Eight Tips to Help You Lead Through Change

Eight Tips to Help You Lead Through Change

by Jim Haudan | Talent Management

 

We've seen many changes in the business world lately. As companies figure out how to create growth in a low- to no-growth environment, it's time for organizations to build new muscles. Rather than fear the worst, leaders can brace for the "new normal" by leading their people through change with these eight lessons.

 

1. People won't change if they perceive the "need to change" to be leadership's indictment of their past performance.

Nobody likes change. When change is introduced, many people's first thought is, "Did I screw up?" Before the race to the  future can begin, leaders need to lift the starting gate for success by saying, "What we did in the past worked, but it won't work in the future, which is why we need to change."

 

2. People will tolerate the conclusions of their leaders, but they will act on their own.

The notion that employees will ever change their conclusions based on what they are told simply isn't true. People want to figure things out for themselves. By setting up the right environment for the "aha" moments, leaders can gain commitments from people - making them believe in the business and want to give it their all.

 

3. People don't need help in starting new actions; they need their leader's permission to stop the old ones.

Leaders need to tell people that it's OK to stop doing what they've always done. Without explicit permission, they'll generally continue to do things the way they've always done them.

 

4. Dialogue is the oxygen of change - starting with leaders.

The most effective way to achieve better - and different - results is to focus on the quality of conversations. Dialogue reveals unseen barriers, brings hidden reservations into the open and allows leaders and employees to craft solutions.

 

5. Leaders can learn a thing or two from good comedians.

When it comes to connecting individuals to ideas in a way that makes sense to them, comedians are the real experts. They have a talent for conveying to an audience that they have lived the same experiences, felt the same feelings and frustrations, and reacted in the same way to the ups and downs of life. In a similar vein, savvy leaders learn the art of convincing people to follow them, starting by meeting people where they are.

 

6. To execute a strategy, leaders need to give people an honest assessment of where they are and a clear picture of where they want to go.

Most leaders are less than honest about where they are, and they aren't particularly clear about where they're headed. Being honest means confronting the facts and defining reality in the most wrenchingly honest way possible.

 

7. Strategy is an adventure - even more, it's a purposeful adventure.

A strategy story, told properly, is an adventure that invites others to join, to be part of something bigger than themselves- where they feel as if they belong and it's clear how everyone's efforts contribute to success.

 

8. Success is not about leaders having better answers; it's about asking better questions.

When leaders probe with the right questions, the organization reaches deeper insights that allow it to more effectively solve the real problems.

 

 

[About the Author: Jim Haudan is CEO of Root Learning and author of The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and Possibilities.]