Managing Change

Change – verb. Make or become different; noun. The act or instance of making or becoming different.

This word alone can stir up different emotions from anxiety to excitement depending upon who you are.  Regardless of the emotion, change can be uncomfortable but more often, necessary.  In some instances things don’t change because no one questions why we perform tasks a certain way…“it’s the way it’s always been done.” 

Let’s take for instance the new bride who is making her first big dinner for her husband and tries her hand at her mother’s pot roast recipe.  In preparation she cuts off the ends of the roast and places it in the pan.  Her husband asks, “Why do you cut off the ends?”  The bride responds proudly, thinking it’s a secret family recipe, “That’s the way my mother always made it.” The next morning the bride calls her mother and asks her the same question hoping to hear the family secret.  Her mother replies, “Well that’s the way your grandmother always did it.” They decide to consult with the grandmother only to discover that there’s no great family secret, just that the grandmother’s roasting pan was too small for the roast. 

So while change may be uncomfortable or cause anxiety, as businesses, in today’s economy, need to be asking ourselves some key questions that may lead to change:

     Why do we do a certain task this way?

     Is there a better way to perform the task?

     Where are the bottlenecks?

     What changes can be made to help with the process?

If just the mention of the word change can cause anxiety, just think what happens to our team members when word gets out that a change is going to take place.  To help calm the masses here are some key steps that you can take to assist you:

Establish a Sense of Urgency – For change to happen, it helps if the whole team embraces it.  Examine the market and competitive realities; identify and discuss potential crises if the change isn’t executed.  Highlight the major opportunities and growth with the execution of this change.

Form a Coalition – Assemble a group of key people who will work as a team and assist in communicating the change.  Remember these key people can and should come from a variety of sources, i.e. job titles, status, expertise, etc.

Create a Clear Vision – What changes need to occur and the desired results.  Unless you know exactly why you are changing and what needs to happen, the change effort is likely to stall.

Communication – Be certain to communicate the change and the advantages of the change early and often, maintaining a consistent message.

Set Short Term Goals – When the change effort is long-term, employees can lose enthusiasm so celebrating these short term goals can keep the momentum going.

Remember, we need to ask ourselves the questions to establish the changes that need to take place and then we need to manage the announcement of the change properly to have success. 

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