Why? The unanswered question.

Many senior leaders spend serious time developing strategies and plans for their organizations. Sometimes they immerse themselves in a “strategic retreat.” Sometimes they bring in hotshot consulting firms to help them. Sometimes they “burn the midnight oil.” And sometimes, unfortunately, they see what’s working in an allied industry and simply copy (“benchmark”) what they see.

And these processes usually consume significant time. It could be weeks or, more often, months that have been dedicated to thinking about the plan. So, by the time they announce the next big thing, they have a deep understanding of what they want to accomplish.

And then they announce the strategy/initiative/transformation to the organization. A “task force” or “tiger teams” are identified and charged with implementation.

However ….

They sometimes assume that everyone in the organization knows why they are doing what they are doing. And when everyday workers are expected to implement a myriad of changes they often balk. They want to know “Why are we doing this?” This question is in their minds, even if it’s not stated out loud.

Unfortunately, the questioning is sometimes seen as resistance to change.

My experience is that workers rarely resist change – they resist “being changed.” They want to know “Why” first.

Suggestion

Spend time educating the workforce as to why a new strategy is needed. They’re smarter than you think. But they can be stubborn.

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These and other topics will be explained and explored in our upcoming hybrid course. Please click HERE if you’d like to receive information about the upcoming course.

Next week: Lifecycles are destiny.

Cheers,

Bill