Change Theater?

How did you experience the last change process in your company? Was there an urgent call for dramatic change and disruption? Probably such a process and the call for urgency are ongoing—for years already. You are not alone. This is a standard way to go in almost any corporation. And it is often more theater than a real solution to real problems.

I am familiar with these situations from many transformation projects. Employees can smell false urgency a mile away, even with just a hint of it in the air. And they know what that usually means: a lot of fuss, extra work and reporting obligations, and absolutely no progress.

A middle manager at a large pharmaceutical company once told me during a project aimed at developing innovations: "Mr. Weinreich, we're not working here. We're going through a change process." You couldn't put it more succinctly.

Where does this focus on urgency and disruption come from? Of course, Kotter's 8-step theory of change still plays a role, with 'create a sense of urgency' being the first step. Lewin's 'unfreeze' phase also calls for destabilization of the status quo. The pop-cultural triumph of the term 'disruption' has elevated constant destabilization to a status that gives young business leaders in particular a cool revolutionary image.

But there is another, very personal aspect. It also explains why older, experienced managers are sometimes able to resist this temptation. In his article "Disruption Doesn’t Drive Innovation — Safety Does" on Medium, Greg Satell describes how Lou Gerstner (IBM) and Paul O’Neill (Alcoa) focused primarily on a commitment to safety for their employees during times of crisis, and that it enabled people to embrace change. The value of this sense of psychological safety is also well documented by the research of Amy Edmondson.

I have worked for institutions in the medical sector for a long time. Sensitive areas are always the physician-patient interaction on the one hand and the legal responsibility for medical measures on the other. In this area of tension, I have very rarely encountered older, experienced physicians who have told their patients, with good reason, that the most sensible thing to do would be to do nothing at this point.

This contradicts the expectations of patients and the sense of security of physicians. Only by doing something, by prescribing something, can you fulfill your responsibility as a clinician, it seems. But, in some cases, this is definitely not the case. It takes mental strength to endure such a situation. Younger colleagues are often overwhelmed by this.

The same game often takes place in transformation processes at the top of large companies. Managers—especially newly appointed ones—have to show that they are making an impact. This includes visibility. It includes initiating measures. It includes causing a buzz.

Unfortunately, here too, it takes a great deal of resilience and mental strength to resist this change theater. And this in a situation where these people are very visible and very vulnerable.

Of course, those who are most successful in this are those who can act in the knowledge that they have nothing left to lose or those who, thanks to their lifetime achievements, have a solid justification for deviating from expectations.

For people in the middle of their careers, it is extremely helpful to build up a personal network of supporters who can provide the necessary backing, and to develop the personal strength and vision required through coaching. Of course, a coach should be more empowerment-oriented than supportive of traditional change theater.

There are ways to achieve better transformation management, where security and stability lay the foundation for joint and empowered development. However, shaping this path is a massive psychological challenge. Unfortunately, organizational theories and expectations of the environment fuel opposing tendencies.

Leading people has never been easy. In difficult times, it can feel like dancing on a volcano. I can only repeat what I have already said: find a supportive network and make use of the power of coaching. If you find someone you trust who can help you develop the necessary insights, strengths, and resilience, you will become a much better leader in a foreseeable amount of time.

If this article resonates with you, you can also see how my team and I can help you.