Changing a Culture Is not a Quick Process

1. Change a Culture withReasonableExpectations
We all have gone ondietsinour lifetimeandsome of themare successful andothersendupas a
forgotten resolution. Changingaculture issimilartoa diet. Firstyou musthave a plan. Coldturkeyis
usually the worse strategy andmiracle solutionsjustdon’texist. The successfuldietsand culture
changesare the onestakenin small stepsandlimitexpectationsforsetperiodsof time.
Culture change will not happenquickly. The struggle you mayencounteriscompetition with
consultantswhopromise asteadfastoverall change inashorttime span. If youare not gradual inyour
change,youwill fail. Howmanyquality improvementinitiativesandprogramshave come and gone?
Most initiatives thatare too broad reachingand aggressive fail because of two reasons. Ittoocostlyto
force huge change quicklyandonly small stepstoimprove are sustainable. Initiatives thatare toolarge
inscope and possess extremely highexpectationshave traditionallyrolledoutandtake extraordinary
laborresources andcost at a highrate whichno organization canafford. Consultantpackagesthatfail
are usually tooaggressive andignore the factthatpeople needa"soak"factorto buy intothe changes.
Consultantsneedtojustifytheirresultsand invokemanagementbyobjectivesthatare not contiguous
withculture change. Theyare ona time schedule tomake revenuesandmeasureableresults quickly.
You mustmake several small changesand letthemsoakintothe workenvironmentallowing employees
to embrace the changesand see the benefits. Thisallowsmanagementto caressthe attitudesof the
workforce sothat theysee the tasksas theirs. Managementcannotforce a leanjourneythrough
presentationsandcommunications. We mustputtask initiatives inplace andworkwithemployeesto
allowtheiracceptance anddesire tosustainthese initiatives. Whenthe firstsegmentsof yourplanare
nowsustainedbythe workforce because theyownit,roll outthe nextset of initiatives. A journeyto
leantakes yearsand isan everimprovinginitiative. Educate, communicate andempowerthe
sustainmentof the program.
Leadership cannotroll outa program that istoo comprehensive,esotericand urgent. Employees,and
leaders,are creatuesof habitsandtheybelievetheircurrentmethodsand currenttasksare the most
efficientway toachieve results. Theyview change asa threatto theirskill setandintelligence inmany
cases. We mustuse theirtalentsandskillstoensure thattasksare complete andtransferredfromone
employeetothe next. People willreinforce changestoothers if the changesnecessaryandtherefore
risksare minimized. We must fosteremployee’s choicesand guide themtothe correctpath. Leaders
needtoallowthe processto mature and provide ongoingcommunication. Employeesmustembrace
the change for it to sustainandtheywill be more successful if theyare supportedbytheirpeersand
leaders. Whenchange becomesthe norm, youwill succeed.
Knowwhoyour informal leadersare. If theyare not boughtintothe processand change, itwill not
succeed. Once those employeestake ownershipof the changestheywill reiteratethe needtoothers
withoutmanagementintervention. Forcedoverall change withoutthe organization’sownershipwill not
sustain. The organizationmustownthe culture andmanagementmustbe perceivedassupportersand
“roadblockremovers”. Anecdotally,Ican speakof corporationsthatstruggledtocreate common sense
culture changesbecause leadersjustrammedtheir philosophy intothe organization. The lackof “buy

2. in” bythe general populationleftthe organizationwithalackof ownership. Change agentsare
empowermentdriversandtheyprovide the cheerleadingforthe organizationtochange. Dictatorsdo
not sustainchange byintimidation butcreate an“us versusthem”environment. Youmustunderstand
that yourpeople wanttobe the bestand complete the bestjobpossible. Empowerthemtochange but
give thema reasonable amountof time toownthe culture.
Finally,youmustrewardsmall successes. The rewardsdonothave to be huge normonetary. A simple
rewardsprogramthat stimulatescontinual improvementwill revive personnel aftertheyhave taken
extensive effortstoimprove the organization.Allowyourgroupstomake mistakes anddonot jumpin
on everyerrorand redirect. If youcontinuallycorrectyourworkforce,itwill become yourprogramand
not theirs. Youmustthinkabout the lessonsinlife thatwe reallyrememberandthose thatwe made
errorswithintendtobe the oneswe remember. Yourworkforce willappreciatethe factthat you
allowedthemtocorrect theirownmistakesandwill assure youthroughfuture actionsthattheywill not
repeatthem. Embrace your organizationandappreciate all the effortstheytake toimprove the
company. Provide avision,astrategicplanand thencheerleadthe organizationforward.