I just read a blog by David Brock called “The Example We Set, Our People Are Watching” and it got me rethinking change management. I know there are all types of methods, philosophies, training and consulting specifically on how to implement and sustain change. But doesn’t change only happen when leadership mimics the right behaviors? It seems so simple. How could any company implement anything if management does not use the new process, tool or methodology? I’ve written about this before, but Dave got me thinking. Are we just making change management too difficult?  Now, I can hear change management specialists grumbling that I don’t know what I am talking about. But shouldn’t it be easier? I worked for a large global company and consulted many others over the years. What I know now is that when management embraces something new, effectively communicates the benefits, and is passionate about the success of the implementation, things get done. Period. It’s just that simple. Years ago, I worked with a firm that was implementing a new CRM. To hold everyone accountable to the success of the implementation, based on the fact that they had paid millions for it and wanted to reap the outcomes of their investment, the CEO did the following:

• He messaged the importance of the CRM highlighting the benefits to all.
• He published globally, by divisional head, the adoption rates.
• He then listed the top 5 and the bottom 5 adoption rates. The top 5 were highlighted in green and the bottom 5 were highlighted in red. No one wanted to be in the bottom 5 “red zone.”
• He had his operations group create dashboards for all levels of management, including himself, which all rolled up and down. Whenever anyone talked about accounts, deals or forecasting, management pulled up the dashboards and drilled into the relevant details. Not everyone knew about the adoption report, but everyone knew that management had dashboards and used them. It was that easy.

So leadership, think about it. Why would anyone change their behavior if they think leadership could care less? When leadership mimics the right behaviors, you have a much better chance to get the return on investment on your much-needed tool, process or methodology with very little downside. Now I know there is much more to change management than leadership mimicking the right behaviors. However, whereas it may not help with all aspects of change management, it sure as heck can’t hurt. Janice Mars, principal and founder of SalesLatitude, is a senior business and sales executive with more than 30 years of experience helping companies build successful sales teams. She has parlayed that experience to help her clients to improve their sales processes, accurately forecast revenues, ensure focus on winnable opportunities, and attain consistent results. View my LinkedIn profile | Twitter   Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.