Change is a feature of life in organizations today and leaders constantly face both small and large changes at work. Consequently, you must be comfortable in dealing with change yourself and in helping your team members to cope with it, particularly changes that are substantial in nature.
For such major changes, you should follow a structured, but not rigid, approach to implementation, taking into account the not inconsequential human relations issues associated with any change. Unfortunately, many leaders mishandle change, which can lead to significant resentment and conflict, much of which is avoidable if some basic principles and processes for managing change are applied.
People and change
In terms of coping with change, as a general rule, the more involvement people have in determining the nature and direction of changes affecting them, the more easily they will buy into and support the implementation process. The reverse is also true, of course; the more powerless they feel over changes directly affecting them, the more resistance you will see.
However, even when people cannot input into the decision-making process itself, if they are kept informed and, if possible, involved in determining how best to implement the proposals, that can go some way to alleviating their concerns.
Most people are willing to grasp change readily, depending upon how it is presented and handled. However, there are some who fear it and fight it as much as they can. As a leader, you must recognise the human dimension to handling change, which must be addressed during the implementation process.
Better deal with discontent or fear at the outset, than to ignore natural human reactions and be forced to deal with rebellion at a later stage. Often, people go through fairly predictable reactions to change:
Denial → Resistance → Acceptance → Commitment
When you hear “that’ll never work here”, do not immediately see this as a negative sign; what it often means is “convince me” or “how does this affect me?”. Helping your team-members to cope with change often requires a selling process on your behalf, particularly in an environment where there has been ineffective change in the past.
When faced with individual reactions to change, recognize that you cannot move people from Denial to Commitment in a single step. Your initial goal always should be just to deal with people’s fears and to get people to try the new approach. If it is for the better, then they will see the benefits and resistance will diminish over time.
Leading the change process
How you lead the change process also plays an important role in the results you get. Try to rush through major change and you will find resentment building up; take too long implementing it, and people grow tired of the uncertainty.
For leading any major change process, the following framework can be helpful:
Following a framework such as this allows you to take the initiative, plan for implementation and remain in control over the process. It helps you to achieve greater ‘buy-in’ through communicating with, and supporting, your team. It also allows you to define and manage key implementation steps, so that they are more likely to be timely and to deliver positive outcomes.
Keep the following points in mind:
- Change must lead to tangible benefits, if employees are expected to buy into it.
- You must ‘sell’ the change to your employees.
- Change just for the sake of it winds people up and should be avoided.
- Include your employees in decision-making around change, where possible.
- The bigger the change, the more difficult it can be for employees, so you need to take a strong leadership role in making the change happen.
- The implementation of change should be time-bound, as dragged out change can be disheartening.
- Make sure you define and communicate clear implementation plans and that deadlines are adhered to.
- Show benefits to your employees as early as possible in the change
- Process, so people see the value of it.
- Offer lots of support and guidance to your employees as they seek to work through the change.
- Recognise that change processes provide ideal opportunities for negative team-members to ‘stir things up’. Pay particular attention to the influence they exert at such times.
