Leading Effective Change - Perspectives on Change Management
Communicating a Shared Vision
The importance of communicating a shared vision with others cannot be understated. It’s important to communicate early and to communicate often – especially when dealing with change. This repetition and constant conversation will help to get the message across to all people who are involved in the change situation. Another way to to phase this message is the saying “Signal Early and Signal Often.” This phrase is also a way to let people know the importance of giving advance notice to plan for and ultimately execute a change initiative.
When it comes to change we have to understand that the changing environment will be adopted at varying rates by different people. Some people will accept change and adjust quickly, whereas others will resist or will require significant more motivation to make the change. Furthermore, it should be noted that some people can be cynical and will be “anti-change.” When then CEO of Ford, Alan Mulally tried to implement change, there were some people on the executive team that left the company. These individuals were unwilling to change and go along with Mulally’s vision.
Another extremely important component to change is the need to understand the human element. In other words, we need to be cognizant of the emotional side of change and how it affects people at the individual level. This was noted in one of the lessons that “It’s all about the people!”
A good example of this point is the story of a CEO of a global company that failed to effectuate change because he did not appeal to people at the emotional level. While he may have had a high Intelligence Quotient, or IQ, he did not exhibit a high level of emotional intelligence, or EQ. After a year of trying to force the company to change he was let go.
Overcoming Resistance to Change
In some cases people that are very resistant to change need special attention. As a leader we need to be able to bring the high-level change vision down to the individual level so that we can show them not only how they are a part of the change but also how it benefits them to be supportive of the effort. This concept is similar to establishing the “why” regarding the need for change. If we can get people to really, truly, understand why a change needs to occur, it’s going to be that much easier to be successful.
It helps to give people a role or part to play in the change effort. Empowering employees and giving them ownership of the situation may be all that’s needed to make the change a reality. People don’t like to be told what to do or how to do things. However, if you give people some autonomy while also establishing the need for change and giving them the boundaries for which they must operate under, we all stand a much greater chance of succeeding. By including people in the process and allowing them to have some skin in the game, people will be much more likely to change by making the decision on their own.
Another technique that we have seen used to overcome resistance to change is to get buy-in from a few key people that employees see as leaders within their ranks. Once you’ve established buy-in from these people, they can essentially act as ambassadors for change for the rest of the employees.
Another insight we’ve learned is that resistance to change may often come from a lack of trust between employees and management. In some cases, employees that don’t trust the leadership often believe that the proposed changes ware being made for malevolent reasons and that management has ulterior motives. When you have a lack of trust, getting people to change is going to be very difficult.
In a situation like this, leadership first needs to address the reasons for the trust barrier in the first place. Most likely, building trust in the face of impending change is going to be difficult but this needs to be done before a change effort can be undertaken successfully. Perhaps more communication is needed or there needs to be more meetings between employees and management. In any case, at some level, the individual employees need to be engaged in the process otherwise the change will likely not be successful.
Moreover, resistance to change can dissolve when people have a chance to express their concerns and fears to management. In some cases, the very act of just letting people vent their frustrations and openly communicate their concerns is all that is needed to remove the resistance to change. In many cases, people that have problems with authority just simply want a chance to be heard. Just like our employees, they want you to know that they have a voice and they want you empathize with them.
Celebrating Short-Term Wins
Celebrating short-term wins can be challenging, especially if you don’t have the budget to be able do much. However, the most common thing for a leader or manager to do is to take everyone out to lunch or to bring some snacks or treats like donuts back to the office. This is a good way to allow everyone to take a break from their daily duties and to enjoy something delicious together.
Another way to celebrate is to take “field trips” with the people that typically spend 40+ hours a week in the office. Field trips are a great a chance for people to get out of the office and to physically see either a project that they worked on or the results of what they have been working on at their desk. Not only does this help to break up the day and give people a chance to experience something different, it also allows employees to take some pride in knowing how their specific job may fit in with the big picture. Most employees appreciate the chance to get out of the office every once in a while.
Along the same lines, the importance of giving authentic and specific complements to employees cannot be understated. By recognizing the good things that employees do, it helps to reinforce those positive behaviors and to show appreciation for them as individuals. In the context of change management, this is a great way to break down resistance to change and to celebrate the milestones on the way to the end goal.
As a leader you may want to create a process where employees can nominate others to be recognized for a job well done. This is an excellent mode to celebrate small wins and can be used, for example, when someone overcomes their resistance to change and makes the first step in the right direction.
Leadership Change Perspective
A leader’s perspective is extremely important. Leaders are often burdened with “bringing the weather” with them. There is no doubt that a leader’s attitude, demeanor, and candor can impact how, when, and if a change initiative will be successful.
When talking about inclusion it can be difficult to manage change if there are cliques or teams that have been formed within your overall team. These types of alliances can make change more difficult if one group or clique is treated, or even perceived to be treated, differently than another.
These cliques can actually start to reduce morale and decrease the overall team’s capabilities. In this specific situation the inclusivity of certain individuals into a small faction can result in their exclusivity with respect to everyone else. Having teams within a team, can create barriers to communication as well. It is extremely important to treat everyone the same and to not create or endorse situations that would pit one group against another. Furthermore, it’s important to avoid playing favorites and to remove situations that would create the appearance of showing favoritism. As a leader we have to both understand and show that we are all on the same team and that we all have shared vision for success.
Being equitable and inclusive of all people can sometimes be challenging so it’s important to be intentional about it. Leaders have to make a conscientious effort to include everyone in the mission for change. This could mean stepping outside of your comfort zone or stepping outside of your office.
Another aspect of this is to really work hard to build relationships with people. For leaders, networking is extremely valuable. We need to collaborate will people regularly and get to know them on a personal level if possible. Knowing your workers on a first name basis will go a long way to establishing trust, creating inclusivity, and promulgating the baseline needed to be able to communicate with them at the individual, emotional level. Change is much easier to accomplish when everyone trusts each other.