....snip
> Yes, I am pessimistic about the future of these organizations and the
>ability
> of their managers to see what is going wrong. I have observed several of
>these
> companies collapse and disappear, in spite of being long established
>businesses
> with several hundred employees. I see many others grossly under-achieving
> because of poor management practices.
.....snip
> We can talk and talk and talk about empowerment, leadership, about
>management
> theories, about excellence, about learning organizations -- all good stuff
>,
> that I am excited about sharing with my usual clients -- but it does
>absolutely
> nothing for this segment of the business community that isn't listening.
Could it be that change is happening.........they *are* listening, but the
change is happening more slowly than we are expecting it to?
We initiated a change initiative in our company about three years ago.
Only now are we beginning to see the faint stirrings of change after hours
of training, counseling, cajoling, etc. Throughout this process our CEO
just steered the course, reiterating his vision of what we needed to
become...... ....being patient with those who "appeared" not to
change.........trusting that his course was a good one.
We're still not there. A number of managers, even a couple on the senior
management team, are still holding on to the past, but for the most part
the organization is moving toward the vision of the company we need to be.
What is becoming apparent at this point is that those who resist change
are becoming more clearly defined to others. And I suspect at some point,
they will have to be told that they must either stand with us or go find a
company that is more consistent with their values.
What I've personally learned through all this is patience. The kind of
fundamental change that is happening in business is going to take time.
I've also become convinced that these changes are not the latest fad that
will disappear in a few years. We are effecting some profound changes in
the way companies are run. The transition will take years more before
we'll really see any tangible effects.
Another valuable lesson I've learned is that if I spend the time trying to
understand where that other person is at when they resist change, I
invariably find out that they resist the change for some basic
reason....... ....they are scared (yep, they are human too).........they
see themselves as losing what they have worked years for.....
And when I realize this I'm also in the best position to help them.
--
Jim Ross
Internet: JARoss@popalex1.linknet.net
JARoss@aol.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations
For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>