#4 Leading through Change - The How

Change is hard. Why? It is hard because it creates a feeling of chaos and unrest for many people, especially in the workplace. Fear of losing jobs, fear of working for a bad boss, and fear of not being compensated fairly all lead to problems with change.

Every person thinks of change in their own way. For me, I thrive on change. When I was newly married, I drove my husband crazy because I re-arranged the furniture frequently. My husband was in the military and frequently worked odd hours. One night he came home late and fell over the furniture in the living room. He turns on the light and he sees the loveseat. I had moved it while he was at work. Needless to say, I started taking that into consideration before changing the living room arrangement and he started turning on the light before taking a step. Later in our marriage, my husband became very wise. A large, solid wood bedroom suite and entertainment center ended my ability to arrange furniture on a whim.

In my career, I also embrace change. I have held a variety of roles and spent time reading and engaging others to learn and grow. I spent the time learning my passion and change is a big part of that. I like to lead change efforts that make an impact. I like helping organizations think differently so that change is possible. Depending on the corporate culture however, this role may or may not be embraced.

Some Reasons Why People Fear Change:

1. Change adds a risk for their career. Will they be let go? Will they be successful in a new role? Will they like the new team? 
• The key to mitigate this during a change initiative.  Inform the people using the WIFM technique - What Is In It For Me. Communicate the vision and how it impacts their jobs.  Be as specific as you can.  You need to make them comfortable with the change. Make sure you use multiple communication mechanisms and reinforce the message often.  
2. Change adds chaos which adds stress.  People who like to do the same task, the same way, every day and they want it to stay that way. This is level of stability they need to reduce stress.  
• Mitigating this situation is more difficult. This is intrinsic to them. It is part of who they are as a person. There are two techniques that I have used to help this situation. Find a member on the team that supports the change and has a relationship with the person who is struggling.  Pull them together and discuss feelings. You may not be able to change the feelings however the awareness reduces stress.  The second technique is to meet with the person and from their point of view and help them visualize what the changes will look like for their short term future. This works with people who are also focused on career growth.
3. With change initiatives, it is important that the communications regarding the changes are not communicated due to a team's inability to execute. People it personal and are hurt when they think their jobs do not add value.
• All the communication regarding the change should use language that indicates that this is the next step in the process or to compete in the industry the company must make changes.

These are just a short list of reasons people fear change. John Kotter's book Leading Change (link is at bottom of page for your convenience) is a good reference for any person who is leading a change initiative. In the book Kotter identified eight steps to leading change. If you review the diagram, the steps are somewhat self explanatory.

 In Kotter's book, there are details regarding the best methods to move progress through the steps. In addition, details and examples regarding risk mitigation and avoiding the "gotchas" that are always a part of any change are provided for context. This is the start of learning "how" to effectively lead change.