Leading Change: Top Ten Missteps
Over my 27 years of consulting, I have witnessed several leadership behaviors that have ensured the failure of change efforts. The following mistakes will certainly derail your organizational change:
- Disregard your company culture entirely and mandate change.
- Delegate responsibility for the change to the Human Resources department.
- Hire consultants and make them accountable for the success of the change efforts.
- Engage consultants to assist you and ignore any advice that they offer.
- Allow the grapevine to serve as the primary vehicle for communications.
- Measure progress by assuming that no news is good news
- Allow your favorite employees to do things the old way if it suits them better.
- Send mixed messages about your support for the change by dragging your feet or engaging in inconsistent actions.
- Ask for input from the employees and then ignore it.
- Position the change as a program rather than a process.
For more colorful illustrations of leaders who have made these mistakes read our article, Getting Ready to Get Ready for Change. Other resources : Change Initiative Tool Kit; Leading Change.
Posted by Kathy Miller at 12/1/2006 5:23 PM 
Categories: Change Management, Performance Management, Leadership
Categories: Change Management, Performance Management, Leadership
An excellent list. I think that #9 happens a great deal particularly when a team does not deliver the answer the manager wants.
Reply to this
I agree with you Bob. Believe it or not, one of our clients told us that his definition of empowerment was to manipulate employees so that they come up with the answers that the manager wanted all along.
Reply to this
I noticed that you mention organizational design on your blog and thought you might be interested to hear that Russ' Ackoff's latest book, Management f-Laws (http://triarchypress.co.uk/pages/book3.htm) is published this month. It's easy to read and accessible - setting out the uncomfortable truths about how organizations really work, what's wrong with the way we design and manage businesses, what makes managers tick, and how we can make things work better.
If you'd like to mention Management f-Laws in your blog, we'd be delighted to grant your readers a 10% discount. Readers simply enter triarchy-ten in the promotional code field on the order form to get the discount.
Best wishes
Caroline Milner
Triarchy Press
Reply to this
Have you ever thought of adding some videos to this blog to keep the readers entertained?
Reply to this
a nicely typed piece of information, am thankful for your notes.
Reply to this