My 4 Principles of Managing Change on the Leadership Level

Almost any book on change management states that change is hard. Change can be even harder in volatile times - such as 2023 in the tech sector. A lot of pressure is put on leaders since they need to navigate the new business environment, adapt to the new requirements translated by the key stakeholders and, simultaneously, be a beacon of light for the employees. In the last 6 years at Wrike, I went through a lot of change - both as an individual contributor and as a leader. There were multiple acquisitions, COVID-19, challenges in the tech sector in 2023, and more. As I shared in several other articles, I’m a big believer in having as much transparency as possible with the team. I do not believe in the “everything is fine” mantra that some leaders tend to repeat to the team. So before even starting to translate the why and the how behind the change to the team, as a first step I need to get buy-in from myself. Over the years, I developed a set of principles that helped me both get that buy-in and communicate the change in the best way to the team. So I decided to share them in this article with the hope that they would be helpful for leaders to navigate change.

Principle 1: Make decisions and take action without emotions

While some changes that may initially seem disturbing do not in fact pose much threat to the status quo, there are many situations that have a direct impact on the work of my team. Things like growing sales quotas, changes in the books of business, additional responsibilities, and more for obvious reasons cause stress. However, in many cases, there are few or no other options available and leaders need to follow the “disagree and commit” path. The first step in moving forward is coming up with a clear and specific plan for the team on how we can succeed in the new conditions. It’s not very likely that leaders would be able to formulate such a plan if they’re struggling with their own strong (and likely not positive) emotions. This is why for quite a while my approach was to take a break after learning the news and give myself some time to process them, accept and lower my anxiety level. Then I come back and start working on a plan for the team.?

It is very important not to have any emotional outbursts in front of the team - even if a leader feels strongly against the change. For the team, a good manager should be a beacon of hope, someone who is there for them when they’re in a stressful situation or are concerned about ambiguity. And if they see that the leader feels down herself, it would only contribute to their level of anxiety which would not be better for anyone.?

Principle 2: Choose your battles

An ideal scenario is when the interests of all teams in the organization are aligned and effective collaboration can only improve the situation. Unfortunately, in reality, it’s not always the case. Teams working closely may have interests and are conflicting directly or indirectly. In such situations, leaders of those respective teams need to get together and find a reasonable compromise with the guiding light being what’s right for the business. Customer-facing teams may also have similar situations with the clients. A common example is when a customer is requesting something that is not aligned with the contract they signed but if this is not done the relationship with the client may be severely damaged. One of my managers at Wrike gave me very valuable advice a couple of years ago - “choose your battles”. Whenever I’m evaluating any business scenario I’m always taking this principle into account when making decisions.?

Previously I was pushing for what seemed “right” and “fair”. But then I realized that in many cases it all is a matter of perspective. Maybe a manager of the other team with whom the interests of my team contradict sees the bigger picture and is aware of the factors that I didn’t take into account. Maybe a client that wants to downgrade before the renewal just got acquired by a huge organization and making up to them would enable us to initiate a conversation on a huge upgrade next quarter. Or maybe the thing I disagree with a colleague on is actually so minor that fighting over it would just be a huge waste of time. It’s not possible to win everywhere so choosing carefully what to spend time and effort on leads to better business outcomes and better relationships both with colleagues and with external stakeholders.?

Principle 3: Bring all the necessary data to the table

Building on top of principle two, some battles are indeed worth the fight. I strongly believe that a meaningful discussion with stakeholders who oppose your opinion should not be an exchange of personal sentiments. Instead, both parties need to bring the data that supports moving forward in one or the other direction. When one has such data it is way more realistic to justify that a certain approach is something that would be best for the business. For example, I may be in disagreement with other leaders on how to approach certain accounts. I would review both historical data, and current numbers and build a trend to showcase what would happen if the status quo is retained versus what would be the outcome of a suggested change. As long as the data has been properly analyzed it is usually possible to identify the risks and opportunities associated with each approach. Then the big picture would be presented to the deciding committee. I witnessed more than once how this approach helped to move forward with my decision even in situations with opposing parties had a higher level of authority. Because as long as people having authority sincerely care about the business outcomes they would likely agree to a solution that is right for the business. The same is valid visa versa - I’ve had cases when I performed an analysis before the negotiation that helped me to see details/factors that I previously didn’t take into account. So in certain cases, it became apparent that other parties’ approach made more sense from the business perspective and that’s what we pursued together.?

Principle 4: Find the positive in change

It’s not very likely that every change happening within a company would be met with a cheer by the team members. But what is even more dangerous is when there’s no buy-in for a change from the leaders. This is why it is critical for the members of executive/senior leadership teams to make sure that managers on all levels are aligned on the why behind the change. It is not always possible to get them excited about the change but at a very minimum they need to be in a “disagree and commit” mode - otherwise, the chances for the change to be realized successfully would be reduced. What has always helped me in this was to find positivity in the change. And given the large number of challenging situations I had to deal with in the last several years, I can say that there’s something positive in almost any situation. Here are some examples:

Change: The number of accounts in the books of business is decreasing

Positive side: It would be possible to spend more time with each client, build relationships, and uncover more opportunities

Change: The number of accounts is increasing

Positive side: More clients means more opportunities and a higher chance of hitting the number

Change: The team has to cover an additional function

Positive side: We get better control over our books of business. We’ll be less dependent on other people’s work and given our expertise, we’ll deliver amazing results

Please don’t get me wrong - I’m not suggesting to sugarcoat the change with nice wording. On the contrary - I’m strongly against coming up with fake reasons why the change is actually good. But as long as there’s a real opportunity to deliver better results leveraging something that has changed, doing a great job communicating the benefits to the team is very important.?

I hope that the principles I shared will help you and your team navigate change easier and in time learn how to thrive in ever changing business environment.