Managing Change

How do you successfully manage change in the workplace? Well, this is the subject of today's how to lead the podcast for CEO founders and leaders who want the perfect balance of empathy and authority. I'm Kate Waterfall Hill, and I'll be sharing some ideas from over 30 years of working in business and leadership development.

Before we start the show, a quick reminder that if you want to stop screaming into a pillow every time you think about team management, and you'd like to learn how to become a better leader, Do sign up to my free weekly newsletter at waterfallhill.co.uk. But first, let's see what Linda has to say. Linda, my alter ego on social media, who inspires us to great leadership by showing us how not to lead.

She's going to kick off with her way of managing change, which is to not manage change at all.

“How do we go about managing change here? Well we don't really manage it, we just enforce it. Yes, we just make a decision and put it in place, tell everyone that's what we're doing. No discussion? No. No warning? No. No. No trying to get buy in from people in advance so that they embrace the change? No, not really, that's not how we do things.

Do we have a clear vision of what the future might look like and why we're making the change? No, not really. And do we have conversations about why the change is necessary and what might happen if we don't make the change? So trying to highlight the dissatisfaction that might come if we don't do something?

No, no. And do we make it really clear what the small next steps might be to achieve the vision? No, no. We just put in place the change and tell people to get on with it really. People need to embrace change, you know, things happen. Why do I make changes? Um, well, they've got to keep me busy somehow, haven't they?

And I get given this budget sometimes that I've just got to spend, you know. So I put in a new piece of software or a new bit of technology, change the process, change the structure. Yeah, fire a few people, hire a few people, change people's roles. Yeah, keeps me out of mischief. That's what a manager's for, isn't it?

And then I spend the rest of my time managing the fallout from the change which hasn't gone very well. Hasn't landed well with the team. Hasn't actually been an improvement after all. We should have just kept with the original idea. Yeah. We do meet quite a lot of resistance. Shame really. Just wish people could embrace what I have to say a bit more and just get on with it.

Do what they're told.”

Poor old Linda doesn't really like change very much, but not many people do. Some love it, some fear it, and others pretend it's not happening while hiding behind a mountain of emails. But in reality, change is really the only constant in business and any organisation really. Managing it well can make the difference between thriving and just surviving.

Or barely surviving. So how do we steer the ship through turbulent waters without losing our crew to seasickness? Grab your coffee, settle in, and let's dive into some top tips for managing change in the workplace. First things first, let's talk about communication.

You're planning a surprise birthday party but forgot to tell the guests where to go, right? Chaos. The same goes for workplace change. Clear, transparent communication is the absolute cornerstone of successful change management.

When announcing change, be completely upfront about what's happening, why it's happening, and how it will affect everyone. Use multiple channels, emails, meetings, workshops, opportunities to ask questions, a Q& A session perhaps.

Remember, over communication is so much better than under communication. followers on social media tell me how their organisations fail really badly at this. They announce major changes in short, vague emails.

What it's about. Obviously being cryptic or unclear just does not go down well. Next up, involvement. People are loads more likely to support what they help create. Involve your team in the change process. Seek their input, listen to their concerns, and incorporate their feedback where you can. It's like baking a cake together.

Everyone's more excited to eat it when they've had a hand in making it.

I've got an example of this that worked really well. There was a manager I once worked with who was tasked with implementing a new software system. He didn't just sort of work away on it with the consultants and then just launch it on the team. He. formed a small task force to test it out first.

They did actually identify some issues, but they suggested improvements. And by the time it rolled out company wide, everyone was on board and excited. They'd heard this sort of positive buzz around the place. If you can be like him, make it a team effort. It really will help. talk about training and support. So you wouldn't expect someone to just jump in a car without lessons and start driving when they hadn't actually learned properly. So why do we [00:05:00] expect people to adopt new processes or technologies without any training? It's so important to provide comprehensive training sessions, create user friendly guides, and ensure there's always someone to turn to for help.

There's loads of software you can use for this. I personally use Loom, but I know there are lots of other ones that you can record what you're doing on the screen you can send it to somebody as a link and they can go back and refer to it as many times as they like. How did she say how to do that again?

So when I was a consultant, one of my client companies implemented a new customer relationship management or CRM system. And they asked for a CRM champion in each department. These champions were the go to experts and it just made the transition so much smoother. They were the change, you know, superheroes in the office.

Next on the list is flexibility. So change really goes exactly as planned. Be prepared to tweak your approach based on feedback and evolving circumstances. So, you know, it's, it's like trying to assemble Ikea furniture. Sometimes you just got to stop, reread the instructions, you know, and realize that you put the shelf on backwards, or you're maybe missing a few screws that were tucked away in the cardboard still.

I'm interrupting myself briefly to let you know that my new book, How to Lead, is out now. It's filled with simple, proven methods I've gathered over my 30 years as a managing director and then coach of over 200 leaders. So if you're ready for straightforward, real world approaches to leading with purpose, this book is for you.

You can grab a PDF or a Kindle version from my website or a paperback edition from Amazon. Both links are in the Now, let's get back to the show.

Another key point is empathy. Change can be stressful. It's easier for you if you're the one driving the change because you've seen it coming. But lots of the time, you know, your team will feel anxious or resistant.

Show understanding and patience. I remember a colleague who was really resistant to a new project management tool. And instead of forcing it, I really tried to take the time to understand his concerns and worked with him to address them. It made all the difference. Let's not forget the importance of celebrating milestones.

Change can be a long process, so celebrate the small victories along the way. You know, it's like running a marathon. Those little water stations keep you going. Recognize the rewards and efforts of your team, because a little appreciation goes a long way. Talking of appreciation, maintaining morale really important.

During periods of change, it's really crucial to keep team spirit high. So if you can, if it's the style of organisation that does team building activities, do those. Keep the lines of communication open and make sure that everyone feels valued. Think of it as the glue that holds everyone together.

Finally, please lead by example. Your team looks to you for cues on how to react to change. If you're positive, adaptable and open minded, they're more likely to follow suit. once worked for a managing director who, during a massive company overhaul, really maintained an upbeat attitude and kept us all motivated with energy and optimism, even though behind the scenes, it was really, really stressful.

But it was contagious in the best way possible, this positivity. The other element of understanding change is knowing about this thing called the change equation. This model has helped lots of people on my Leadership Accelerator Program and people I coach one to one get their heads around why people resist change and what you might do about it.

The idea is that it's pretty inevitable that most people resist change. Not everyone, but most people like change. Inertia or being comfortable, or at least they like doing what they've always done. They feel invested in the way things are. Maybe they created it in the first place.

Assuming that most of your team will resist change, then the change equation gives you a model for approaching how to reduce the resistance. It's this. In order for people to accept or even embrace change, they need to understand what's wrong with the current way of doing things. You might need to agitate their sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo, bring awareness to why it's not okay to stay like you are.

Maybe there's lost revenue, wasted time, dissatisfied customers, poor patient outcomes, whatever the measure of success is. Or it might be that the way you're currently doing something is inherently boring, lacks creativity, is inefficient. Highlight this, or you'd better still ask the team to identify what's wrong with the current way of doing things, and you have the start of reducing that resistance.

If they can see why staying still isn't okay, they might be more prepared to move forward. So next, be really clear about the positive outcome that will come from the change. What's the vision? What's the point? How will it actually make lives better, certainly make your team's lives better, if you can answer that one, then it's much better.

If you can't articulate why you want to make the change, then frankly, why are you making it? Then it's about giving people or helping people find the clear next steps towards the vision of the future. So it might be just one small step in the right direction, the first baby step, or it might be a short series of steps.

Don't make it overly complicated. Just give them an idea of what you need from them. And it might be that the resistance arose because they were confused or concerned about how to enact the change. It's even better if you do all this as a team. Discuss what the current gaps are and hunt out the dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Create a vision of a better future together and chat through what the first steps might be. Don't just impose it, make it a collaborative effort and you're more likely to meet acceptance or even support. So to wrap up, managing change in the workplace is about clear communication, involving your team, providing training and support, Being flexible, showing empathy, celebrating milestones, maintaining morale, and importantly, or as always, leading by example.

It's a really complex dance, but with the right steps, you can lead your team through change gracefully. Thank you for listening to this episode of How to Lead. Please subscribe or follow to ensure you don't miss out on future episodes.

Like, leave a review and share with your fellow leaders to help spread the word. I really do appreciate your support. If you have any suggestions for future episodes, please let me know. My contact details are in the show notes. And remember, you don't have to do this alone. You too can enjoy being an authoritative and yet empathetic leader.

It just takes a decision to be more intentional about your interactions with others. Some great tips for how to influence positive change. And of course, a good guide. Listen more, advise less, lead well. Until next time, enjoy.