So You Want to Embrace Change? Adopt These Five Behaviours…

IT IS a well-known fact that most human beings hate change.

After all there is an old saying that the only person who embraces change is a baby with a wet nappy!

Take change at work, for example.

It is all very well putting together a complex plan of processes and organisational changes but if the human factor isn’t considered then there is only a small likelihood of success.

According to leadership and change management expert Edith Onderick-Harvey writing recently in the Harvard Business Review, the failure rate of some change enterprises is often as high as 90 per cent.

This is largely because of the disruption experienced by existing staff whose changing roles have not been considered adequately.

In such cases, there is an urgent need for agile ‘change leaders’ at all levels of the organisation to take control of the situation and seize new opportunities.

This may include throwing out old models - or developing new ways of doing business.

To help do this successfully, Onderick-Harvey outlines five effective ways to achieve ‘agile change’:

1. Instil a sense of purpose

When responding to people who have a natural aversion to change, it is important to get them involved and instil in them a sense of belonging, belief and purpose. Without this it is highly unlikely the changes will be effective

2. Look beyond the ‘here and now’

To achieve successful change, it is crucial everyone, and not just senior management, is able to look ahead and see the opportunities the changes will bring. By doing this and infusing a spirit of ‘change agility’ throughout the organisation, you are much more likely to succeed

3. Be open and transparent

For people in the organisation to learn fully from the changes, it is important for management to be totally honest about what is working and what is not. This also helps to develop a sense of wellbeing and security among the employees - who can then reciprocate and share their own problems and concerns more confidently

4. Ask: “Why not?”

Change agility requires organisations to think ‘outside the box’. Thus, instead of asking ‘why’ when an element of risk is involved, leaders should really be asking ‘why not’. This involves experimentation and is best summed up by George Bernard Shaw, who said: “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”

5. Involve cross-collaboration

Where there is organisational change, it is important to ‘bring down the barriers’ between departments, or even whole organisations. Not only does this allow for the rapid flow of information and decision-making around a product, customer, or region, but it also saves money, attracts more customers, and increases sales.  

When an organisation adopts these measures in concert, their chances of successfully implementing the changes are increased at every level.

And, when embracing change, there are some useful steps that can be taken on an individual basis to help deal with the stresses involved.

These include:

·     Practising appreciation

Every day find five things you appreciate and are grateful for. Sometimes this can involve writing things down in order to fully appreciate them.

·     Meditations and breathing exercises

These can be very helpful when the stresses of life and work are getting on top of you.

·     Physical exercise 

Sometimes just taking even a short walk can be enough to ‘de-stress’ and reinvigorate yourself - so you are ready to take things on again.