Top 3 Change Management Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about change and change management that, unfortunately, limit the extent to which change success can be achieved. These misconceptions often become mantras or simple assumptions about how change works, leading to an overall resistance to putting in the effort required to manage change effectively.

What is Change Management?

Change management is a systematic approach for accelerating sustainable business results by focusing on the people side of change— it is the application of specific skills and processes to help individuals adapt to change, so that the organization can achieve the intended objectives and benefits of a change. Importantly, it is a practice in which the contributions of staff and leaders to an organization’s success are acknowledged and honoured.

Simply put, you can create new rules, write down new processes and build new technology, but those tactics won’t lead to outcomes like improved efficiency, cost savings or increased revenue until the people within the organization pick up the change and integrate it effectively and proficiently into their regular work duties.

Change management is the discipline that ensures people do their part to make organizational changes a success.

Top 3 Misconceptions About Change Management

1: Everyone hates change

Of course, not everyone hates change! We experience positive changes all the time: we get promoted at work, we get married and have children, our company finally gets rid of a process that has frustrated us for years...and the list goes on.

When people do hate change, what they hate is being forced into a change they have no control over, don’t understand, and don’t see value in. When someone feels pressured to adopt an unwanted change, understandably, they show resistance such as anger and avoidance.

When leaders believe that everyone hates change all the time, this belief sets them on a self-fulfilling path of limiting the proactive energy they put into leading change, which results in under-managed change and a less positive change experience for everyone.

Tip: Acknowledge that resistance, when it arises, is a natural reaction to change that needs to be managed. Put effort into clearly articulating the value of the change and use strategies that will attract people to the change and motivate them to choose to be part of it.

2: You don’t need change management if no one is resisting

Change management is not only about dealing with resistance to change. Some changes are simple and straightforward, but if people don’t know about them, they can’t adopt them. It is detrimental to believe that if everyone is happy about a change, there is no need for change management.

It is even more detrimental to believe everyone is happy about a change simply because they are not expressing dissatisfaction or concern. In change management, as in many aspects of life, silence does not mean consent. There are many factors that can limit people’s willingness to express their concerns and fears about a change in the workplace: they may not want to speak up in a large group, they may not trust their leaders, they may fear reprisal if they voice their opinion, they may not know how to express their concerns, and so on.

Tip: To ensure changes are effective, invest in providing people with good information, setting clear expectations, and supporting them in learning how to do things differently, regardless of whether resistance is shown. Avoid the trap of under-managing change simply because it looks like it will be easy.

3: Fast project delivery leads to fast change

When organizations implement changes, they do so to achieve an outcome that they cannot achieve by doing things the way they do them today. Simply launching a change is not enough to achieve those outcomes. True organizational change only occurs when the desired benefits, such as increased operational efficiency, cost savings or increased revenue, have been realized.

Many organizational change initiatives face pressure to launch on tight timelines. With the understandable need to carefully manage costs and show results as early as possible, organizations can become preoccupied with project completion and launch dates.

However, when we erroneously equate implementing fast with changing fast, we risk sacrificing the outcomes that the initiative was intended to achieve.

To illustrate this point, if an organization launches a change without their workforce being ready and it takes years before the change is sufficiently adopted to result in the desired outcomes, then we can argue that change was in fact incredibly slow to achieve. If the same organization makes sure that its people are ready for the change and can leverage it successfully from the first day the change is launched, they are far more likely to see rapid realization of benefits.

Tip: Invest in change management and good change leadership achieve results faster and save time in the long run!

The Take Away

For decades, organizations have reaped the benefits of focusing on change management and excellence in change leadership. Change is not optional in today’s environment, so consider your views of change and change management to ensure they are not limiting your impact and your ability to positively affect change success.

About the Author: Leanne Douglas

Leanne Douglas MA, CCMP, Prosci, is a change management and transformation expert with extensive experience in assessing organizational effectiveness and assisting organizations to identify opportunities for improving the effectiveness of their operations, staff training, and client services.

Leanne will be teaching the course: Mastering Change Management in the Workplace at Winnipeg PACE on May  17 & 18, 2023.

The short, 2-day course explores why change management is fast becoming a standard business practice, and a basic workplace competency. Students will learn how to help their organization achieve the results it needs by adding change management to theirtoolkit.

Participants earn a digital badge for completing the course and can stack it with two complementary courses to earn the Mastering The Future of Workplace Management Microcredential.