The missing element in change initiatives

There are several reasons why change initiatives fail, but one often overlooked factor is whether the affected population trusts that the change is permanent.

Whenever a CEO, director, manager, or supervisor announces a change initiative, employees invariably have two questions in the back of their minds:

1. Is this change here to stay, or is it just another initiative that everyone will have forgotten about in a few months?

2. Will my direct supervisor care about it?

In other words, employees ask themselves whether it's worth taking the change initiative seriously or if their time and effort would be better spent elsewhere.

To answer this, they consider two more questions:

1. What is the company's track record with change initiatives? Do they usually stick around or fizzle out?

2. Is my direct supervisor's behavior more consistent with that of someone who truly believes the change initiative is of paramount importance, or with someone who believes it doesn't matter much?

Most change initiatives fail when the answers to one or both of these questions suggest that it's not worth taking the initiative seriously.

Therefore, if you want a change initiative to be effective, you must send strong, clear, and unambiguous signals that the initiative is here to stay. Moreover, you must ensure that every single manager and supervisor also sends strong, clear, and unambiguous signals that the change initiative is permanent.

Anything less than that, and your change initiative will likely fizzle out.