Do These 4 Things To Make Lasting Change

More than 70% of organizational change efforts fail.

Don't be discouraged. Real change is possible.

Over the past 25 years I have seen hundreds of organizational change efforts. Of these efforts, the changes that were sustained over time did so because the process was grounded in the right changes in four key organizational domains:

Skills & Knowledge: This involves making sure that the right people have the right skills and information to move the change forward. In organizations we often address this through training.

Systems: Have you ever gone to a training, became really motivated to make change, came back to your organization fired up but were unable to materialize the change? Chances are you were missing something in this box. Unless the right systems are in place to support the change, the results will be minimal at best. 

Intrapersonal: When things go wrong, it is so easy to look at what is not working outside us. But the truth is that no change effort succeeds unless people are willing to adapt, form new habits ,and change their internal stories and dialogue. This is rarely addressed in change efforts. 

Interpersonal Dynamics: So, let's say that everyone has the training and is willing to make real change, and there is a plan for system changes, and yet.... things don't move forward as planned because the interpersonal gets in the way. Maybe the team members don't feel comfortable talking honestly about mistakes so learning opportunities are missed. Maybe the culture doesn't support risk taking, so nobody is trying the changes in earnest. The Intrapersonal and Interpersonal are rarely addressed because they make us uncomfortable and most of us don't have the right skills to move through these discussions comfortably and productively. Instead, we whisper about these deficits in private with our "inner circle" and pin everything on the "bad guy or girl" who is the real reason our workplace or home life isn't all rainbows and unicorns.  

When we realize that lasting change requires this wholistic approach we start to understand why the latest equity and inclusion training didn't create a more inclusive and equitable work place. It helps us understand why the last IT rollout didn't result in the projected efficiencies or why last year's culture launch is barely memorable at this point. Change requires the appropriate action in each of the four domains to be lasting and impactful. 

Lisa Stokes Nicholas and the Kavi team have been helping organizations make lasting change for the past 25 years.