Tweet This
In his book The Living Company, Arie de Geus wrote, “In the future, an organizations ability to learn faster than its competitors may be its only sustainable competitive advantage.” Today’s pace of change in business conditions may or may not be unprecedented, but it is surely spectacular and likely to accelerate from here. Like most things in business, rapid change is a two-edged sword—a threat but also an opportunity. Adapt to rapid change better than competitors and you can make great strides; ignore rapidly changing circumstances and expect to go the way of the slide rule, horse and buggy, wind-up watch or dinosaur. Adapting may be difficult, but it is not impossible.
Today’s business conditions give new meaning to the words of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “All is flux, nothing stays still—there is nothing permanent except change.” Keeping up, and adapting to the ever changing environment – both in our direct workplace, across the larger organization and marketplace – requires a fundamental shift in how we approach learning and a willingness to sometimes be okay with “not knowing.” Learning, unlearning and relearning must not be regarded as a means to an end but as an end itself that is fundamental to our ability as individuals, and collectively in our organization, to remain relevant to all stakeholders – from employees to customers.
To that end, below are five steps to help you lead your team and organization through change, minimizing anxiety and resistance and leveraging the opportunity inherent in all change.
1. Explain the Why
It is stated, “A change imposed is a change opposed.” Guiding your team or organization through change requires thoughtful planning and an acute awareness of the underlying concerns and fear that those you are shepherding through change will feel.
One of the biggest reasons people resist change initiative is because they don’t understand what they are trying to achieve. Leaders need to explain the purpose of change and show people why the change will ultimately serve them though improving the organizations profitability. Until employees are sure why the change is even necessary they will have a tough time embracing it and making the transition.
2. Clarify the Vision
As people struggle with an unknown future and coping with uncertainty, it’s important to give as much specifics as possible on what the organization will look like when it comes through the other end of the change process. Where are the new roles? What will be the new structure? What are the objectives through the transition period? Is training necessary? What is expected now? The clearer the strategy and plan the better employees will be able to cope with it.
3. Acknowledge Concern
Emotions can run high during times of change so ignoring how people are feeling (however irrational you may judge them to be) is a sure fire recipe for disaster. The classic psychological reactions to change often move through a cycle similar to grief. That is, from denial to anger to bargaining to depression to acceptance. All sources of resistance to change need to be acknowledged and peoples emotions validated. It’s far better to anticipate resistance and objections than to spend your time putting our fires afterward. By acknowledging how people feel, they will be more open (and less resistant) to listening to your vision and focusing more on what they could gain versus simply what they may lose through change.
4. Enlist Involvement
The first thought that goes through the mind of anyone when they are told that change is coming is “How will this impact me and my department personally?” The next thought will be “How can I benefit from this?” So if you are leading a group the best way to get people engaged in the change is to get them involved in it! Assembling a ‘Transition team” can be developed to see the whole process through.
Get some people on board with your idea early, so that you or they can demonstrate how the new way can work. Operationally, this can mean setting up effective pilot programs that model a change and work out the kinks before taking your innovation “on the road.” For most people, seeing is believing. Less rhetoric and more demonstration can go a long way toward overcoming resistance, changing people’s objections from the “It can’t be done!” variety to the “How can we get it done?” category.
5. Foster Change Readiness
Change readiness and replaced change management. Creating a culture that embraces change and values continual learning, unlearning and relearning is crucial for remaining competitive.
Companies most likely to be successful in making changes work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view change as a discrete event to be managed but as a constant opportunity to evolve their business or enterprise. Whether its an external change such as a new technology or tightening economy, or an internal one such as restructuring or process overhaul - change readiness has replaced change management.
As I wrote in Stop Playing Safe, it is the ability to continuously initiate and respond to change in ways that generate an advantage, minimize risk and not only sustain, but elevate performance. Adapting isn’t therefore something to be done every few years, but something to be done every day. To quote H.G. Wells, “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.”
Also on Forbes:
