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Change Management

Your Role In Change​

Change means to make things differently. To perform tasks well, you and your team also need to become different. You can’t operate with the same mindset or follow old routines and expect different results.

Research shows that people are biased toward expecting negative outcomes. They then cling to this mistaken perception as proof that successful change is an anomaly.

  • Navigate continual change: Build skills for making the most of continual change.
  • Empower your team to initiate change: Identify and carry out opportunities for improvement.
  • Lead a change initiative: Plan for and manage successful change projects.
  • Address resistance to change: Anticipate and address factors that can derail change.

Get your team involved, and make them feel valuable, and empowered to voice ideas.

Studies show that going through an organizational change can be just as painful as suffering the loss of a loved one.

In order to navigate change, you must show a grounded, stable presence. "Put your own mask first":

  • Take care of yourself first: Practice self-care
  • See yourself as an influencer: Take ownership for your part of the initiative.
  • Be a role model: Help your team stay focused on new opportunities

Dealing with stress is a key factor in people who navigate change well. You need to be able to bounce back from setbacks. Move ahead despite challenges, replace negativity with creativity. Learning new skills requires exercising, sleep, and cognitive agility. Take brain breaks throughout the day, and summon positive thoughts. Once you're ready: start small, be specific about the outcomes, find training resources, and partner with other people/communities.

Develop new work habits. Habits always involve a cue, a behavior and a reward. Figure out how to make the cue and reward work to trigger/stop a behavior.

Make improvements together​

Identify gaps, experiment with new ways of doing things, and continually improve your practice. Be curious, even if the problem is someone else's it's ok to be investigative and ask questions; options are important, not answers. Run experiments, don't guess.

As a leader, you need to enable the team to spot and initiate change. Create an environment that is SAFE: (S)et boundaries, be (A)pproachable, show (F)allibility, and (E)ngage people proactively. Improvement comes from the following attitudes: ask probing questions, operate in "learning" mode, design the future, and prioritize where to invest.

Test your ideas by:

  • setting clear objectives
  • creating prototypes
  • learn from experiences
  • making adjustments
  • releasing them on a larger scale
  • adapt as needed

Make the case for change​

As a leader, your role is to make the case for change and let your team know how it will affect them. Explain why, what, and how. You'll play the role of communicator, advocate, coach, and troubleshooter. Don't just tell your team, engage them.

Don't push back on the change resistance. Ask people to reflect on their experience (aspirational question, is everything as good as you would like it to be?). The current state is not deficient, but the new way can still be better. Start by mobilizing the biggest supporters of change, they will naturally spread enthusiasm. The best change influencers: understand the goals, have diverse viewpoints, have strong leadership, and can set aside personal interests in favor of the larger goal.

Managers can successfully approach change initiatives by "social proof" demonstrate people are already successfully using the new way. Break work into chunks, clarify people's involvement, and specify roles. Then, to keep momentum going, monitor progress, review and adjust, and continually learn. When monitoring, pick critical indicators, decide how to measure progress, and test your assumptions.

There will be setbacks. Set the tone for the group. Celebrate wins by making sure people feel good about their hard work, maintaining momentum, and neutralizing skepticism.

Address Resistance to Change​

The human brain is conditioned to resist change. It's a manager's job to motivate the team.

  • When you notice a lack of confidence in the change initiation: Help your team believe in the change by pointing out the benefits.
  • If you see a preference for existing processes: Involve team members in planning how to implement the change.
  • If you sense distrust in those leading the change: Help build relationships between team members and the people leading the effort.
  • When a team member expresses a fear of personal loss (job security, status, stability): Show your team how the change will result in new opportunities.

Resistance can be an opportunity, not an obstacle. They may be expressing a (correct) feeling that others are afraid to say. Find what's behind the worry, address valid concerns, make resisters part of the solution.

Change is challenging for your brain. When you’re learning something new, your brain uses 25% of your total energy—causing your prefrontal cortex to work overtime.

Change is the status quo for companies. It can overwhelm your team. To help: bring on temporary help, reassign tasks, postpone certain steps, and scale back initiatives.

Don't sabotage your team's efforts: state improvement goals, recognize behaviors that prevent them from reaching goals, dig for hidden competing commitments, and list big assumptions. Challenge assumptions, design bite-sized experiments, and watch progress over time.