Better Leading Change to Avoid Failure

Considering all the energy that goes into planning and attempting to execute major change initiatives, it is very unwelcome, and perhaps alarming, news to learn that most fail.

Based upon our leadership training program assessments, there are two main measures of failure: one was simply that the desired results were not achieved and the other was that, if they were accomplished, the project came in well past the intended completion date.

Something is going terribly wrong. It cannot be just a matter of poorly conceived plans. Some of the responsibility must rest on the shoulders of leadership. Leaders are, after all, accountable for execution. Somewhere between plan conception and project completion, there is a lack of communication, lack of focus or lack of resources.

As a leader, take a good long look at how you communicate, how you mobilize the troops, and how you can afford to support the change from beginning to end before you embark on the project journey.