How can you build a team that thrives in the face of change?

Remind yourself and your team that change is constant in our lives. A plant will grow from a seedling to become an enormous tree over time. The change can be very slow, or there can be a sudden onset of change. But one thing that remains a constant is that change is a consistent part of life on our planet. So if we keep that in mind from a helicopter view, it can help us better weather the impacts of and adapt to circumstances of change instead of resenting or resisting it, especially when it happens suddenly in our lives.

Along with a growth mindset, it is equally important for a team to be there together willingly, not something that is forced upon them. Some times it so happens that teams constitute people who believe they aren't meant to be together or that they won't gel well. All it takes is willingness to look beyond the obvious and strangest of team members have given unprecedented outcomes, based on a strong willed effort. The team leader needs to instill this habbit of looking beyond the apparent and obvious in the team members, change or no change, they'll thrive!

In my experience, navigating change in product marketing is all about painting the big picture for your team. It's about turning those "why are we doing this?" moments into "ah, I get it now!" By involving everyone in the journey, not only do we build a shared trust and enthusiasm, but we also get to shape a future that's exciting for us all. It's like steering a ship through uncharted waters, knowing that every voice on deck makes the voyage worthwhile.

In order to provide support and resources to your team, you must ensure that you provide support and resources to yourself. If you run out of oxygen and do not put on your oxygen mask first, you will not be able to give others around you oxygen to survive, to use an aviation metaphor. A burned out manager is good to no one. Learn to establish boundaries so you can preserve yourself and so you can be in a position to take care of and advocate for your team. It's not easy to do in the thick of major activity (and sometimes chaos), but it is oh so important.

It can be harder to work with people who have a different approach to things since it takes you outside your comfort zone and can be frustrating even. Yet diversity in people leads to more robust idea generation and potential problem resolution which contributes to the success of a product and of an organization, so it is well worth the extra effort it may require.

Creating an open mind for individuals to welcome others from varied backgrounds and experiences, it is key that diversity is celebrated and openness to diversity, praised. However, it should not be diversity just for the sake of it and a truly open culture, where talent rules and prejudices don't. Out of work networking events help a lot to infuse this kind of openness faster within the team.

Putting a process and culture of continuous improvement removes the "challenge" aspect of change rather quickly within teams and organisations. As the culture focuses on continuous improvement, change is but a natural part of the process, in fact a welcome part. Teams who're tuned to revisit the outcome of their actions, planning and execution, can naturally adapt to change, as it'll feature in their review of things.

Identifying the victims of change or the team members who suffered the most due to major changes and collaborating to help them recover could be part of an organisation's culture. The leader could help set this process up, evaluate it and reward it too. This way change can be just another collective learning experience and a more emphathetic one.