Change is an integral part of the life of a business. But people do not always find it easy to change their customary practices and habits. How to get your team members to support change and facilitate the management of change programs?
01
Help people put the past behind them
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Listen to their frustrations and show that you are aware of their struggles, e.g. Offer support to get them through the transition.
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Remind people that change is unavoidable, e.g. Cite a few numbers to prove that the status quo is unsustainable.
02
Engage your organization
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Involve people in defining the best way forward, e.g. Entrust people with assignments best adapted to their personality (organizer, communicator, etc.)
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Focus attention on the desired goal, e.g. Use your oratory talents to help people envision the target, but also set concrete objectives.
03
Facilitate the passage into action
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Be careful to embed change into day-to-day work practices, e.g. Hold a ten-minute progress update at the start of each day.
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Support people to help them persevere in their efforts to adapt, e.g. Recognize efforts as much as the end result.
Take action
Review with a team member the progress he has already achieved (10 min)
Any change goes through phases of doubt and the temptation to revert back. Giving positive feedback to the progress achieved is even more important than highlighting the path remaining to be travelled.
Ask your team member the situation he aims for: what would he observe if the desired change was successfully implemented? Give this ultimate aim a 10 grade.
Then ask him to position himself against this grade. He is probably not at a 0 grade! From this starting point, how does he estimate the progress achieved so far? This visualization helps to perceive the tangible progress even when the objective remains remote.
Give each of your team members an active role in the change process (20 min)
An imposed change is much more difficult to accept than a change in which we are actively involved.
Make a list of all the team members who will be somehow affected by a change you are planning.
When defining the action plan, ensure you distribute the tasks not only according to the competency domains, but also to ensure that everyone is involved to the greatest possible extent.
Make sure each of them has at least one action, even of limited scope, which will enable them to feel part of the change. E.g.: participate in a team workgroup, take responsibility for reporting, communicate with another team, etc.
Identify your « change champions» (30 min)
A change project has all the more chances to succeed if it is effectively supported by numerous people with different profiles.
Identify in your team or your surroundings the people that drive dynamics. This might be personal energy that permits coming up with creative solutions or to persevere throughout the implementation process. But also the capacity that some have to mobilize others and rally support.
For each of these persons, identify how they can help you trigger the change dynamics among other people: is it internally, by acting on processes and methods? Or rather externally, by identifying opportunities, and convincing clients or partners?
Depending on their personal qualities, try and figure how you can involve each of them in your change project.
Practical Tips
> Support your employees during periods of change (opens in a new window)
> Whom to rely upon to implement change?
Find out more
> Some counter-intuitive ideas to set lasting change in motion
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