Change is an inevitable part of the modern
business environment. But change rarely comes easily.
Organizations, and the people within them,
must constantly re-invent themselves to remain competitive. As a result,
today’s leaders must do more than manage the status quo – leaders must be
champions in change readiness – the ability to continuously initiate and
respond to change in ways that create advantage, minimize risk, and sustain
performance.
Resistance to change
Expecting resistance to change and planning
for it from the start of your change management programme will allow you to
effectively manage objections. Understanding the most common reasons people
object to change gives you the opportunity to plan your change strategy to
address these factors.
A sense of urgency
Failure to create a strong sense of urgency
causes a change movement to lose momentum before it gets a chance to start.
Establishing a true sense of urgency without creating an emergency is the first
objective achieved to overcome the routine of daily business.
Build an emotional and rational case for
change
Many leaders excel at building the rational
case for change, but they are less adept in appealing to people’s emotional
core. Yet the employees’ emotions are where the momentum for real
transformation ultimately lies.
Change management require that people feel
the problem
Before you can get buy-in, people need to
feel the problem. People aren’t going to consider anything until they are
convinced there is a problem that truly needs to be addressed.
Involve the people
Whenever an organization imposes new things
on people there will be difficulties. Participation, involvement and open,
early, full communication are the important factors.
Increase engagement by asking questions
Have you ever been “talked at” instead of
had someone “talk with”? It doesn’t feel good to have someone talk at you. It
leaves you feeling like you might as well not have been there at all. It is
much more powerful asking questions. Increase engagement by asking questions
when leading change.
How to deliver bad news in connection with change
Delivering bad news is one of the biggest
challenges managers face. How can you deliver bad news in a way that minimizes
the damage: Don’t wait too long – do it as soon as possible, give them the big
picture, speak candidly and plan for questions.
Culture an important part of change
management
All change in organizations is challenging,
but perhaps the most daunting is changing culture. But if managers want to
build high-performing organizations, they need to address culture change
Storytelling
Storytelling can be a powerful tool when
you want to drive organizational change. Good leaders tell stories that “cast”
them and their organizations as agents of change, rather than defenders of the
status quo.
Change old habits
Sustaining success depends on an
organization’s ability to adapt to a changing environment – whether it’s an
external change, such as a transformative technology or a changing economy, or
an internal one, such as a restructuring or key process overhaul
Change requires breaking down silos
Business silos, just like agricultural
silos hold something important and make it hard to get at. That’s good when
you’re protecting wheat and corn from rain & snow. But it’s bad when you’re
trying to change across departments and divisions. And the bigger the company
the more harmful a role silos play. Silos create an environment where sharing
and collaborating for anything other than one silo’s special interests is
virtually impossible.
Communication is paramount when it comes to
change management
Lots of it. Change is unsettling because it
brings with it an element of uncertainty. And it is the uncertainty which is a
major cause of resistance to change. People can relate to facts – good or bad –
but uncertainty and contradicting messages breed unease and resistance.
Therefore, it is important to communicate with everybody about everything in
relation to the upcoming changes in order to reduce the uncertainty. Use any
communication channels available and remember that it is impossible to
over-communicate change.
Use social media
Social media platforms are ideal mechanisms
to facilitate change because much of change management boils down to ongoing
conversations and dialogue in a company.
Change management and the power of small
wins
Large change management problems are best
broken down into smaller ones with concrete achievable goals. Otherwise it can
be so overwhelming that solutions seem unattainable – therefore, people often
avoid tackling them or come up with single, grand programs that fail. Don’t
forget to pour champagne on it.
Companies most likely to be successful in
making change work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view change
as a discrete event, but as a constant opportunity to evolve the business.
Author: Torben Rick
Experienced senior executive, both at a
strategic and operational level, with strong track record in developing,
driving and managing business improvement and development, change management
and turn-around.
Original article : click here
