In my last post, I shared three of the lenses I use to observe the patterns (mindset and behaviors) that I pay attention to:

• The importance placed on matching change challenges with the appropriate commitment
• The importance placed on the intent of the change
• The importance placed on sponsors

Now, I’ll continue with the last two lenses:

• The importance leaders place on agents
• Leaders’ understanding of the nature of change success

At the end of this post, you can click on a link to download a complete explanation of the mindset patterns, along with examples of what success and failure behavior patterns look like for each.

Lens: The Importance Placed on Agents

Mindset Pattern: Sponsors need support from skilled agents.

Even leaders with plenty of change experience—who have all the right instincts and the courage and discipline needed to orchestrate difficult transitions—remain vulnerable. They need the support of skilled agents who understand how to provide the proper guidance.

Mindset Pattern: Agents should avoid bad business.

Sometimes, sponsors want to make and engage significant changes, but aren’t prepared to follow through with all the political, logistical, and economic requirements to succeed. For the agent, this is bad business because not only will the projects likely fail, the agent will probably be blamed for the problem. Leaders who consistently succeed with major change look for agents who will honestly tell them if they lack sufficient capability or commitment to properly sponsor the initiative.

Mindset Pattern: Agents should avoid working harder than their sponsors do.

It’s easy for an agent to become more dedicated to change success than his or her sponsor is. When this happens, he or she often takes on “pseudo-sponsor” roles. Targets recognize this and respond to the lack of true sponsor commitment by disregarding the behaviors and mindsets needed for the new way of operating.

Lens: The Nature of Organizational Change Success

Mindset Pattern: Certain aspects of accommodating major change are uncomfortable.

The job of sponsors and agents isn’t to keep people happy—it’s to help them successfully make the transition despite inherent discomfort.

Mindset Pattern: Everyone struggles with the implications of significant change.

When faced with dramatic shifts, people always have some degree of reservation about the content of the change, the implementation approach being used, and/or their ability to perform their role(s) in the change. We assume that targets will resist certain aspects of major change initiatives, but even the sponsors and agents who promote change fall prey to wavering determination and skepticism.

Mindset Pattern: There is always risk in realizing transformational change.

The nature of major transitions inevitably includes surprises, challenges, and missed expectations, as well as mistakes. Often, however, leaders try to hide from—or put a “spin” on—anything that deviates from the planned path. In fact, many leaders have spent their entire careers diluting or covering up risks that unfolded as they executed major change initiatives.

Leaders who consistently succeed with major organizational changes promote a red is good attitude toward status reporting. They encourage people to honestly portray the true condition of projects, and to express their actual concerns early so the risk can be mitigated quickly and effectively.

Mindset Pattern: Expect to do some emotional work to break through engrained patterns.

Most efforts to execute large-scale strategic initiatives are heavily weighted toward the intellectual components (e.g., data reviews, logical analysis, and rational decision-making); they fail to adequately address the degree of emotional investment necessary for success. Although both perspectives should be largely equal throughout the implementation process, a disproportionate weight needs to be placed on catharsis at times to break through some of the more entrenched mental blocks and resistance patterns.

Click here to download “Achieving Change Success: Mindset and Behaviors,” which includes examples of success and failure patterns.

Next: Patterns Aren’t Created, They Are Revealed

Go to the beginning of this series.