Six “Musts” for Leading Change
In the past few years, companies have needed to rapidly implement change across the organization to adapt to difficult times. Companies thrived, survived, or died from the sudden changes necessary to continue serving customers. Hopefully, nothing like the pandemic ever graces our world again, but even so, sudden change is something to anticipate and prepare for.
The success of change rests at the heart of the relationship between the leader and their direct report. Unfortunately, many leaders don’t have the knowledge they need to lead change.
The following list of change leadership principles will help those leading change and build their confidence in driving business results.
1. Leverage the Existing Culture
It is said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. The best laid change architecture methods and processes don’t make any difference if the culture doesn’t drive the needed behavior changes. In a Katzenbach Center survey, 84% of respondents said that the company’s culture was critical to the success of change management, and 64% saw it as more critical than strategy or operating model. The skilled change leader leverages the existing culture to support the change.
2. Lead from the Top
In the thirty plus years we’ve been supporting organizations on their change journeys, we know there is nothing more important than having the buy-in for the change at the very top of the organizations. People will care about what they are held accountable for and if the top leadership is doing things that sabotage the change activities, intentional or not, the change initiative will be doomed. The leadership team is usually the ones implementing change, which means they need to have positive influences on the rest of the employees. Everyone on the executive team, including the CEO, needs to show commitment, alignment, and agreement to the reason behind the change and the execution of it. I know, it’s easier said than done. Take every opinion into consideration and make compromises for the good of the organization.
3. Engage at All Levels
Everyone in the organization needs to be involved in the process of adopting change. Leaders might be the decision-makers, but others should be involved in implementing change processes. Bring in people who will be crucial to implementing the change early on to provide input on issues that will directly affect them. When people are involved in creating a plan, they’re more invested in making it happen. Some people believe that the fewer involved, the better, but that’s simply not the case. Involved every layer of the organization to have the best chance of success.
4. Tell the Story
Change success is all about winning not only the minds but more importantly the hearts of those that are being asked to adopt new behaviors. Hearts are not won over with facts and figures. Hearts are won with emotion. When Meg White, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and her executive team sought to launch a strong personal connection among its employees during their transformation efforts, they tore down the fences surrounding the executive parking lot and moved the top executives into cubicles. This act communicated a strong message that the desired change was more than just lip service. This is the kind of emotional connection that drives commitment.
5. Use Formal and Informal Solutions
Changing behavior needs to have the support systems in place for sustainability purposes. The surrounding organizational environment must have formal elements such as the structure, reward systems, and business processes that drive long term adoption. Strong starts will peter out without strong backups. And while formal structures are required, the informal systems will undermine them if not implemented. Remember “culture eats strategy for breakfast” and unconscious ways of behaving will prevail. Hence, why formal and informal solutions must work together.
6. Evaluate and Reconfigure
Any time change takes place, leaders need to assess and adapt if needed. Sometimes change strategies don’t work out, and that’s okay! Assess the situation, and adapt to improve. Measure the areas of success before moving on to the next phase of implementing change. Showing employees that leadership is committed to the success of this change will reinforce the idea of taking it seriously.
These six tips for leading change should give you an idea of the steps required to ensure the change is adopted among employees and executives and is thoroughly strategized before implementation. If you and your team need assistance implementing change within your organization, give us a call. Let’s discuss how we can work together to implement change across your organization.
About Transformation Strategies
Founded by Tricia Steege in 2001, Transformation Strategies is a trusted consulting firm that assists our clients to realize their desired futures by partnering with them to create comprehensive change strategies and implementation plans that accomplish real results. We specialize in shifting whole systems at one time by helping our clients think the way the whole system thinks. Contact us today to get started.
