Commitment To Change

Commitment to Change

By Victor S.L. Tan

Recently, during a discussion, I asked a group of CEOs what were the greatest challenges to implementing change that they faced within their respective organization. One would have expected to get as many different answers as there were CEOs in the audience, and certainly it seemed that the challenges faced by each of these CEOs were very different, as each one expressed a unique perception of problems in their organization. However, on deeper analysis, I found a common thread running through these different issues. That commonality can be summed up in one short sentence: the challenge of change is how to actually make it happen.

There continues to be a wide gap in Asian organizations between promising change and delivering it. CEOs and leaders have not been able to win their people’s commitment to change. It is time for them to step out of their ivory towers and enlist grassroots support for change.

In KLSCC’s research on companies that have implemented successful change, we have noticed six components critical to winning commitment.

AWARENESS. The first step towards building commitment to change is to create awareness of the impending change. This involves a lot of communication, without which people will form conclusions about and prejudices to change when they hear about it through the grapevine.

AGREEMENT. Getting people to agree in essence requires a rational approach that appeals to people’s minds more than their hearts. Objectivity and impartiality will win more points at this stage than will an emotional approach.

ACCEPTANCE. There is a vast difference between agreement and acceptance. The human mind works in such a way that one may agree with an argument based on logic and reasoning, and yet reject in on emotional grounds. Getting acceptance for change requires appealing to the heart and emotions by addressing employees’ personal concerns.

ACTION. One test of people’s commitment to change is the action they take. Encouraging action requires motivating people, and not necessarily using monetary rewards. More often, a better motivator is the existence of a safe environment for people to try out new ideas and come up with innovative ways of doing things. Leaders can spur action by standing by their team during the trials and tribulations faced in the process of change, by refraining from giving out undue punishment or blame for mistakes, leaders can encourage people to be bold enough to take action towards change.

ACCOUNTABILITY. This step is all about owning up to responsibilities and being answerable for what happened and what did not happen. The degree of people’s commitment to change can be gauged by their willingness to accept accountability for change programmes, actions or tasks. It can be said that one cannot manage what one cannot measure. Starting out with very specific roles, responsibilities and performance measures is a good way to begin developing accountability in staff. This can be reinforced through periodic progress reviews, where team leaders have to report on the status, implications and result of the change.

ASSIMILATION. In this last stage, the thinking, feeling and actions of the people involved in change are synchronized to bring about the desired change.Assimilation is a complex process; it involves the entire intellectual, social, emotional and psychological change required within the organization to achieve the desired results. It is fundamental change in that, once the organization has been “stretched”, it will not go back to its original form again.This is just like the knowledge assimilated in learning to walk, to swim, to speak or to multiply: once it is mastered, it will never again elude the learner.


The writer is the chief executive officer Of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. For details on consulting and training programmes, contact Jane at 012-2685212 or e-mail: janebee@klscc.com or visit www.klscc.com

Source: New Straits Times, Saturday, January 12, 2008

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