The corporate world is undergoing a revolution of changes in every aspect of the organizational potential. Every micro and macro aspect of the organization’s lifecycle is undergoing a tremendous amount of change. We all are a part of this so called “Change Renaissance” which is affecting you, me and everybody who is a part of the much privileged corporate world.
If you ask me, there are 3 core pillars to the success of any organization, viz, first is the Organizational Culture – the formal and informal culture prevailing in the organization, second is the Technological Presence – the scope of technological presence in the routine functioning of an organization and third is the Strategic Vision of an organization – whether the actions match the long-term vision of the organization.
If all these three factors are aligned and synergized thoroughly, any organization can embrace the most uncertain change gracefully. But as the proverbial myth continues to sustain, “Easy to say, Difficult to Act”, it is very difficult to align these factors together but not impossible. Only an ever-learning organization can make such a bizarre dream come true for sustaining the success levels of the organization.
The point in focus here is an unspoken variable which is influenced & affected and which also influences & affects the entire process of Organizational Change – The Human Capital of the Organization. The Human Variable is and will always be surprisingly enigmatic to sustain a corporate kingdom. It is this variable that can decide the fate of a successful organizational change. This is where human psychology comes in the big picture making organizational change and human psychology interdependent on each other.
Human psychology is dynamic and subjective in nature, whereas change on the other side is constant but unpredictable. To manage both these variables effectively becomes strenuous and involves a lot of complications.This brings me to acknowledge the softer aspect of Human Dynamics – Human Psyche. The dynamism of an individual human psyche decides the success of an individual and that of collective individuals decides the cumulative success of the organization as a whole.
The best approach to manage such a paradox is practicing the skill of “Acceptance”. Gracefully accepting and embracing the new change creates a win-win situation amongst the change participants. Anybody and everybody who accepts the change by changing their approach, mindset and perceptions find themselves up the ladder.
I have my personal philosophy as a change leader – I classify people into three categories, viz, first are the ones who adopt change by passion, second are the ones who adopt change by pressure and lastly the ones who do not adopt change at all.
People who adopt change by passion are the ultimate visionaries who believes in transformation and upgradation. These are the kinds who are innate leaders and they choose change to improve the intra and inter aspects of oneself, team and the organization at large. These people are the ones who continuously learn in their pathway of adopting to change. People who accept change with passion usually end up to embark on their success journeys.
Second are the ones who adopt to change in the face of pressure. They accept change only when they are pressurized by their superiors, colleagues, demographical conditions, organizational environment and many more such considerable factors. The success or progress of such people completely depends on the choices they make. If they take a pessimistic approach in adopting change, they will see themselves in a career crisis situation. On the other hand if they take an optimistic approach in adopting change, they might create organizational optimizing opportunities.
Lastly, the ones who reject change or do not accept change in the course of transformation, end up in their career lows. However, organizations must plan and implement change execution interventions for the successful acceptance and transformation of the change process. Leaders must demonstrate and exemplify change practices wherein it is further penetrated down throughout the entire organization. Constant support from the superiors, managers and leaders to adopt change is required at every phase of the Change Renaissance. They are the change agents in true sense. The management and the Board have to formulate or modify policies to suit organizational change and employee psychology at large.
The consequences of unsuccessful change interventions can cost the organizations heftily, both in monetary and non – monetary terms. Loss and lack of key talent is one of the biggest threats an organization faces for not upgrading or participating in change. Established organizations will find it difficult to sustain the legacy in the era of start-ups and likewise start-ups will find it difficult to survive in the already saturated global markets, if they do not adopt to change effectively. Not just organizations, but also individuals have to face repercussions if they do not adopt to change with passion in their lives.
It is your choice whether you want to accept change by passion and succeed or by pressure and lag or by rejecting change and regret. Thus, Organizational change and employee psychology are two variables that will always be inter-dependent on each other. Acceptance of change at individual and organizational level defines the sustenance of an organization’s success story.
