10 Suggestions for Leading Change or Transformation

10 suggestions for leading change or transformation

1.     Tell people the real reason for the change or transformation - don’t BS your ‘why’

People are smart. They usually can ascertain why you are making a change or why the business is needing to transform. Be honest, if it is cost cutting, tell them, and get their help. If it is because you need to automate, tell them. Any time you spend too long rewriting a phoney history for why change is taking place, you risk breaking trust.

2.     Admit you don’t have all the answers.

Trust your managers to fill you in on what they believe are roadblocks to the change. Giving your trusted management staff the opportunity to provide feedback, and then using the feedback to design approach builds trust. It’s way better to ask them how you can accomplish your goal than thrusting change upon them.

3.     Be transparent.

Keeping change a secret is to protect YOU, not prepare your people. Transparency provides an opportunity for a thoughtful approach for rallying your teams to help meet your outcomes. Secrets break trust, because, there are no secrets. People always find out the plan, and when you are not transparent, they fill in the blanks themselves.

4.     Build a change plan, not a resistance management plan.

Focusing on resistance is a fear activity that hinders people’s ability to build a relevant way to move through change. Designing ways to inform, assess, prepare, equip, and support people through change makes the solution more relevant and provides a long-lasting adoption. Focusing solely on resistance means you are more worried about how the change impacts you than the people being asked to change.

5.     Assign an actual change team.

A team that is well versed in the discipline of organizational change management and know how people best move through change is a sign of organizational change maturity. Well-oiled machines, where every part works together without friction, are the preference of industry, wouldn’t you want that for the team you are asking to lead a major change? Every member of the team should have the same philosophy and understanding of change and transformation for your organization, be dedicated to the task, and know how to drive adoption and utilization of the change.

6.     Call it what it is, change or transformation.

A change doesn’t change how you do business. When your business is functioning as it always has but you are adding a new tool, shifting roles, or introducing a new process – that’s a change. Stop calling it digital transformation if all you have done is added new software. Transformation occurs when you are transforming HOW you do your business and the tools, roles and processes are shifting to accommodate that complete change in business.

7.     Make your change specialist your advisor. They have worked years to research and practice a myriad of approaches and facilitate change and transformation, listen to them. Putting them 5 layers down the rung is like telling them you see no value in their abilities or specialties. You will want someone who can advise you on approach, how to reach people in ways you had not considered, and who can guide you as a sponsor through the change. Managing change the same way you manage operations is an unrealistic expectation.

8.     Be kind. Your staff are the people who drive your operations, they deserve your respect and gratitude. Respecting their knowledge and including them in defining your approach will contribute to a better change plan. Like a parent who says, “Because I said so” behaviour will not change when your approach is a top-down directive.

9.     Know what it is to be the sponsor of change. Sponsors must have authority to approve approach and are ready, willing, and able to take on the role with time commitment. You cannot lead change or transformation by attending a 30 minute update once a month. Key sponsors are not delegators of change, they are leaders of change.

10.  Know what a change plan involves. Communications are only one part of the overall change plan, which includes engagement and participation, planning, approach, risk mitigation, change networks, and many other ways of bringing people along the journey. What you want to do is engage, build trust, drive adoption, not broadcast steps.

__________________________________________________________

Patti Blackstaffe is the CEO and a Managing Director of Strategic Sense Inc. A people-strategy company that empowers their clients with the strategies and tools for building Enterprise Transformation Agility (ETA). Being agile and able to manage and adopt change powerfully transforms cultures, leads to the higher adoption of digital transformation, and improves organizational change maturity. Strategic Sense Inc. does people strategy and helps leaders build trust and transparency.

#changemanagement #transformation #leadingchange