BlogInsightsWhen companies lose the will to change

When companies lose the will to change

May 2, 2021
Insights
2 min read

Photo by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash

You’ve heard this story before. A business wants to evolve, but they are dragging along a laggard community of intransigent employees and management; many “part of the woodwork” with outdated and unverified opinions on the market.

So, what does the company do?

They will usually bring some new blood into the leadership team first. That person will try to promote rising stars who have the ability to change and maybe even bring in some outside talent with fresh ideas.

What happens next?

Usually one of two things:

  • The company doesn’t understand the changes being made, or is too impatient to see them through and there is increasing political pressure applied from the myopic old guard to keep doing what they’re doing

  • Fear of losing control, associated with the narcissism of poor leadership, arises within the legacy management team and they take back control. They push out inspiring people who encouraged positive change and feel a brief moment of satisfaction for being proved right (in their eyes)

A person holds up their hand towards the camera, palm open and fingers spread, obscuring their face. The background appears to be a blurred urban setting with out-of-focus buildings.

Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

Either way, the outcome is the same. Growth and modernisation halts dead in their tracks. The would-be inspiring stars of tomorrow’s organisation become disgruntled and leave in a chain reaction that impacts staff, then customers and eventually revenue. Malaise prospers amongst the few survivors within the business and eventually investors lose the last of their confidence.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it doesn’t always have to be that way.

Occasionally a third outcome happens:

  • The management team put their fears and vanity aside, placing trust in the people propelling them forward into the unknown. Some risks are taken and new markets or lines of revenue are explored with explicit content, patience and optimism.

A white fabric sign hangs in a store window with the text "Yes, We're Open" and five stars below it. The background shows blurred silhouettes of people and lights.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

 

Sure, there will be some failures along the way. Success may sometimes be seen in gradual phases, but a fresh approach with unmet customers and new revenue opportunities becomes clear and visible on the horizon.

Perhaps you recognise some of these outcomes, or maybe you can see them happening right now. You might even want to avoid the negative ones in the future.

Either way, I would love to discuss and perhaps even help your organisation avoid these pitfalls in the future. Get in touch with me through Fractional Teams and let’s start some positive change.

Hi! I'm Tim Meredith, CEO at Fractional Teams. I write about the latest industry insights and give advice on Unified Comms development and growth.

You may also like

Contact Us