Mistake 7: Not Getting Ahead of Change
New or inexperienced managers often struggle with managing change because they have rarely led a successful change initiative themselves. They don’t have a model or framework to follow, and managing change is hard work. Traditional change models no longer apply. Organizations aren’t static entities with time to freeze, unfreeze, and refreeze, as author Kurt Lewin suggested in his 1951 book, Field Theory in Social Science. Even the easily understood framework of William Bridges author of The Way of Transition: Embracing Life’s Most Difficult Moments framework of endings and beginnings with an awkward neutral zone in the middle—no longer speaks to the dynamic and continuous nature of change we face in organizations today.
These methodologies all suggested that something dramatic was going to happen, chaos would ensue, and then the organization would land in a calmer and, indeed, better place. That isn’t reality because today’s organizations are involved in constant, multiple, and simultaneous changes. Rather than thinking about change as an event, experienced and highly effective leaders think about change as a constant, and they have built the habits of managing change into their daily work routines. Thinking like a boss requires you to constantly scan for change on the horizon—and get ahead of it before it creates chaos, confusion, and unrest within the workforce. As one wise leader said to me, “If it isn’t broken, keep fixing it so it doesn’t break.”
Leaders who manage change well:
• Explain the “why” as well as creating the “what” of change;
• Create a complete and detailed change plan and share it with staff and other stakeholders;
• Facilitate an open and trusting process for team members to ask questions and share anxieties;
• Look for early wins and celebrate them broadly;
• Encourage negative emotions to be recognized, addressed, and managed;
• Appreciate the pace of change and are on the lookout for change fatigue among staff; and
• Share negative information with compassion and care.
If you need something simple and quick, consider the following steps in planning for and implementing a successful change initiative. I’ve evolved this model over the years. The beauty of the model is that it works for both small changes such as reorganizing departmental roles and for major changes such as implementing a new performance-management system across the entire enterprise. The model, fashioned from the classic leading-change model introduced by John Kotter, author of Leading Change, allows the manager or change-management practitioner to think logically through the change before it is shared with various employee groups and other stakeholders.
Change in organizations is persistent and perpetual. While change is often triggered by an event such as a merger or a system implementation, it needs to be embraced as a constant because each new change must fit within other existing and ongoing changes. Thinking like a boss includes earnestly accepting change and building change practices into your everyday work life.
Looking for more tools to manage change, check out www.inthelead.co/books