes you make in the organization. Don’t discount or run roughshod over those relationships without at least considering their position. It not only makes them look bad but also undermines their trust.
For example, a change to procurement processes may harm the relationship a field technician has built with a critical supplier. Or suddenly refusing to make customizations to a customers’ installation that had previously been accommodated may put your customer success team in an awkward spot.
While you may be unable to accommodate every situation, don’t dismiss that your front-line folks know and understand those needs better than anyone. At least hear them out about the impacts the change will have on those relationships.
● Acknowledging the challenges and disruptions. A lot of organizations lean into extreme cheerleading: they champion change to an extreme, focusing only on the positive intended outcomes and ignoring the risks or hurdles to boost confidence and enthusiasm.
But even the best changes will mean some level of disruption, and it’s OK to admit that things may not—or aren’t—going smoothly. Employees value transparency and vulnerability, but don’t be afraid to remind them of past changes that went well, when they trusted you and things worked out better than they expected.
● Recognize the wins. Take every opportunity to celebrate milestones and achievements along the way. Relentless focus on the ultimate goal can make change initiatives feel like you’re always dangling a carrot that your team can never reach. Setting incremental goals and celebrating their success is a strong motivator to keep people invested, enthusiastic and moving forward.
● Pay attention to mindset. Checking in with your people throughout any change process is so important. Otherwise, if they feel they’re being ignored or no one cares about the consequences or impact of their work, they could slip into the worst possible mindset, feeding withdrawal and negativity, which may undermine success. It’s also hard to celebrate and learn to trust people you haven’t yet gotten to know. This is why “boots on the ground” leadership is so important. Leaders must be plugged-in with their team on a regular basis. Simply sending out engagement surveys isn’t enough. This requires one-on-one, personal conversations to really gauge their sentiment and investment.
The majority of change initiatives fail primarily due to employee resistance and lack of management support. (Source: McKinsey). But these are entirely solvable issues. It just takes treating your people with the respect, trust and empathy that they deserve.
That starts with cultivating their individual adaptability by helping them develop the skills, mindset and strategies to not just tolerate change but actually thrive in it. This will ultimately keep them more engaged and invested in the project, overall goal and the company’s success.
Getting started with the AQai Adaptability Assessment is a critical first step to understanding what your team needs in order to be most effective, resilient and innovative.
Learn how to develop your front-line soldiers by contacting us today!