Every individual and organisation goes through change because change is a necessity in every aspect of life.
In the last 3 years, the rate of change has significantly increased for organisations (big, medium and small) as a result of big scale issues like covid, cost of living crisis, civil unrest, and natural disasters.
According to experts, the average business planned ten changes in 2022 as opposed to just two in 2016.
Truth be told, organisational changes can be overwhelming for leaders, and even more so for the employees that have to implement the changes. Recent research has shown that a lot of employees are struggling to cope with the increasing rate of change and the workload associated with it. This has resulted in many of them looking for jobs elsewhere.
There is no doubt that change has to happen but it can become a problem for innovative/futuristic organisations if it’s draining or stressing out their most important assets: their people.
It is therefore important that leaders manage change in a way that is thoughtful, practical, and maintainable.
To do that, leaders will do well to:
1.) Clearly communicate their vision and goals. Tell your people what the changes are, why they are happening, how it will affect them and when they will happen.
When people know the why, how and when of change, it makes them more receptive to the change, prepares them to implement the change, and helps them cope with the potential ‘turbulence’ that might come with the change.
2.) Support middle and first level leaders to lead the change in their team as well as help their team members navigate it. If you’ve communicated things well to your leaders, you’ll not need to lead the change at team and/or individual level (quite frankly, you don’thave to). This will free up time for you to focus on other top level matters.
3.) Not assume everyone’s opinions and feelings are the same as yours.
Ask people what they think and how they feel about the change. Put something in place that can be offered to anyone who is struggling.
Also, find out if additional skills and resources are needed to help people cope with the changes and be willing to provide what’s needed.
4.) Ensure everyone involved is on the same page and is kept informed of progress made.
Remind them you’re all in this together and be open to receive new ideas from people at all levels.
5.) Be courageous.
You will not always have all the answers and the simple reason for that is; you’re human, that’s just how we wired.
So, do not be scared to make mistakes or to get something wrong. Getting things wrong is not a problem, it only becomes a problem when you fail to admit it, you push the blame to others, or you learn nothing from it and keep repeating the same mistake. My advice to you is not to let the fear of getting things wrong stop you from advancing. Instead, ‘step out’ in spite of the fear you might feel. It’ll help if you determine ahead of time that you will face the challenges that’ll come and you’ll deal with them as they arise.
Periods of change can be challenging for people (leaders and team members alike). But, managing the change well from introduction to implementation can mean the difference between having a drained workforce looking to quit and a focused workforce willing to achieve organisational transformation.
If your business or organisation is looking to introduce change in the near or distant future, you’ll need a plan to guard against ‘The Change Drain’. If you need help doing this, send me an email at info@belindaujani.co.uk and I’ll be in touch.
