In today’s business world, not only is change the norm, but the speed of change continues to accelerate. Dealing with change and leading others through it can be challenging. No matter what business you’re in, your ability to lead your organization through change can make or break your success.
Changes come in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. The idea that anything ever remains constant is an illusion, yet people struggle with change, even when it’s positive.
You can show your team how to manage change within themselves and within the organization. We can shift our perspective from outside-in (what others are doing to me) to inside-out (how I can change to adapt to the situation). By increasing our resilience, we can handle anything by changing, adapting, and growing.
One way to be resilient in times of change is to be present. The only place and time we can deal with change is here and now. It’s important to recognize that change does have an impact. And by learning the skills to navigate it, we can implement it faster ourselves and help others do so as well.
CASE STUDY
Mergers and acquisitions bring a great deal of change to both organizations. Jon had been through this kind of change before, but he wanted to improve and accelerate the process with his division’s current acquisition.
Both organizations had already been through a high level of change and were experiencing some change fatigue. Jon started the integration process by sharing the vision and setting very high expectations. Both organizations responded with resistance.
Jon was frustrated and had tried to get his leadership team to motivate the organization, but they didn’t know how to help. We talked about the impact of change and walked through all the changes employees from both organizations had experienced over the past few years.
We created and implemented a plan to honor and acknowledge their accomplishments, while educating all managers so they fully understood the vision, the context, and the upcoming changes. Then, Jon’s team worked with key influencers to help manage the resistance, sponsor the change, and realize the vision.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ACTION PLAN
How do you currently respond to change?
What can you do to improve your resilience?
How can you improve your organization’s ability to navigate through change?
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
~ Jimmy Dean