Change or Chance (part 9) Sustain Acceleration

To date:

You’ve created a sense of urgency.

You’ve built a guiding coalition (GC). 

You’ve formed a strategic vision (SV)

You’ve evolved a hybrid organisational structure with your hierarchy now running alongside a creative network (CN).  

You’ve recruited your enthusiastic and creative Volunteer Army (VA).

You’ve enabled action by removing barriers.

Your GC/CN/VA has organically structured for continuous innovation, and has produced solutions to the shared vision, and the change process is underway. 

You’re communicating for buy-in with stakeholders.

You’re generating and celebrating short-term wins – so your people’s Thrive continues to be activated and balances their Survive, and tangible and progressive results are evident.

What next?

Well, it’s easy to start to relax, ease off on the accelerator pedal and declare “we’ve done it” (and many organisations involved with a change or transformation program do just that).  

This is likely to be a fatal blow to your program.  

It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint

If you intend to complete a marathon, you don’t stop at mile 22.  

There are more mile posts you need to pass before you finally cross the finish line.

You MUST keep the momentum behind your change program, otherwise the balance of probability is that it’ll simply fade in to yet another failed initiative.  

The successes that you’ve been celebrating will go a long way to maintaining and even building that momentum.

There’s still plenty to do.  

There’ll be obstacles that pop up, processes that need updating, stakeholders to talk to (and from whom to gain vital feedback).  

There’ll be development programs for your people, and these present a huge opportunity to involve them further in the process.  

Act upon their invaluable feedback, further increasing their ownership of their program.

There’ll always be resisters and nay-sayers (perhaps some very influential) who will yet need to be persuaded of the value of the change – “what’s in it for me?” – “what’s wrong with what we’ve been doing?”.  

These need to be carefully and sensitively managed throughout.

You must communicate the metrics of success (or otherwise) on a totally transparent basis, so that your people can share in the excitement of success or contribute to the resolution of issues.

Remember, this is an organisational-wide leadership process.

You’ll also need to ensure your team’s own energy levels are optimal, and they’re not suffering from program-fatigue.

There’ll be more milestones to focus your people upon, and never let them (or you) lose sight of the Big Opportunity that still needs to be achieved.  

You’re very near the finishing line.

Maintain the critical momentum and be fully engaged with acceleration all the way to it.

In part 10 we’ll look at the critical importance of “instituting change” to finally take you over the line.