3 questions to ask before you begin a major transformation

"The truth is that you can't change fundamental behaviors without changing fundamental beliefs. It is, after all, beliefs, in the form of norms, that get encoded into a culture through rituals that drive behaviors. So unless you make a serious effort to understand the underlying problem you're trying to solve, any action you take is unlikely to be effective."

"While coming up with answers makes us feel decisive, those answers will close doors that should often be left open and explored. Good questions, on the other hand, can lead to genuine breakthroughs. With that in mind, here are three essential questions you need to ask before embarking on a transformational initiative."

"A strategic change starts at the top and needs effective communication and coordination for everybody to play their role, like the famous case at Intel, when Gordon Moore and Andy Grove made the fateful decision to move out of memory chips and bet the company on microprocessors."

Leaders often fall into the action trap, taking steps that feel productive without addressing root causes. Meaningful change requires shifting fundamental beliefs encoded in organizational culture through rituals and norms. Strategic changes differ from behavioral changes; strategic shifts can be mandated from leadership, while behavioral changes require deeper engagement with resistance and beliefs. Before launching transformation initiatives, leaders must ask critical questions to distinguish between types of change needed. Good questions open exploration and lead to breakthroughs, whereas premature answers close doors and limit understanding. Effective change management depends on first diagnosing whether the problem is strategic or behavioral in nature.

Read at Fast Company