You may have noticed a trend in our blogs as of late. Change and transformation are huge topics that we could easily focus on for weeks on end.  An integral part of leading change is bringing your people along. As Leigh and Danielle shared at the beginning of our Transformational Leadership series, transformations often fail because people in the organization lack the empowerment, context, and information necessary to carry out the components of change.  

For those who make the decisions, usually those at the top of the house, change feels intentional. Change is a conscious decision; it’s anticipated, gradual, incremental, and paced.  Changes are implemented to solve problems and provide new opportunities, and they don’t come by surprise. But, there are two sides to every coin. 

In contrast for those required to implement the decisions, change often feels imposed. It’s easy for these folks deeper within the organization to feel like they don’t have a choice in the matter (because, well, they often don’t). The very same changes that felt gradual and paced to the CEO and ELT can seem unexpected, sudden, and dramatic, even to the next level down. For them, these changes create problems and disrupt their routines. Change happens to them and can cause them to feel powerless and out of control.

Daryl Conner, change expert and author of Managing at the Speed of Change, explains that perceptions depend on both the outcome of the change and the degree of influence we believe they hold in the situation.

– Change is less comfortable when our participation and behavior doesn’t determine the outcome or have an impact.  We often perceive change as negative because of our inability to predict and control it (more so than because of its unwanted effects).  Being able to accurately predict the future can help to reduce the discomfort of uncertainty.  But, how do you give your people the information they need to make those predictions?

– Given the amount of change in all of our lives, it is a real challenge to live a predictable existence.  To further complicate things, we all have a need for a certain level of control to feel safe and secure.  When we are unable to meet our control needs, we lose our equilibrium.  We become disoriented and uncomfortable, or even panicked and perturbed.  But, how do you help fulfill these control needs of your people?

– Major change is simply the result of significant disruption in our established expectations—we expect one thing and something totally different happens.  Neither the cost nor the desirability of change are good indicators of how we will respond to it.  The most reliable indicator is how surprised by the change we are—the more surprised we are, the more significant the disruption.  But, how do you keep your people from being surprised?

There are an abundance of things to consider when leading transformation and we’ve covered a lot of them in our blogs the last several weeks.  Many of the behaviors good transformational leaders exhibit pertain to bringing employees along for the journey. 

– As Barb previously pointed out, if you don’t tell employees why things are happening in a way that makes sense from their perspectives, they will make up a “why” for themselves. You’ve got to communicate early and often—clarify the “why”, name it all, and repeat it often.

– And as Martha explained, you must also be adept at handling conflict—encourage your people to raise their concerns and engage the conversation rather than avoiding the conflict and ensure their concerns are heard and addressed.

– You also have to intentionally and relentlessly drive for employee engagement—help your people understand the big picture and how they fit in and provide accessibility and connection between employees and their managers and leaders.

Organizational transformation is a lengthy journey, but you don’t have to go-it alone.  Regardless of what type of change you are experiencing or where you are in your change journey, The Bailey Group can help you find your way and bring your organization along with you.

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