Patience in Leading Change

These days, the ability to drive and embrace change in large organisations is so highly regarded that it goes against the grain to approach it critically, from any angle. I am going to try anyway.

Change takes time and effort. It's not a question of either or, but both. And while increasing effort may shorten the time a bit, the impact is probably less than most would like to believe. The opposite approach i.e., less effort and more time, certainly does not feel right amid productivity pressures.

Speaking of time, while small changes at the tactical level, such as changing a specific sub-process, can be accomplished in a matter of days, at the other end of the spectrum, changing a company's culture takes years. Most changes in large companies fall somewhere between these two extremes, with change processes taking several weeks to months.

The problem is that in most cases, leaders underestimate the delays and distortions that occur when something new flows through the organization. When the message that seemed clear and simple to leaders finally reaches the last employee, it has taken an unexpected amount of time and the content is different than originally intended. To make matters worse, leadership often initiates another change before the previous one has been fully embraced by the entire organization, leading to a situation where things never stabilize at the far ends of the organization.

The solution? Instead of rushing to the next change, leaders should focus on relentlessly and 100% consistently communicating the current change and ensuring it is properly understood and embraced by the entire organization before rushing to the next change. Whether consistency and patience are traits that companies look for and reward in leaders is another question entirely, and perhaps a topic for proper debate.