Change: from Fear to Hope

Change leadership skills can be learned.

This article was written in April 2008, as JPMorgan Chase was proceeding with its acquisition of Bear Stearns in a hastily arranged buyout of the failing investment bank rival. Delta and Northwest had announced plans to merge, creating the world’s largest airline. Bear Stearns’ 14,000 employees worldwide await news of their future. More than 100,000 workers combined at JPMorgan, Delta and Northwest are surely wondering how their jobs might be affected.

Other companies will initiate changes that may or may not make headlines. And thousands more employees will face revised job responsibilities, a new boss or a layoff. Research indicates less than 30% of corporate change initiatives succeed. One primary reason is leaders mismanage the human side. Many leaders believe that if structural, financial or technical changes are implemented well, people will fall in step with the new order. But change only succeeds if people move successfully through three stages of psychological adjustment.

First, people must let go of old realities, embracing that there’s no going back to old ways. Only then can individuals move to the second phase: a scary, unsettled place dubbed the “neutral zone”. During this critical stage, each person must overcome anxieties and fear and prepare to move in a new direction. Finally, the process is completed when the individual arrives at a new beginning with renewed energy, purpose and identity.

A change event – such as a layoff announcement – is situational, outcome-focused and relatively quick. The three-stage transition to a new normal extends over a longer time period. People need time to cope with loss of the familiar. It takes time to adjust to new relationships, behaviors and places. The process is uncomfortable and downright painful if mismanaged.

Fortunately, the change and transition experience is both predictable and manageable. Leaders can prepare for, understand and do the right things at the right times. They can successfully navigate through their own psychological stages even as they skillfully assist others through the transition. Change leadership skills can be learned.

Sadly, many organizations falter because leaders are human too. A natural human reaction is to withdraw emotionally. Another typical mistake happens when leaders dismiss others’ emotional distress. The opposite response is needed during organization-wide upheaval – or when one new team member comes on board. Leaders bring hope by reaching out, acknowledging natural human anxieties, and responding in ways that help people transition to higher potential.

More about this topic: Read a one-page summary of Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail, by John P. Kotter. The full article was first published in the March-April 1995 issue of Harvard Business Review, then republished in January 2007 as an HBR Classic. The online summary captures key actions to take and pitfalls to avoid from an organizational perspective.