If you are going to bother with the effort of making a change, be sure to tend to integration – or don’t bother.
This is true for both organizational as well as individual changes. I have seen so many re-orgs completely fail to deliver on the intended benefit, because there was not sufficient follow through. Sure, there was talk from HR of supporting people through transitions, and that is very important work. But re-orgs don’t just change org structures. They change people’s roles, how they work together – or at least that is often the intention. However, new boxes and lines on org charts are not enough. You need to support people all the way through the change, help them make the shifts in how they work together, communicate repeatedly the why and the what of the change. It can take a full year before the benefits of a re-org start to be manifested. If re-orgs happen every 6 months, you will never see the benefits. Instead, there will confusion, lost effort and people checking out as change piles up on top of change without integrating each one into a new way of being.
For individuals, integration is just as important. How many trainings, retreats or personal journeys have you had that were amazing, and 2 months after returning to your regular routine there had been no change sustained? Integration after an experience requires intentional support for yourself in the days and weeks after. An event can open your system, create the possibility for learning and growth. The actual learning often takes place after, in the integration process. Make sure you tend to that if you want sustainable change.
