Change initiatives in any organization can meet with success or failure, and results are dependent upon the leadership involved. In my experience, I have worked within a variety organizations, however none as recent as a technology organization of which I provide program management solutions. Management has come to the realization that there is a need for better collaboration with information and data. That there is a need for a certain amount of transparency in the information gathered. Their past way of interacting with data would create the triplicate touch of information, thus questioning the validity of data integrity and at the same time, information was lost in translation. Leadership in efforts of change management requires a deeper understanding of the projects at hand, as well as an understanding of the organizations global picture. In the organization I currently work in, the task is the creation of an online solution to the document control problem, and we are in the final stages. However, we are facing some critical showstoppers in the implementation process. It is not the technology but the users and the buy in from all stakeholders. One team wants to remain in the Word Document format within the process, while management and executive management want the entire corporation to use the proper tools of InfoPath. This system, integrated with SharePoint solutions, will reach every member of the company worldwide. This massive process for submitting confidential documents of patent ideas requires some form of document. The initiative proposed by management is to create a solution where information...

Management has taken the action of forcing change to not reinvent the wheel but use the solutions that are available and stable, not to mention interactive with external databases. Management has failed however, in collecting the detailed reasons why the small team does not want this program; it is not in lieu of security reasons or process improvement reasons, but rather one specific program, which meets opposition for many teams. Further, this small team continues to resist, not only this solution, but other key change initiatives as well. This resistance may show a broader need to address underlining needs of this particular group. The appearance that management has taken is they are oblivious to the needs of the small team, and create ambiguous messages towards the reasons for the change. There also appears to be a lack of true transitional leadership, where the fostering of dialogue and resolutions of challenges can occur.
Management could take two approaches in addressing the problem of team buy in to the solution. One, they could engage in a dialogue with the teams and reveal the source of the discrepancy. Two, leadership will have to use the opportunity of the discussion to influence transactional result but transitionally as well for collaboration and positive change. Using both transactional and transitional leadership management can take the change initiatives that are annual goals for the…