Change the Way You Bring in Change

With rapid developments taking place in economic, political and technological arenas, the pace of change companies have to endure is accelerating rapidly. While change has become the new norm across all sectors, ‘one size fits all’ approach to change management is still very utopian. With only 26% of the transformation initiatives actually succeeding (per McKinsey), change undoubtedly comes with challenges.

At workplace, change management requires seeding new behaviors facilitated by effective persuasion, transparency and communicating alignment between organizational goals and the intended changes. Change has to start at the top and then cascade around; the leadership team has to have a crystal clear understanding of “Why Change”.  

Setting expectations early

One thing common to all successful change management leaders is that they set expectations early and effectively, but before that, absolute alignment among the leaders on “Change - Why and What” is critical. Even before the onset of any transformative initiatives, team expectations need to be managed to ensure that change management becomes easier and transformation is seen as a course of the matter, rather than something unexpected and sudden.

Strategic communication

While most change initiatives effectively demarcate what needs to be undertaken and how, the absence of a well-crafted communication strategy spoils the show. Unless changes are communicated from the audience’s perspective, “WIIIFM – what is in it for me” and tweaked along the way to suit different audiences, resistance and feeling of alienation within the teams tends to creep in. It is important to ensure that both internal as well as external stakeholders get a clear picture of what the change will entail for them as well as what the process will be like. Leaders need to “Lead by Example”, imbibing the change first and then consistently and patiently reinforcing to allow the change DNA to seep in at a sustainable pace. On one hand, employee contribution can help uncover latent insights and identify potential barriers, which makes listening a crucial part of the communication process. On the other hand, this will stimulate commitment to change management as employees will see themselves as active members rather than passive recipients.

Milestones vs goals

Change management needs to be seen as a long term process, rather than a few days' affair. Any transformative initiative must have goals and specific milestones on the way to check the progress. While achievement of particular milestones and checkpoints must be celebrated, however, losing sight of the long term goals in the face of passing victories can be self-defeating. Therefore, change management needs to focus attention on building a robust process, rather than just checking of milestones.

Develop leaders and exponents of change

It is no surprise that change management begins at the top. Unless employees observe commitment among the leadership team, behavioral change in the former is hard to expect. Change requires a strong change leadership team that is aligned and delivers consistent message to the larger organization.

While the success of change management is unique to every organization, one thing that organizations and leaders can ensure is to breed an organizational culture that embraces change.

With transformational strategies being the new norm today, the important question is what do our leaders need to be adept at being successful change agents?