May 2010 Success!Ezine-Leading Change

Feature Article

Leading Change

E. Carol Webster, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2010

The recession has forced both individuals and organizations to cope with tremendous change. Change is often difficult because it pushes everyone out of their comfort zone into the unfamiliar and unknown. These turbulent times require leaders who can manage the process of change effectively. Sharpen your skills so that you can succeed.

How Does the Change Benefit Your Staff?

There’s a tendency to focus on how change will benefit the organization without understanding the psychology of your staff. Most people want to know “What’s in it for me?” so make sure they understand specifically how the change you are implementing will benefit them. Highlight the short term benefits. Everyone loves instant gratification. But include those that are down the road, too. The more you can demonstrate how your staff’s needs will be met, the more embracing of the change they will be.

Help Staff Buy Into the Process

Employees frequently feel that the process of change has not been handled properly and they work hard to rebel against “the system” as a result. They may feel blindsided by the changes being made and indignant that their input wasn’t solicited. Your long term staff will probably harbor the greatest resentment about this. While it may be impossible, impractical or unwise to include staff in all transformational planning, it’s never too late to acknowledge their feelings of being left out, to apologize for oversights that could have been handled differently, and to get their opinions as you move forward to put the new plans in place. There may be room for fine-tuning and any opportunity to bolster the team and engage them in the process will facilitate implementation.

Build Trust

Practically all companies are doing more with less these days, and many are merging with others just to stay in business. Former fierce competitors may now be key decision-makers and this can engender considerable mistrust – especially if you’re a member of the new team that’s “taking over.” People need to feel that it’s safe to follow you. They need to trust that doing things your way will benefit them. Most importantly, everyone needs to feel that, when all is said and done, you were truthful in your claims and can be trusted.

Change is necessary to cope with these difficult times. To be successful in making necessary transformations, understand that your staff needs to feel engaged in the process, and convinced that following you, is a win for them.

Copyright © 2002-2012 E. Carol Webster, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved