5 Tips for Dealing with Change in a Positive Way
Change is part of day to day life, but how people deal with it, can differ quite dramatically. Some people thrive on change, they love a challenge and enjoy experiencing new things, other people are in-between and happy to go with the flow, while others prefer their comfort zone. Change can be anything from a simple personnel change which affects a small number of people, to an organisational wide change, which affects everyone. The change management process can be frustrating for leaders, as there’s often some resistance, especially with changes which affect a large proportion of the business. This is why it is vital to handle change in the right way, so it causes minimal disruption. These are some ways to ensure you deal with change in a positive way.
Open Communication
Employees fundamentally want to feel valued, and one way of threatening their trust is to fail to communicate openly with them. You’ll find that most employees will deal with the change more positively if you take an honest, open approach to the change management process. Keep them informed throughout the process and allow them to express their views. Some changes are more sensitive than others, such as redundancies in the business, but regardless of the change, you should always keep employees informed. Ask them how they feel and make sure you deal with any questions they have.
Tailor Your Approach
When managing change in the workplace, it is important to remember that not everyone sits well with change, no matter how positive the change may be. Some employees will resist the change, just because they are in a routine and don’t want things to change. Some people feel incredibly uncomfortable with change, so it is vital that you tailor your approach. This may mean taking extra time with some employees and breaking down your communication more regularly for some individuals. Don’t necessary conclude that the employee is being deliberately awkward, they may just be more sensitive to change. A tailored approach will help ensure the change management process is as positive as possible.
Delegate Responsibilities
The change management process will become more effective if you delegate responsibilities to other team members. It will not only ensure they feel involved in the process, but will also ease the pressure and take some of the stress off. The process should be broken down into different sections to make it easier to delegate tasks more successfully.
Commit to the Change
It is important to ensure that you are 100% sure of the change as the last thing you want is to abandon it half way through. This will ruin your credibility and be extremely damaging to your business. There are many examples of poor changes business. Poor planning and implementation can be catastrophic, if the company is playing with vision and values and hasn’t already build a strong, loyal customer base. It is important to ensure your change is the right one and that you follow through with it until the end.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
Although it can be difficult to remain positive, if the change isn’t a particularly pleasant one (such as redundancies), but a positive attitude from the top will filter through to the rest of the organisation. Consider solutions, ways to solve problems and deal with issues head on. The more positive and pro-active you are, the easier the change management process will be.
