We are all familiar with this phenomenon of endless changes in organizations. As a concept, change is fine and shows signs of an organization adapting to its changing environment. Except, the kind of changes I’m referring to are mostly changes to the structures, or more appropriately, to the organizational chart. Some organizations have this boundless faith in the powers of structural change to bring about magical changes in the organization that before the dust has settled on the last round of musical chairs, another round of organizational chart changes has already begun.

In my consulting career, I’ve seen organizations tinker so often with their structures that it’s not uncommon to see them go back to where they left off five years ago. Every ‘big idea’ for change usually comes with a proclamation from leaders about how wonderful the future will be, and yet they end up pretty much the same! The staff have already seen this ritual year after year, and the ‘survivors’ among them have learned to live with it, and the rest live from one day of uncertainty to the next.

There is another type of organization where structures are not the focus, but systems and procedures are continually changing, at a rate where no one is sure what the current regime is. Manuals and procedures are mass-produced with such regularity that the managers charged with making them operational spend most of their working lives trying to figure out what the latest commandments are. Everyone in the organization complains about heavy bureaucracy and the “bureaucracy” that results from lots of overlapping manuals and procedures. However, with every new situation or challenge the organization faces, the default is to go to the print room and present another set of guidelines and procedures, hoping against hope that a solution will emerge from some of those pages. And everyone will live happily ever after.

Unfortunately, the ‘ever after’ moment never comes, and leaders complain about staff’s inability to adapt, and staff walk like lost zombies in the labyrinths of the organization.

A critical element missing from most change processes is a lack of focus on culture and style—corporate culture, shared values, work ethic, and leadership styles.

Let me share with you an example, which is not uncommon in many organizations:

A few years ago, I was involved in helping a large international humanitarian organization implement a systematic performance management system. We consulted extensively at all levels of the organization and introduced something that was developed through months of iterative exercises. This was accepted by all managers and senior leaders in the organization. Over a six-month period, a detailed implementation strategy was put in place that included briefings and training for all managers and staff. The system was as good as it could get, and the commitment, we felt, from the organization was clearly there to use it to bring about fundamental changes in the ways of staff development and performance management.

A few months ago, I was back at this organization to help with a review of their humanitarian work. This gave me the opportunity to see for myself how the staff appraisal system actually worked in practice after three years of its introduction.

The paper system, forms, guidelines, and instructions are up to date and couldn’t be better. However, in actual use, things were different: although managers were trained, it’s not built into manager development, and many managers don’t think (staff appraisal) is really important and may be actively discouraged by it. more senior managers to use it as this was not appreciated by management.

This, added to the fact that the performance evaluation was not linked to any managerial decision-making process (training, promotion, sanction), influences the collective belief about its (ir)relevance. Staff and managers are now involved in a game of go-ahead of conducting assessments that are now reduced to the task of filling out forms once a year.

The work ethic, the collective beliefs and the values ​​demonstrated by the management did not finish nurturing the evaluation system in the organization.

Three important things to remember in any organizational change process:

1. More often than not, leadership is preoccupied with changing structures or systems (procedures, policies, etc.) and ignores a key element in organizational systems: the culture that embodies and reflects the values, beliefs, and work ethic within the organization. the organization.

2. Leaders need to live organizational values ​​by bringing to life and demonstrating what they value most in their daily work.

3. Good leaders know that structures and systems can only get you so far, but if culture issues aren’t addressed, business practices don’t change.