Tips For Managing Change
Planning the changes
If you need to change things in your organisation, remember the financial journalist Patrick Hutber’s Law: “Improvement means deterioration”. Examples abound around us. The “improved” postal service that delivers letters at 2pm rather than the previous 7am. The “helplines” that route you to a chatbot after a long wait. Be careful that your changes are genuine improvements, not just tinkering or simple cost cutting.
In requesting any group of people to do things or think differently, it is vital to lay out a vision (including any possible downsides or pitfalls). This vision will include the possibility of allowing for adjustments along the way; new approaches to business challenges are vital but are often poorly explained or articulated, as are current weaknesses. Managers often find it difficult to admit things are not working for reasons such as sunk cost, sacred cows, preserving status, or change fatigue. If something is broken, be honest about it, and fix it.
Go back to first principles: when was the last time you or your senior colleagues articulated what business your company is in; why it is in that business, and what is its purpose? A strategy, and any resulting change, does not mean much unless it is anchored in these principles. Get that work done in the office, not at an offsite: it should be seen as an integral part of day to day work. Employees need to know what is expected of them in both the short and medium term by the company and its leadership. Tell them, don’t let them guess.
Managing the changes
Start with clear objectives on the critical path to achieve the vision. Write them down and communicate them clearly to all the people concerned. People need to know why changes are made. If you don’t write them down, people will spot inconsistencies. You need buy-in from your colleagues. Listen to any concerns they may have but do not let change blockers put you off course.
Leadership is done with people, not to people. Check that your internal messages match your external messages: if they do not, employees or customers will notice the disparities quickly. The integrity of the vision, credibility of your brand and marketing will be damaged.
Allow people to express a view on the proposals, even if they are partially negative, because people respond in an intelligent fashion if they feel they have input, even if they don’t have the final say. Remember, you are not asking them to vote for the changes; management does have a right to manage: the challenge is how you do your ‘managing’.
Communicating the changes
Bringing people with you on a change project means constant persuasion, regular updates and “temperature checks”.
Issuing orders to people and insisting on action, because you say so, no longer works in any organisation. Even generals in the army have to persuade people to carry out military tasks. The scene in the movies where the general barks: “ And that’s an order!” never happens. One army general I know personally told me that he never said that to anyone in 35 year career as an army officer. Take note. Napoleon said that in leading troops, the morale is to the physical as 3 is to 1: how much attention do you pay to the morale of your people? Buying them drinks in the pub on Friday night is not managing morale.
Instead, communication, trust and openness to new ideas and approaches to clients and employees are the hallmarks of a successful manager in managing change: does that sound like you? If not, why not?
In summary - here are our top three tips for managing change:
Agree and articulate the purpose and priorities.
Vision and Outcomes: show and explain them.
Command and Control does not work anymore: bring the team with you
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