Perspectives on Change

Why is change so hard?

Listen to these stake holders to better understand common perspectives on organizational change.

Senior Leadership view of change: “This is a real game-changer. We’ve been discussing it from every angle for months and are ready to share with the staff! We've mentioned this to managers a few times, so they should be all set. Send out an all-staff bulletin that gets everyone excited about this. Our managers can take the ball from there and implement."

Middle Management/High Performer view of change: “Well the rumors were true. Here comes another change the leadership is making – idea of the week. I don’t see how this can work. It can’t be very well thought out since they didn’t even consult us. Why did they make us leaders if our opinions don’t matter? Our plates are full. Our teams have change fatigue. Our customers are already disgruntled. Great, more late nights for me!”

Front-line talent view of change: "I’m all for change if it moves us forward, but not change for the sake of change. How does this fit with everything else we are doing? How long do we have to learn the new ____________? How will we be trained? Will this impact my job, even eliminate it? Why don’t they ever ask US, the people who are doing the job/talking to our customers? My manager doesn’t have a clue about this – that’s not a good sign. What happened to the last new idea? That hasn’t even gotten off the ground and we’re doing something else. Maybe this company is not the right place for me. I want to work somewhere I can make a difference.”

Customer view of change: “Another new _________ I don't understand! Do they think about the customer when they make these changes? These customer service people don’t have answers to any of my questions! They don’t like the new ____________ either! My friend loves her ____________. Maybe I should try them out."