ILTA’s 2024 Catalyst Conference focused on leading change. We live in a world of near-constant change yet most organizational change initiatives fail. Why aren’t we better at this?
(This is Part 1 of a series catalyzed by ILTA’s Catalyst Conference.)
ILTA’s Catalyst Conference
Last week I had the great pleasure of attending and speaking at ILTA’s Catalyst Conference. The conference gathered women in New York, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco for a rich day of conversation and provocation on how to lead change effectively. The structure of the conference enabled conversation across the miles: attendees met in person in the offices of Vinson & Elkins LLP, which were linked by Zoom. So everyone could hear the presentations in New York and Dallas and could participate in the Q&A sessions.
Over my next few posts, I want to unpack some of the nuggets shared at the conference and provide additional resources to my readers who are currently leading through change.
Failing at Change
First, let’s start with a shocking fact: MOST CHANGE INITIATIVES FAIL. And that has been our reality for a long time.
You don’t believe me? Consider the following:
- Harvard Business Review in 2000: “The brutal fact is that about 70% of all change initiatives fail.”
- Gallup in 2013: “The more things change, the more they stay the same — because more than 70% of change initiatives fail.”
- McKinsey in 2015: “70 percent of change programs fail to achieve their goals, largely due to employee resistance and lack of management support.”
- Neuroleadership Institute in 2023: “why do 50% to 70% of organizational change initiatives fail, even when they’re a top priority?”
What’s Really Going On?
Let’s start by saying that I’m slightly suspicious of the fact that everyone seems drawn to the same 70% number. Nonetheless, the fact that recent surveys report comparably depressing results suggests that we have not understood the human experience of change well enough to plan for and achieve it better.
What does this say about our organizations and their leadership that they are so resistant to learning from failure? And what does it say about change management approaches currently in use?
Shortly after the Catalyst conference, I had a thought-provoking conversation with a senior leader in another industry who said out loud the part that several believe but few are willing to say: “Here’s the dirty secret about change management: Often it is simply a way to slow walk a mandate from senior executives.”
Ouch! Is that leader right? What’s your experience?
Related Reading:
[Photo Credit: Ross Findon]
Above and Beyond KM 