“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”
This is a quote I am sure most of you will have heard a fair few times. While logically we ‘get it’, it’s still a fact that many people find change challenging. We like our routines and stability, they make us feel safe, secure and enable us to plan because we know what to expect. Many people see change as a negative and it takes a real shift in thinking to see the positive.
In the fast-paced world, we live and work in, it can feel like change is now a constant and for a lot of employees this continual change is frustrating and emotionally exhausting.
This quote from John F. Kennedy is so right; “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. Change happens all the time, and while some team members fear change, often it’s not the change itself, more how it’s communicated.
It is up to leaders to ensure that you lead your team towards a positive and successful change. Even with plenty of passion and enthusiasm this can be a tall order when you consider that research shows only 25% of change management programmes succeed in the long term.
What then are some key elements of leading a successful piece of change?
An organisation’s culture will be a significant determining factor in how successful change will be. If the culture fosters creativity, innovation and empowerment amongst their employees, while promoting change as positive and the way the business continues to grow, the odds are in favour of success.
If a culture is rooted in a mindset of “change is bad and the only winner is the company”, then the odds are stacked against you. A good place to start in these circumstances is to work on changing the culture first.
Having a Clear Vision
A clear vision and strategy is essential along with the ability to clearly convey both. One of the first questions on employee’s minds when they begin to hear along the grapevine that change is imminent (I’ll come to that shortly) is why? Why are things changing and why now?
It’s common in employee engagement surveys for employees to report that when they experience change, the ‘Why’ is either poorly explained or isn’t explained at all. This creates a feeling that employees are having change ‘done’ to them and can result in increasing resistance to the change you want to implement.
When creating the vision and strategy, make sure the push for change is not a knee-jerk reaction to a regulatory delay or scientific set back but a proactive response to developments as well as market trends. (Your Why).
If you build storytelling and metaphor in to your vision you will make it even easier for team members to connect with your vision. Where possible, either in team or one to one meetings, help your team members see how their talents are essential to realising the vision you have for success.
Be Prepared
While we are all different and embrace change in a variety of ways, it is a fact that we all experience our own reaction to change. The Change Curve based on the work of Elizabeth Kubler- Ross identified 4 main stages of emotional reaction.
Initially when we hear about change we go into:
Denial: Some might say, “It will never happen” …then
Resistance: “I like doing it this way, it works for me, why change?” …followed by
Exploration: “Ok so what’s in it for me?” or, “I’m curious tell me more.” Finally,
Acceptance: “This is actually much better than I expected”
What’s important to recognise here is that we do all go through this change journey and at different paces depending on the kind of change.
While I like to think of myself as someone who loves and embraces change, (often getting very excited, which I realise for others can be annoying sometimes,) I recognise that there are times when I spend a little longer in those first two stages than I would like.
As a leader, it’s important to acknowledge the different stages that your team members are going through at any one time and to provide the relevant support to move them through the stages of change.
Communicate Frequently
I am guessing we have all at some point experienced the organisational grapevine that kicks into overdrive when a piece of organisational change is impending.
Not only that, our team members suddenly get very creative with their interpretations of what is
and especially what isn’t communicated.
As a general principle, communicate as much as you can with your teams and communicate what messages you have. Even if it’s a “No further info” message. Your team will at least respect the fact that you are keeping them up to date even if you have little detail to give.
Your team will also be looking to you for reassurance. Make sure you are continuing to focus and work with them on your current plans and be visible and accessible so that you are communicating a ‘business as usual message’. The last thing you want is a dip in performance due to uncertainty.
Change is a constant in today’s organisations and while we can have recruitment policies that look to identify talent who embrace change and can work through it quickly, we must focus on the needs of current employees and team members.
By incorporating the above factors into how you lead change you can make the journey a smoother ride for yourself and your team.
Until next time,
Julia
