Are YOU Going to Get In Front of Change?

Change is everywhere. It is ever-present. It has always been and always will be a fact of life. Near as I can tell, it will always be all of these things and will be a source of opportunity and challenge for us until the end of time. You are going to have to choose. You are going to have to decide. Do you want to get out in front of change and be proactive, or do you want to let it roll over you like a steamroller and flatten you like a pancake? (Cue James Taylor, Steamroller Blues here…)

Change Doesn’t Have To Be A Negative! There’s a news flash for many of us; change doesn’t have to be bad. Change doesn’t have to be something you react to. Change doesn’t have to be negative. With a bit of a change of your mindset and a bit of proactive effort, you can begin to influence change positively before it arrives and messes up your plans. I know that sounds too good to be true, but it’s possible. Happens all the time, really. You can become a master of creating positive change and distinguish yourself as a very skilled problem solver. Identify a few behaviors that work well for you, and generate leverage. When you use the right tool, things get easier quickly. I am reminded of Abe Lincoln’s admonition to sharpen your axe before you attempt to fell a mighty oak. Imagine how quickly the oak will come down these days, using a well-sharpened chainsaw. When you have a tool that provides leverage, change becomes easier and positive, not disruptive.

Prepare Your Organization For Uncertainty and Change! Many of us, perhaps even most of us, are reluctant to move quickly when confronted with uncertainty. In today’s fast changing world, you have to develop an ability to deal with uncertainty effectively. You must anticipate change and expect uncertainty to be present more often than not. Again, a simple change of your mindset, (expecting change and uncertainty regularly, and deciding to deal with them assertively) will position you for greater success. Spread this new mindset to your team, and encourage everyone to look for signs of uncertainty and change, then they’ll be more likely to remain calm and avoid panic.

See Change and Uncertainty Differently! In many organizations, a move by a competitor, or a change in their industry triggers a panicked reaction, with everyone scrambling and expecting the worst kind of catastrophe. The reality is that change is a constant and humans are AMAZING adapters and problem solvers. Leverage that ability! Talk to your teams about positive changes that have happened in the world, like antibiotics, the silicon chip, digital imaging, air travel, etc. The truth is that if human beings weren’t fantastic at dealing with change and adapting, there wouldn’t be 7 billion humans roaming around the planet Earth. Tie improvements your team has made to changes that they’ve faced over the last couple of years, and help them see that they are doing a good job of addressing uncertainty and change. We are Masters of Adaptation and Change! The only thing we have to fear is the fear of change!

Don’t Go It Alone, Bring the Team Along For The Journey! Talk about change often with your team and help them to see that it will be relentless and ever-present, but that it needn’t be overwhelming. Connect the work that your teams do every day to the changes that are happening in the world and in your industry. Develop measurements and metrics that lead to success on a regular basis, and focus your team on small improvements that move those metrics in a positive direction. Help your team to look for future changes and to imagine how they might impact your current state and how they might include opportunities to simplify work that is complicated today.

Prepare Your Team To Master Change! There is no substitute for building muscle and muscle memory when it comes to mastering change. Get out in front and lead, helping your team by identifying goals and helping them to deliver those goals on schedule. Keep customers at the front of your goal setting and change management efforts, avoid the temptation to become internally self-absorbed. Invest in your people by identifying necessary training and delivering it, improving your communication to prevent chaos, and developing a culture of adaptation and learning. Finally, make sure that you provide the best tools available to your team, to make the work easier. There is no sense in trying to drop an oak tree with an axe when you have a chainsaw available, is there?

Given that change is everywhere, and that it’s not going away any time soon, you may as well get on with the business of preparing your organization to become accustomed to mastering change. You need to become the Executive Sponsor for Positive Change in your organization, helping to form the high-performance teams who are going to lead the changes and helping to provide the resources to get the changes implemented, whether the resources required are capital, talented workers, information, facilities or tools. Ask yourself this question: Does your team need to embrace uncertainty and change? The answer is always yes. Ask yourself this question: Will you be the catalyst for positive change and forward progress for your organization? The answer to that question should always be yes as well.

Michael Beach is a Business and Executive Development Coach who specializes in helping C-Level Executives and their Leadership Teams to build powerful learning cultures in their businesses. Michael works with those leadership teams on leadership development, strategic planning, team building, and culture architecture. If you’d like more information about Michael’s work with Small and Mid-sized businesses, send an email to info@michaelbeachcoach.com, and Michael will send you his Best Practices on Affecting Positive Company Change, free of charge! Michael would love to hear your comments about how change is going in your organization or about how you’re leading change.