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The Bliss and Challenge of the R2 Diagnosis
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When change hits your business (as it inevitably will), having a change management process in place is a critical part of easing concerns and ensuring a smooth transition. It provides leaders with a strategy for responding and adapting to the change in a way that keeps everyone on the same page from start to finish. But developing a truly effective change management process requires a bit of refining.
A change management process is a strategy that helps leaders plan for and manage changes in their company. It involves preparing for change through conscientious planning and implementation, ensuring everyone involved is equipped for what comes next.
Without a plan, it can be easy to get lost in the chaos of transitioning and forget about the big picture. Developing and consistently refining your company’s change management process helps you determine the best way your team can respond to change and its many different forms, whether it be an internally or externally driven change, or a large-scale or small-scale transformation.
Since no change is the same, it always requires a unique approach. A change management process provides leaders with the framework for handling any challenges associated with that process.
Whether you already have an existing change management process and would like to strengthen it or you’re creating one from scratch, below are a few steps you can use to create a strong foundation for the road ahead.
A solid change management process addresses these questions early: what do we do and why?
Maybe the market is seeing major shifts, and your company needs to evolve to keep up. Perhaps you’re in the slow season and want your new processes to be fully operational by the holidays. Whatever changes may come your way, empower your team with as much knowledge as you can as early as you can to set them up for success from the start.
Change management is an ongoing process, and a dedicated leader can help ease the transition. Choose teams or people to be the go-to connection point for questions and concerns so you can centralize and address them in a timely manner. This step ensures everyone feels heard and gains a better understanding of why your changes are necessary.
While many changes are sudden, others may give you some warning and allow your organization to pivot on your time. If you anticipate a specific change down the line, start preparing people as soon as possible. By training them early on the new processes, systems or tools your organization plans to adopt, you can ensure they have the skills they need to switch tactics and build confidence in new workflows.
Proactively developing team members’ adaptability is one way to help them prepare for changes, whether planned or unplanned.
There are many ways to promote team members’ adaptability, or the ability to adjust to a new situation or conditions. For example, you can encourage team members to approach changes with a growth mindset by inviting experimentation and giving them space to learn from their mistakes. When employees feel safe learning and growing as they adjust to new circumstances, they’re more likely to approach changes confidently in the future.
Times of change can be challenging for anyone, and those involved in change management should recognize that as early as possible. Ease concerns by communicating openly about new changes and strategies, allowing people to prepare and offer their own insights about how their processes may be affected.
Communication goes both ways, so make sure you remain open to conversations. With any change comes resistance, so come prepared with your company’s reasoning for new developments or responses to sudden shifts and be open to feedback. Your team members can offer alternative perspectives that enhance changes or may require you to consider a different path to create the most effective transition.
As you begin implementing changes, every little win is a reason to celebrate. Whether you’re hitting your first KPI goals or one of your employees completes their training, make a show of it and share the good news with everyone. Acknowledging wins is also a great method of boosting morale and employee motivation to continue on the road to success.
A change, whether expected or unexpected, impacts every team member uniquely. Some employees may feel ready to take on new tasks brought on by the change, while others may feel uncertain or lack the skills to adopt new tools or processes successfully.
Since everyone’s performance needs are different, a leader must take a tailored approach to guiding and supporting their team members. In other words, they must be willing to adapt their leadership style to every employee’s needs. That way, they can give team members the amount of support and direction they need to adapt to a transition successfully.
Your team needs to be prepared for change, and The Center for Leadership Studies (CLS) can help. Our Situational Change Leadership™ course equips leaders with the skills to refine their change management process and lead their team through change with confidence.
Based on the principles of our time-tested Situational Leadership® Model, the course teaches leaders how to diagnose each team member’s readiness for a change and adapt their leadership style accordingly to help them transition.
See how we can help you learn to adapt, embrace change and encourage everyone around you to do the same. Sign up for a workshop or contact CLS to discover more opportunities for your organization.
