How to Deal with the Emotional Fallout of Leading Your Teams Through Change

When an organisation is going through challenging times, as a senior leader it can be hard to confidently reassure your teams when you don’t feel reassured about the future yourself.

Rather than having an open, honest dialogue, it may be tempting to not communicate what is going on. Burying your head in the sand rather than face your teams with confidence, hope and optimism. But failing to communicate only starts the gossip mongering going. And in the absence of anything to the contrary, your teams will draw their own conclusions.

In times of uncertainty, it is better to be open and honest with your teams and let them know there are difficult times ahead. But how do you strike the balance between letting them know the reality of the situation and giving them some hope so that they don’t become totally demotivated and all abandon ship?

Communicate frequently

The sooner you can communicate the plan to your teams, the better it is for everybody. Research shows that people would rather hear bad news than no news and be left to draw their own conclusions. In the absence of clarity about what the future holds, let your communication focus on the positives.

Communicate what is going on frequently to keep your teams updated and apprised of the situation. If they are not kept informed, they are likely to start guessing and invariably imagining the worst. And it may be that the worst is going to happen and if this is likely, maintain optimism and help them to see the good that can come out of this situation. Even if it means that some of them may have to leave the organisation.

Make sure that your management team are fully apprised of what is going on and that you are all singing from the same hymn sheet and sending out the same messages. At the same time, don’t forget that your management team are also likely to be concerned and worried about their future, so ensure that they are getting the support that they need.

Get team involvement

Get your teams involved as much as you possibly can by seeking their opinions and letting their voices be heard. Don’t shut them out in the cold. Involve people at all levels in the organisation, engaging with them and involving them in the implementation of the changes. Don’t just pay lip service to them and do this as a PR exercise. Genuinely listen to what they have to say and to their concerns.  Don’t be outright dismissive of their ideas, you never know they may have some innovative ones.

Do make it clear why ideas cannot be taken on board. Often your teams may not see the bigger picture and may be viewing the situation solely from their individual perspective and position of fear.

Develop sub groups that team members can become involved in to look at implementing different aspects of the change. Involve people from all levels, getting them involved in the design of new processes and systems. They will then become ambassadors and able to support the communication process to other team members. This will help to keep people engaged and motivated.

When leading on a large change project that affected 22 locations, I put together a sub group comprising of staff from different levels from across the region, including those junior team members who were directly involved with the work that was going to be changed.

As they were the ones directly involved in doing the work, they were best placed to say what impact the changes would have and to come up with an administrative process that was compliant to what was needed and that they could work with. They were then able to feedback and communicate with their colleagues. This helped to maintain engagement and motivation.

Be socially intelligent and provide support for your teams

Be aware of how these turbulent times are affecting your teams. A lot of them will be scared and fearful of the uncertainty of what the future holds. As a result they may be stressed, anxious and acting irrationally.

According to Daniel Goleman, socially intelligent leaders know how to listen carefully, to empathise and are able to respond deftly when team members express their frustrations.   

A client of mine, a manager whose organisation was going through restructuring had to reapply for one of the few positions that would remain after the restructure. When she came for coaching, she was having sleepless nights, suffering from blotchy patches on her skin and severely dried scalp. These were the physiological symptoms of the stress that she was under.

The main thing that was worrying her was that she thought that she would end up homeless. She believed that she would mess up the interview and not get one of the positions, would be made redundant and not be able to pay her mortgage. If she couldn’t pay her mortgage she would have her house repossessed.

Because of the stress that she was experiencing, she was unable to see that her thinking was irrational and as such, that this was what was causing the stress.

Through coaching, I helped her to put things in to perspective, to view her situation rationally and she came to see that if the worst was to happen, with her years of experience and skills, she shouldn’t have any problem getting another job. And in the event that she didn’t get a job straight away, she could rent out her spare bedroom, allowing her to continue paying her mortgage until she got something else.

This change in her thinking and beliefs about the outcome, took away the anxiety and stress. She was a lot calmer and confident about the interview and she went in to the interview and got the position.

Whilst the budget may not allow for individual coaching support, providing workshops on how to cope with change is a lower cost and effective way of providing support and is a worthwhile investment. Or at the least, signpost team members as to where they can get support

Practice self care

I always say that before you can lead others you have to be able to lead yourself and part of that self leadership involves practising self care and ensuring that you look after yourself. Managing significant change and leading your teams through it, can take its toll on you so make sure that you are looking after you. You will be no good to your teams if you are stressed and frazzled.

The temptation can be to work 24/7 thinking that you will get more done. But this is counterproductive. You need to take breaks, you need to keep your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual energy levels topped up. Failing to do so will mean that you are not at your optimal.

Make sure that you have the support that you need. Surround yourself with people that you can go to and offload your concerns, who can help you to make sure that you are maintaining a rational perspective and that you are keeping an optimistic outlook. Keep your emotions in check and stress levels at bay.

Whilst change is inevitable, it is important to remember that the individuals who are going through the change are human, as are you. They may have fears, concerns, distrust, lack of motivation, be pessimistic and be low on resilience.  If not dealt with, the emotional fallout from organisational change can have far reaching implications. By taking the time to understand what your teams are going through and ensuring that they feel supported, it can make the transition so much smoother and easier for all concerned.

Are you a leader going through organisational change and if so, how are you dealing with the emotional fallout from it?  

If you are an organisation going through change or restructure and would like to support your teams through this change, or want support for yourself, email me at [email protected] and lets arrange to have a chat so I can let you know how I can help.

ABOUT ME:

I am The Coach for High Achieving Introverted Women, a Writer, Speaker, UK top 50 Business Adviser and the founder of Abounding Solutions . With over 25 years coaching and leadership experience, I help introverted women to be authentic, bold, confident leaders and excel in their careers and businesses.

I also help organisations develop the talent pipeline of female employees so that more women make it to senior management roles.

I write here on LinkedIn, on my website and on Huffington Post on subjects to help women achieve optimal potential in their careers and businesses.

Are you a high achieving introverted woman? A woman striving to be the best that you can be. A woman who wants to be a sphere of influence and be an authentic, bold, confident leader, excelling in your career or business. Do you want to make a difference and a positive impact in your respective field or community? Do you want to do this AND be true to who you are, whilst living a meaningful, purposeful, balanced life? If this is you and you're not part of the community, come on over and join the conversation here