Part 1 of 4 How can leaders help team members cope with change?

Part 1 of 4 on Leading/Managing Change - Today's Norm!

Don't you find that in working with and leading others, one of the most commonly discussed topics everywhere is “how do we cope with change” – change happens all around us constantly in every phase of our lives: at work, at home, in technology, political leadership, everywhere!

If you’re a team leader in an organization and have to influence others through everyday organizational changes, your challenge is also constant. Often you have no control over what’s changing, but you are expected to make it successful and to garner the buy-in of your team members – no easy task!

For the next couple of postings, I’d like to offer some thoughts and tips on understanding the nature of change and being a positive influence with your team members – these have helped me many times when I’ve stopped and thought about what was going on with my organization and my team members.

As leaders, we must at least consider what may be going with people while change is taking place - and how we can positively impact our team members. It helps me to keep in mind that Strong Relationships + Solid Leadership = Success for Everyone and that it's my role to do more than say "X is now going to be different."

So here’s a snapshot of what we know about change

• Change is a process, not an event
• External changes are accompaied by internal transitions
• Changes in human behavior involve successive stages, each one harder than the preceding
• Change is accomplished by individuals
• Change is a highly personal experience
• Change involves developmental growth
• Change is best understood in operational terms
• The focus of change management should be on the individuals and the context (not on new “programs”)

What are the BIG reasons people resist change?

Bet you recognize some of these from your own experience!

Unclear purpose	Insufficient urgency
Lack of involvement in planning	Poor communication/lack of information
Excessive costs/inadequate rewards	Values/goals conflicts
Perceived negative impact on self/significant others	Insufficient resources/non-supportive culture
Poor timing	History of meaningless or poorly-executed change efforts
Fear of failure	Lack of trust, respect for change initiators
High stress environment	Vested interests threatened
No reversibility	Nostalgia for the “good old times”

Courtesy of SYNERGIES, Carole Napolitano


Does it make sense that any of these factors could sabotage a change effort? You're the leader, you're the one who can influence each team members' reception to new approaches by dealing with these negatives.

So what do you think about what we know about change and reasons people resist change? Do you have examples from your own experience that underscore these thoughts? Were there leaders who positively influenced your outlook on something new and how did they do that?

More on this topic tomorrow...