Have you ever gathered together a group your customers, vendors, and employees and unveiled a new plan that involves change? How much pushback did you receive? Was your reception warm and exciting or did you see a sea of wide-eyed stares staring back at you? Fear of the unknown can be gripping. Venturing into uncharted waters and anticipating the unexpected can cause people to freeze, become stagnant, and simply shut down.
The secret to managing change in your business is to manage the anticipated fear of who will be affected by the change. Great leaders have the ability to distill the perceived notion that all change is bad. Change is good. And ongoing stages of change are crucial to a company’s success. Your job as a leader is to dig deeply into the reasons your audience perceives the change as negative, and then take the necessary steps to ensure that they have the tools to successfully navigate the change.
As John Kottler talks about in his book, “Leading Change,” people exit the comfortable and enter the uncomfortable during change. Doesn’t sound very inviting, does it? People resist change because it opens the gateway to the unknown, and they don’t understand the need to change. What they did the old way worked, so why change it? They believe that the price they have to pay to make the changes exceeds the their perceived value of the reward.
Imagine a typical office setting where the manager comes in and moves an employee’s desk six inches. The manager tells the employee that he needs to make room for another desk; a new employee is starting tomorrow. Depending on how well this employee deals with change, she may not think twice about the slight desk shift. Or she may feel threatened that a new employee is coming in and will take over her job duties. It is your role as a leader and manager to create an environment where there is no fear – where change is managed effectively. The faster you change to the “known,” the better. Always communicate the reason for the change, even if your audience doesn’t agree with it as they will accept the change faster if they are made aware versus being surprised. Reiterate how important these individuals are to your team and the success of the future. Create confidence in those affected by the change, whether it’s a customer, vendor, or employee. Lastly, focus on the results and talk about the benefits and rewards. When you stop changing, you stop improving.
As Kotter guides, here are a few ways to lead change successfully:
o Talk about past successes with your group – Give your customers and employees examples of previous changes that you have made and how they were successful. Did you change a product line to include something that seemed different at the time but then became the product that everyone wanted? Did you add new sales people to your team from outside of the industry that brought in new ideas that others learned from? Did a marketing campaign deliver good results?
o Review the “outside world” factors that influenced your decision to make change – Examine the market and offer facts with a competitive analysis of where the business is now and how it relates to the rest of the industry and your competitors. Discuss how you will avoid crisis by anticipating it, and instead look for major opportunities to capitalize on.
o Empower others to lead the change – Ask for participants and form a group or team to lead the change. This key step empowers people to feel involved and in control of the process of change and helps to distill fears of the unknown.
o Create and communicate your vision so you empower people to act – Having a clear, concrete vision allows your team to understand where change is guiding them. However, if you have a great idea but don’t “market it,” the fear of the unknown still exists. Develop your strategies for achieving the vision and then shout it out at every chance you get! Use whatever means you have to communicate your vision, through group meetings, employee and customer e-newsletters, conference calls, one-on-one sessions – any means you have to spread the word. Then empower everyone to think outside the box, to take risks by presenting non-traditional ideas, activities and actions.
o Plan for short-term wins and recognize those who are a part of those successes – Once you have put change in motion, create improvements. Then recognize and reward those who were responsible for making the improvements. This will ultimately empower others to do the same.
o Refine the vision when necessary – Change your systems and policies as your vision for change evolves and eliminate those that won’t successfully support the objective. Refine your team as well and continue to articulate the reason for the change and how it will ultimately lead to success for all.
Leading change is more about suppressing the fears of others about unanticipated events on the horizon. To minimize fear, involve all people whom the change will affect and constantly communicate your vision. It’s important that people see your need for change as an urgent one based on the economic times. But when the time comes, it’s critical that you, as the leader, manage your team through the change process. As the world becomes a faster place in which we work, change management becomes even more critical. It’s your role to successfully lead your team to new heights.
