Organisational Change Capacity
Organisations often initiate multiple change programmes simultaneously, underestimating the cumulative burden on staff and operations. The illusion of progress from reorganising can hide confusion, inefficiency, and demoralisation, leading to setbacks in business-as-usual and project delivery.
THE IDEA
Concerning the Overall Amount of Change an Organisation Can Cope with
It's not hard to find organisations that have initiated one change programme after another over several years. Senior management may be aware, in general terms, of workload and staff well‐being risks, but can miss the fact that setbacks in delivering ‘business as usual’ or certain projects are as a result of other very well‐intentioned projects they themselves initiated. Charlton Ogburn, Jr described the risk this way:22
‘We tend … to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation’.23
This theme is discussed in the article ‘Too many projects’ by Rose Hollister and Michael D Watkins in the Harvard Business Review in Autumn 2018.24 Their recommendations include:
- Getting an inventory of all initiatives underway in an organisation;
- Asking senior leadership to agree on a realistic and collective set of priorities across the organisation;
- Recognising that stopping initiatives is not a sign that initiatives didn't matter or were a failure; instead, there will always be a limit on what can be done practically.
When to use it
Senior management is considering launching multiple strategic initiatives simultaneously; use this model to assess cumulative risk.
When evaluating project portfolio, apply this model to identify potential overload and prioritise realistically.
When staff report high stress, low morale, or declining performance, consider whether change overload may be a factor.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
The Overloaded Organisation
A company launches a digital transformation, a restructuring, and a new CRM system all at once. Employees become overwhelmed, project milestones are missed, and customer service quality drops. The illusion of progress from constant reorganisation hides the underlying confusion and demoralisation.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
What initiatives are currently underway in your organisation that might be competing for resources and attention?
How can you distinguish between productive change and the illusion of progress caused by constant reorganising?
When is it appropriate to stop a project rather than push through, and how do you communicate that decision without implying failure?
References
- Too many projects — Rose Hollister and Michael D Watkins (2018)
- Concerning the Overall Amount of Change an Organisation Can Cope with — Charlton Ogburn, Jr.
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Beyond the Five Whys Root Cause Analysis and Systems Thinking (James C. Paterson)