Organizations are constantly evolving to stay relevant in the modern world. Sometimes, pivots are necessary, and the entire company’s structure, vision, and mission changes. Change management discusses how to thrive in uncertainty, how to handle changes in an organization, and how to succeed with an evolving professional life.
Organizations need to change due to economic conditions, shifts in strategy, for the purpose of growth, due to technological advances, and many more valid reasons. Change is not the enemy, but usually the savior of a company. When a company shifts focus to survive, change is not only necessary, it’s beneficial. Many common household names are nothing like what they were 10 years ago. For example, The Washington Post reports that YouTube began as a dating site, Groupon was a fundraising site for social causes, and Nintendo manufactured playing cards.
Below are a few principles of change management, to help leaders ensure that the organization’s goals are still at the center of change, and the company’s employees remain successful in the face of challenges.
Start with the top-level of leadership and work your way down. This way, managers understand the shift and can introduce the change to their respective teams. There is more order, and your regular employees will have more knowledgeable resources to turn to if they have any questions, since all the management levels will be caught up.
Explain why things are changing. Back up your claims with data, history, and case studies. Your team should understand why the shift is happening, and it should make sense to them in order to get everyone fully on-board. If you have compelling data in your annual revenues, share them. If your competitors are all making the shift because the market is crashing, share the numbers.
Keep employees accountable. Let them know what their responsibilities are in the face of change, and what they are expected to handle. This provides some clarity and direction in the face of shifting landscapes.
Keep lines of communication open. Your team needs to understand that they can come to management with questions and for any issues they’re facing. It’s in the best interest of the entire company to keep everything running smoothly during the time of change, and open lines of communication will help highlight any problems.
To learn more about change management, keep an eye on our public seminars page, where we announce learning and development opportunities open to the public. We often have one on Change Management, which is one of our most popular.
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
