The most difficult part of any job that I’ve ever had has been to lead, implement and manage change.
The friction that can be created when creating change in your environment can range from mild encounters with those who would rather continue on the path of least resistance to serious emotional breakdowns with those involved.
But positive change in your environment is likely critical to your continued success both as a person and for the company you work for. Whether you need to fix something, want to create a competitive advantage, or just need to remain current, the stress that you create, both on yourself and with your colleagues is necessary. That being said, it doesn’t have to be so hard.
Here are 5 tips that have helped me achieve change in my environment:
Provide a Purpose with Passion
When Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and addressed hundreds of thousands of people, he didn’t say “I have a great plan.” The strongest and most successful leaders of change have empowered people to see their vision, the outcome of their proposed change, and the benefits that stem from it. By providing purpose, people will buy into the change because of the outcome.
Pick your advocates
Just as two heads are better than one, two advocates are better than none. Find those who support your message of change and enable them to spread that message. The effect can be viral. I’ve had great ideas take off at such a pace that those advocates were crucial in ensuring that the vision of change was managed and didn’t result in disaster. If you can’t find advocates, and no one wants to support your change, see the next point!
Understand the objections
Most of the time, people’s objections are founded in ignorance in the truest sense of the word. People just don’t know what they don’t know. It’s not their fault. Your opportunity is to enlighten them and provide them with the information that is driving your opinion. I have even, at times, recognized that objections to change that I was implementing were founded in knowledge that I wasn’t equipped with, changing my perspective. Recognizing that objections can be overcome through open dialogue, trust and understanding is critical to the success of change.
Pick a time for change
While I completely disagree with the adage “Don’t fix it if it’s not broken.”, I think it really is important to point out that timing is everything. You can have the most desirable change in the world but if no one supports it, no one is ready for it, and you can’t find an advocate, then it just won’t happen. No matter how hard you might try, you may not be the catalyst to change. But just because change isn’t now, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Be ready when the time is right.
Start Early
When I was young, my parents and I would go to my aunt and uncle’s house for dinner on a weekly basis. We would spend 4 hours there and mom would say “We’re leaving.” and I would argue that I hadn’t had enough time to play. My parents very quickly adapted to this. They would give me a departure time when we arrived, tell me an hour before we left that we were leaving in an hour, and then 30 minutes before, and 15, until it came time to leave and I had no objections. I had no objections because I’d been advised of the change early in the process and was kept aware of the change throughout. The process is much of the same in a business environment. Start early, give people nuggets of your change in very small increments, keep them along for the ride. 80 small incremental changes will go over much better than 1 big change.
Good luck implementing your future changes!
Any other suggestions of things you’ve found to be helpful in supporting change within your environment?
