How Good Leadership Facilitates Change at the Office

We live in interesting times. It seems as though we get daily updates on leadership around the world—both good and bad—on the news. Whether it is a terrorist attack in a city or a once-in-a-lifetime weather event causing massive destruction, we see examples of great leadership stepping forward for people. We also see the flip side, unfortunately, and see where leadership is sorely lacking. The simple truth is that some leaders are better equipped to handle change and get their people through both the good and the bad. Some people aren’t. But everyone can learn to do it better.

The scenes being played out on television and social media just underscore that, even under the best of circumstances, change makes people anxious and fearful. Furthermore, when those in charge mismanage their roles in change leadership, it can lead to breakdowns across the board.

Change management skills are critical for you as a manager and leader

As a manager, one of your most important roles is facilitating organizational change for your employees when it occurs. You’re the one who must overcome their natural resistance to change because comfort in the status quo is inherent inside everyone. Even positive change brings discomfort to a certain degree.

Whether the change is implementation of new policies, major structural shifts in management, downsizing, or even fear of the unknown caused by outside forces (both planned and unplanned), you must gain your employees’ support to see the changes through successfully. To do that, use the following five change leadership techniques to create a positive environment that employees will draw upon to accept change easier.

These five steps are the keys to keeping your business healthy and thriving even during times of stress:

1. Give the team a reason to do something different

   This generally happens with an urgent change, such as a loss of market share, a financially-bad quarter, or worse, if your company’s latest big product tanks. Because time is of the essence, use it as a positive and let your employees try to do things differently to achieve better results.

2. Seek out the unofficial power brokers on your team

   These are people who have a natural power or presence about them, regardless of job title. Because of this, they exert tremendous influence over the rest of the team. Spend extra time with these people, making sure they know what the changes are and why they are needed.

3. Help team members see the opportunities

   People will usually respond positively to an articulate vision—or a challenge —if they see the possibilities of what could be. But they won’t recognize them unless you show them first. Obviously, before you can do this with them, you must believe in the possibilities yourself.

4. Empower your team

   Provide as much information, responsibility, and authority as you can, whenever you can. Show your employees that you have faith in their capacity to digest it. If possible, allow them to continue to function as a team for as long as possible and alleviate some stress.

5. Keep thanking or rewarding your people along the way

   Don’t wait until you have 100 percent buy-in from the entire team to start handing out “thank-you’s” or rewards. Don’t, because it will likely never happen. Change leadership requires publicly recognizing team members making an effort to embrace the change. If rewarded correctly, their positive attitude will rub off on the others.

6. Communications

   Change management involves an extraordinary level of sustained communications.

7. Listening  

   Effective change management involves an extraordinary degree of listening to employees by asking questions and being present.  It’s an essential case of MBWO (management by walking around) and it’s a process that is best done by an involved leadership group.

Remember that even if you execute these seven steps perfectly, there could still be employees that resist. They require more convincing as to why they need to adapt to the change.

Keys to overcoming employee resistance to change:

• Previous to any announcement, identify what the resistance might look like and who is most likely to demonstrate those behaviors
• After the announcement, ensure everyone knows WHY the change is happening and the impact it will have on their daily work
• Create a willingness for people to change by modeling the behavior in yourself
• Be alert to resistance and consciously work to overcome it
• Motivate people to change and be excited about it

Finally, if people flatly refuse to embrace critical changes, help them see the following realities:

• Change will happen whether they want it to or not
• They can anticipate, monitor, and adapt to change quicker with your help
• They have the power to enjoy the change if they choose

If resistance persists or gets worse, document all of your efforts with the employee and their actions in response. You might need it if the end result is termination of the employee. Some people will only change if they see that there will be consequences if they don’t. Change leadership is a singularly difficult part of your job, but if done correctly, one of the most satisfying.