Change Management
Navigating the people aspect of change journeys
Our Perspective
Why change initiatives fail?
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How can apathy and inertia be remedied?The redefining of traditional work norms and expectations is causing people to evaluate their work life. If their purpose at work is not compelling, they lose motivation, productivity drops and they are likely to walk out the door. Organisations must know their purpose and what they stand for. They must then have the culture and leadership to follow through, starting at the top. The leaders will set the tone and will need the competencies to draw out the “whys” of their people to create alignment and engagement. This requires trusted and relationally competent leaders. Learn more about how leaders can build trust to find alignment in this masterclass: The Emergent Leadership Imperative.
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How can leaders spark and sustain innovation for growth?To survive and grow, organisations need to innovate continuously. For many, this requires a culture renovation. Culture needs to enable out-of-the-box thinking and application. It should empower everyone in the organisation to contribute their thoughts and ideas. For this to happen, there needs to be trust. With trust embedded in the culture, employees are emotionally safe and have the autonomy to own their innovative thinking and pursue ideas that challenge the status quo. Ignite Innovation for Business Survival and Growth [E-Book] Commissioned by DesignSingapore Council, we studied the cultures of leading organisations in Singapore and uncovered how they have cultivated an innovative Design-Led Culture. The insights from the year-long qualitative study are distilled into 22 principles to help businesses flourish as they evolve and design cutting-edge relevant products and solutions. Download the playbook here.
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How can engagement and a sense of belonging be nurtured in a digital workforce?In Singapore, EngageRocket reports that engagement levels dropped 14% in 2021. Mass resignation is happening. The main reasons: they don’t feel valued by their organisation and managers, and they don’t feel a sense of belonging (McKinsey, 2021). A more human and relational leadership is what the people and culture needs. Click here to learn more about Relational Leadership: The Emergent Leadership Imperative here. Technology is a great enabler and can be used to foster engagement, connection and culture alignment. Click here to learn more about how ROHEI helps organisations build engagement through technology.
Change is often a response to internal and external factors. The external drivers include political developments, social issues, technological advancements, and shifts in the economy. Developments within the organisation can include changes in the company’s management policies or approach, internal systems, procedures, or even employee behaviors and attitudes.
Transformation efforts face three major obstacles, as identified by a PWC study on Strategy and Culture’s Role in Enabling Organizational Change:
48% of respondents say their companies do not have the necessary capabilities to deliver and sustain the change. Quy Huy, Professor of Strategic Management at INSEAD identified that failures in strategy execution is often due leaders lacking emotional literacy to achieve employee alignment and overcome resistance.
Failures in strategy execution is often due leaders lacking emotional literacy.
Employees who are more resilient are better able to manage the discomfort of the changes
Supporting their staff in times of change also involves being able to understand their subtle nonverbal cues in order to address underlying issues.
Managers are lacking the relational skills such as being able to listen empathically which is necessary in order to develop an emotional engagement with their staff so that they can coach them through the necessary changes.
Senior managers have a tendency to exclude lower-level employees in the selection, planning and implementation of change initiatives.
This lack of engagement limits understanding and buy-in. 44% of surveyed respondents say they don’t understand the change they are asked to make and 38% say they don’t agree with it.
nagement may not possess the relational skills to be perceptive of the thoughts and emotions of the various stakeholders. This may cause them to be less likely to have the credibility to lead the change.
Not having the relational skill makes it challenging for the leaders to:
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Understand the concerns on the ground
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Respond in an appropriate way to solve problems
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Create the buy-in necessary to drive change
Change fatigue is a general sense of apathy or resignation towards organisational change.
It often occurs when employees are being asked to follow through on too many changes at once. 65% of survey respondents say they have experienced this.
One of the contributing factors that cause change fatigue is the lack of personal resilience. Employees who are more resilient are better able to manage the discomfort of the changes. This allows them to remain productive instead of being overwhelmed by change fatigue and paralysed into inaction.