Pan-Sector Panacea

The more I get involved in transforming diverse organisations - from NHS Trusts to RAF Stations and from Manufacturing Companies to Housing Associations - the more I realise that every sector faces the same problems when it comes to leading and sustaining change.

With so many organisations failing to achieve sustainable results (in our survey 87% and in one undertaken by Henley Management College >75%) I am surprised that not more organisations want to find out why their change programme is more likely to fail than to succeed.

Across all the diverse sectors we work in, the one universal truth is that transformational change is only possible when the organisation is ready for it and when it has some infrastructure (and I mean internal people and systems to sustain change and keep it going) to support it.

Interestingly, the issues faced in every sector is the same - and the broader my experience becomes the more I believe this to be true. Maybe the language is different and the prevailing management culture is different (think of the difference between the Command and Control structure of the RAF and the inclusive management style of the NHS), which creates slight differences in the responses seen by organisations, but the underlying issues are the same.

I have seen organisations which have pushed forward change so rapidly it has created long-term health issues for the business, and others which have gone so slow that the initiative has drowned in its own inertia. I have also seen organisations who have led rapid change in a sustainable manner by utilising internal talents, addressing underlying concerns and through constant communication - the same problem approached in a different way generating different results.

That is our approach in summary - using different approaches to solve common problems and generating different results. I would be delighted to discuss the top four causes of organisational change failure with you - just send me a message or indeed look to attend one of our regular masterclasses where we share these insights with a broad range of organisations.