Every leader has had the experience of unveiling an organizational change and getting a less-than positive response from their team. While a significant amount of planning can go into managing the organizational changes that affect the financial, organizational and process structures of an organization, it is also important to manage the effect of the changes on people’s emotions. Sometimes the reaction is subtle: lowered eyes, tightened lips, silence. With a more confident or vocal team, you might get questions about whether the change is necessary, complaints about “yet another thing to do,” and lots of reasons why this just isn’t a good time for a big shift.

Humans are creatures of habit. They like their routine and feel uncomfortable or hesitant when that consistency is broken. As a leader, if you can understand that initial fear and hesitation around change are normal and support your people through the necessary mindset shift, you’ll be much better able to build a critical mass of people who will understand, accept, and adopt the change reasonably quickly. More important, you’ll be helping your people to become more change-capable overall: to create skills and habits of mind to approach change in a more neutral, open way, and therefore to be better able to navigate all the changes that will arise in this new era.

Let’s also not forget that leaders have to face their own challenges with the change while simultaneously supporting others, creating alignment with their team and supporting momentum when things get hard. Change is never easy, but here are a few tips to make it less painful.

  1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. In the absence of data, we make up stories. Clear communication of change must answer these three questions:
    • What is the change (in the simplest form)?
    • Why is the change happening?
    • What is expected post-change?
  2. Invite employees to have a voice; create a listening circle. Have a group of people sit in a circle without tables. Create a safe environment and allow everyone to share their thoughts, concerns and frustrations. For the majority of the session, do not defend or explain the company policy or change. Just repeat back what they said with care. Empathize and then ask their permission to share your thoughts.
  3. Give people time to adapt. Recognize what is being lost and give people time to adapt. Highlight and celebrate successes that come from working in a new way and create role models of the people working in the new way.
  4. Understand deeply held values. By working together to make seen that which is below the surface, you are able to surface and leverage that which supports and/or undermines change.
  5. Take small steps. Break down a goal into small steps. This helps your team focus on one step at a time, boosts confidence, and motivates people to stick with pursuing it.

Changes, big or small, can trigger the emotional rollercoaster that is the change curve. It’s only natural for people to wonder what is going to be different for them. What’s going to happen with my role, how others perceive me and how I work with others?

Leaders should anticipate what they need to do when change comes, and not just for big changes. Make sure to show empathy and appreciation of effort. Acknowledge your team and recognize how far they have come. Ask them what they need to get to the next step. Create alignment with your team, and support momentum when things get hard. Do the work to move through change together.

 

References:
Harvard Business Review (2022, April 7) Erika Andersen: Change is Hard. Here’s How to Make It Less Painful.
Forbes (2021, December 1) Jenn Lofgren: How to Lead Through Big (And Small) Changes
Forbes (2020, July 30) Forbes Coaches Council: 16 Coaching Techniques to Help Your Team Overcome Resistance to Change