Change is not a spectator sport
Change in business seems often discussed as if it’s an event you can watch from the sidelines.
Leaders throw around buzzwords, form committees and hire consultants, yet somehow expect change or transformation to happen without getting their hands dirty. Here’s the truth, real change doesn’t happen from the comfort of a boardroom or by observing from a distance. Change demands action, ownership and involvement from everyone in the organisation.
If you’re sitting back waiting for (successful) change to sweep through your business like a tidal wave, think again. Change is not something that ‘happens’ to your business. It’s something you make happen. I once heard that ‘change doesn’t happen, it gets happened’. Passive leadership is one of the key reasons change initiatives fail. Research shows that over 70% of change efforts in organisations fail to achieve their goals. Why? Because too many leaders treat change as an intellectual exercise instead of a full contact sport.
The problem with spectatorship
Spectators watch; they don’t participate. They comment from the stands but don’t step onto the pitch. In a business setting, this looks like leaders who delegate the responsibility for change to middle management or HR while failing to model the behaviours and attitudes they want to see. It looks like employees who assume someone else will drive the change or teams who nod along in meetings but resist behind closed doors.
The cost of this inaction is staggering. Poorly executed change initiatives waste time, money, energy and talent. They erode trust, kill morale and stall progress. Even worse, they breed cynicism and bad memories. People begin to believe that change efforts are just empty promises, and that’s a hard mindset to reverse.
Change requires full participation
For change to succeed, leaders need to lead it, not just oversee it. This means rolling up your sleeves, being visible and embodying the change you want to create. You can’t expect your people to adopt a new culture, embrace new systems or adjust to new priorities if you’re not doing the same.
Employees, too, must be engaged. Change is a team sport, and everyone has a role to play. Success happens when people feel empowered to contribute to the process, raise concerns and offer useful solutions. This won’t happen if leaders don’t create an environment (culture) of trust and collaboration.
The paradox of change
Here’s the paradox: change is constant, but it’s also uncomfortable. Most people resist change because it threatens their sense of stability and they fear loss. This is where leadership becomes critical, where leaders earn their money. Leaders must help people see and understand the ‘why’ behind the change. They must connect it to a compelling vision for the future and show how it benefits the organisation, the individuals within it and even the wider community.
Here's a few practical steps to help
Get involved: Be present and visible. Attend the workshops, listen to feedback, and model the new behaviours.
Communicate relentlessly: Keep the vision and the reasons for change front and centre. Answer the hard questions, develop champions and address resistance
Empower others: Involve employees at every level. Change will better and be far more likely to stick if people feel ownership of it.
Celebrate Wins: Acknowledge progress, even small victories. Momentum is built by celebrating success along the way.
Change is not easy, but it is necessary. The only way to succeed is to get off the sidelines and into the game, because change, like progress, is always a contact sport.
Article by PJ Stevens
If you want to chat about setting you, your team or your business up for successful change, or how to re-energise a project, change or programme that’s a bit stuck, then get in touch.
Photo Credit: Jason Ludlow for SailGP
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