Ready for Takeoff? 4 Tips for Effective Change Management
You have built an airplane. You spent tens of thousands of dollars to acquire the parts, hundreds of man-hours putting it together, and endless days planning for take-off. The day is finally here, all of the elements are in place and you are ready to see it fly. You start up the engine, and it looks and sounds great, you start rolling down the runway, gaining speed, a little bumpy but that's normal, and finally, take off. Nose rising and wheels leaving the ground….until… drop. Your investment crashes to the ground, potentially hurting yourself and others, crushing morale. All of that work for what? You failed to adapt the project to your specific needs. Not understanding the aerodynamics of our exact creation resulted in failure to launch.
That is how change management works. Using this metaphor, we can understand how important it is to account for the unique strategy needed around your organization before implementing change. While there are structures to follow, no one size fits all exists. With this in mind, keep reading for how to approach change in a way that allows for the accounting of your organization's specific needs, ensuring a successful flight.
Tip #1. Stop, Collaborate and Listen (FACE-TO-FACE)
STOP- Before discussing HOW you'll change, get insight from employees at every level. There may be solutions or roadblocks that aren't visible to you but could save you time and money.
How Do I Do This?
Share what you’re seeing, hearing, feeling.
Ask (with sincere curiosity) what others are experiencing.
Explain what the research says and how change might help.
It's important to be specific and clear here about where your solution idea is coming from. A success story you read in Forbes? A research paper in HBR? Provide them with the resources that got you there.
COLLABORATE - Use your managers, employees and administrators to really understand the change road map THROUGHOUT the process.
We preach and hire for diversity and inclusion, but often fail to take advantage of those incredibly valuable points of view. As the owner, head of HR or CEO, you do not and should not be coming up with solutions all on your own. Not if you want success for more people than yourself.
While we can want the best for others, we all know what they say about assuming. And in the workplace, you don't have to guess. In fact, outright asking results in more effective change, but also stronger relationships, trust, and engagement.
How Do I Do This?
“What does it look like from your side? Where are the hang-ups and pain points? How should we proceed?”
Start by aligning the need for change with the organization's values. Make it make sense for them to buy in and take ownership, rather than stand on the sidelines.
“Our values and mission are to provide a safe and hazard-free work environment. Change in standard operating procedures ensures that we can continue to do that.”
LISTEN - You’ve committed to hearing these other ideas and perspectives, now truly listen. Are the concerns valid? Are they solvable? Are they critical to the mission?
Including all voices in the conversation doesn’t mean throwing the task to the wolves. You do not have to, and in fact, should not try to solve all of the potential issues change could make. It is not about satisfying everyone, it is about being aware and informed about how your change initiative is impacting BEFORE the impact.
Ask for feedback at every step. Understand that you’re limited and can learn. The success of your organization depends on the success of the people it is made up of.
How Do I Do This?
Ask people from every area of the organization openly, “What do you see as being a barrier for this? How could this go wrong? How does this impact you? What do you need to know more about?”
Above all, communicate face to face. While there should be documentation of conversations-emails regarding the main points and objectives for the next meeting-every conversation about change initiatives should be face-to-face.
Emotions are high when change walks in, and email just can’t cut it and can be harmful to the process and prospects of change.
Tip#2. Delegate Tasks
Giving everyone a task towards the and goal creates buy-in, high levels of communication, and knocks down the hierarchy.
How Do I Do This?
Get out of your office and go talk to people, bring in coffees and talk about the mission goals, steps in getting there, strengths of the employees around you, and how they can help.
ProTip: having a warm drink in hand makes us more generous and empathetic.
Create a schedule to meet to talk about where things are and where they are going.
Tip#3. Don't Rush It
As expensive as change initiatives can be, the cost of failure is much higher. It can be gruelling to slowly launch change and may feel easier to “rip the bandage off” per se, but slow and steady has been shown to come out ahead in this race. With fewer turnover rates, higher stakeholder buy-in, and a higher rate of initiative longevity.
While not everyone will ever be fully content with any change plan, listening and transparency create traction in the right direction. This does not mean catering to every need or being a “yes man,” but being open to other opinions that may make the mission a better one.
Tip#4. Use a Professional Mediator
Communication can be hard when emotions are high. Which in this case, may be the scenario. You don't have to go at it alone. Hire a mediator to manage the open conversations about the change plans and practices in order to keep the conversation constructive. Having someone with no skin in the game ensures a level head and open ear.
Change initiatives have a significantly low success rate. Should that mean we never change? Or adapt to the world that insists on changing around us? Rather, let's change towards better change-more successful change. With transparency and willingness to understand the levels that change ripples through in organizations. Change is never complete or done, it is always requiring effort and work, but the return on the investment of change is one worth working towards.
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