CultureStrategyFit

culturechangeplanning

Crafting the path for culture change

Research continues to restate the same dilemma that leaders face: how to make sustained change happen. In March and April 2008 the Economist Intelligence Unit conducted an online survey and interviewed 600 global leaders about change and business transformation. 58% of the respondents said that over the past five years, half or fewer of their change initiatives have been successful. For the U.S., the participant experience was worse with 75% stating that half or fewer of their change initiatives have been successful. The most frequently cited barrier was winning over the hearts and minds of employees at all levels (51%). Management buy-in (31%) and cultural issues (27%) were featured as major barriers. However, culture was clearly identified as a factor that significantly complicated these barriers to change.

Complex change initiatives are challenging and risky. To achieve and sustain change, culture needs to be an integral part of change planning. Whether the focus is ramping up the product pipeline, transforming the supply chain, improving global account management, introducing new business models, driving out cost or other strategic initiatives, the levers for shaping the culture to support the initiative need to be known and new practices and behaviors introduced to sustain the change.

We can help you establish practical culture change plans using our three phase process:

Discover Phase

Focus Phase

Live it! Phase

5 Success Factors

Whether your organization is small or large, non-profit or for profit, five success factors need to be built into your culture change plans. Recent research indicates that only 50% of the outcomes of high magnitude change are achieved through establishing a shared framework (of vision, goals, strategies and aspired to culture) plus engaging leaders in creating culture change plans. The remaining 50% needs to be captured through approaches that are different from operational planning, This includes using leader behavior for an amplifying effect. We can be engaged to support large scale initiatives as expert advisors, as facilitators or as shadow coaches to CEO's and OD departments.

"Maintaining a culture is like raising a teenager...I'm thinking in terms of the constant attention and sense of urgency...You're constantly checking in. "What are you doing? Where are you going? Who are you hanging out with." Ray Davis, Umpqua Bank