A McKinsey article¹ delved into how business leaders can better understand and adjust their own behavior to more successfully promote organizational change. Much of the discussion focused on senior executives’ improved profile awareness (recognizing the internal drivers of your behavior) and state awareness (recognizing the effect of certain moments or situations on your behavior). But one observation really struck me — the extent and power of misperceptions about transformation within organizations.

The McKinsey¹ diagnostic that reached deep into the workforce — aggregating the responses of 52,240 individuals at 44 companies — demonstrated perception gaps across job levels at 70 percent of the participating organizations. In about two-thirds of them, the top teams were more positive about their own leadership skills than was the rest of the organization. Odds are, in other words, that rigorous organizational introspection will be eye opening for senior leaders.

It seems that a common stumbling block to change is simply misjudging the challenges at all job levels. Specifically at the executive level, I think this means overestimating one’s ability to lead change initiatives. Executives may be up to the challenge initially — but are they prepared to sustain their leadership over the long term? Anyone who’s ever been a part of organizational change knows that it’s a multi-year process, and executives have to understand that strong, involved leadership will be a key factor throughout that process.

There are misunderstandings at every job level, and I believe we all underestimate the difficulty of change. On top of that, we are understandably engaged in ensuring that the business succeeds in the here and now. So where do we find the time and energy to shift our focus without losing sight of what it takes to hit our current goals?

In our experience with over 4,000 successful change management engagements worldwide, Ricoh believes this is precisely where a knowledgeable perspective from outside the organization can really help. Our engagements begin with a Discovery Statement of Work, where we analyze the cultural challenges and key influences related to a change initiative, including recommending the support all employees will need to accommodate a new way of working.

The Discovery assessment can help you get an outside look at your organization and benefit from the experience of others. The assessment reflects a great deal of knowledge and best practices gleaned from businesses of different sizes and across industries and regions. Such an assessment can go a long way to planning for change more realistically, with fewer misperceptions and greater clarity.