Do Not Underestimate The Environment Required to Sustain Change

Do Not Underestimate The Environment Required to Sustain Change
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The Environment Required to Sustain Change
Change is often difficult to properly initiate, but most change management consultants would say it is even more difficult to sustain. Especially if you do not pay attention to the environment required to sustain change.  For an example, let’s look at a classic change challenge for individuals – weight loss.

The Change Called Losing Weight
All too often January 1st sees a flurry of new gym memberships and purchases of Slim Fast-type diet drinks. Enthusiasm is high for the first two weeks or so and then the effort drops, the pounds start coming back, and the old ways overcome the desired new ways. It is not easy to change habits of a lifetime!

An Example of a Weight Loss Environment Required to Sustain Change
Certainly being an integral part of an environment that supports and reinforces the desired change can help. You may be familiar with the TV program, The Biggest Loser. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize of $250,000 by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight. Michael Ventrella was the winner in Season #9 having lost a record 264 pounds. His total percentage of weight loss was over 50%.

Of course, this was not the first time Michael had tried to lose weight. He had tried and failed many times before. The difference for Michael this time was being integrated into a high performance environment required to sustain change that set him up to succeed. For example, he:

  • Survived a difficult audition and onboarding process
  • Committed to a proven regime of diet and exercise
  • Worked on his individual plan with the support of expert doctors, trainers, and nutritionists
  • Measured progress and weighed in weekly individually and as part of a team
  • Competed with others and knew where he stood compared to his goals
  • Tapped into the support of people who had done it before
  • Lived in a private and remote location set up to support him and his team

In other words, he competed for the opportunity to be selected; committed to the goals; had ongoing coaching; was measured regularly with scores shared across the group; and was inspired by leaders who had been successful. All of the elements for creating the environment required to sustain change were present. And he proved that he could change – dramatically so.

When the Environment Changes
But somewhere along the line after the show, something went wrong. In fact many of the show’s contestants gain back much of the weight they had initially lost. There are studies being done to explain how hard the body fights back against weight loss. But the lesson we need to glean from this experience for our own corporate change initiatives is that initial achievement is only that – initial.

The Bottom Line
If you want to be successful at workplace change over the long term, it is not enough to hit the target once.  You need to create the environmental circumstances to consistently reinforce and support the changes you seek again and again. Have you created the right environment for your change to succeed over time?

To learn more about how to create lasting organizational change, download The 5 Lenses of Change that Must Be Addressed to Sustain Change at Work

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