Company founders would seem to be a natural fit for change management programs. They are persuaders and visionaries who perceive opportunities and seize them quickly. From airlines to autos, and from TVs to taxis, individual entrepreneurs have upended one industry after another. When channeled successfully, these attributes represent the lifeblood of entrepreneurship and market disruption.
Why Are Startup Founders So Bad at Changing Their Own Companies?
Despite their experience building something from the ground up, many company founders are generally surprisingly ineffective at effecting change within their own organizations. In this piece, the author offers four reasons why an outsider is often more able to facilitate change: First, they are more objective. Second, they can more effectively maintain the integrity of change management processes. Third, they tend to be in a better position to execute proven conflict resolution protocols. Finally, an outsider is better set up to guarantee follow-up, implementation, and accountability than an internal stakeholder. Although most founders would do anything to see their organizations succeed, sometimes true success requires a bit of outside assistance.