- Here's another thing
that can cause a digital transformation to derail,
misjudging the organizational capacity
and appetite for change.
As I've said earlier,
digital transformation requires a lot more than technology.
It's a fundamental cultural change for an organization.
And what makes up the organization's culture?
A very big part of that is people.
Getting people to think about things in a different way
is not as simple as some leader making a pronouncement
at an all-hands meeting.
It's a lot messier than that.
People don't change
unless there's a motivation for them to do so.
And if your people aren't willing to make the transition,
the transition will not succeed.
I'm not saying this is impossible by the way.
I've seen substantial successful transitions in business,
but they did not succeed without taking the time and effort
to make sure that employees understood the change,
understood what was expected of them,
what the results would be,
and most importantly,
how it was going to affect them personally.
So, do your transition management due diligence.
Start communicating early.
Be transparent.
Listen to people's feedback and respond honestly.
Keep the regular communication flowing
throughout the transition.
Let people know where they can get help if they need it,
training or other information.
And be prepared for the inevitable dip in productivity
as people get used to the new way of doing things.
You can't completely prevent this,
but the goal of transition management
is to make the dip shallower and shorter.
Another factor to think about by the way,
how many other things in your organization
are changing at the same time?
People only have so much tolerance for churn.
If there are too many things happening at once,
it may be beyond peoples' abilities to cope.
My suggestion is that you do
an organizational readiness analysis
before you commit to making any changes.
If you find that you're risking overload,
maybe something needs to give.
Is there work that can be differed?
Can big changes be broken down into more manageable pieces?
Once again, you won't know unless you check.
If you want more information about change
and transition management,
there are some great courses in the library online.
Check out Change Management Foundations
and Leading Projects as a couple of good resources.