Organizational change was once a seasonal experience. But today, managing continual disruption is a skill required of most leaders. Change management is the new management, which makes doing it effectively that much more difficult.
Leading Change in a Company That’s Historically Bad At It
If you are driving major change at a organization, you are likely stepping into some track record of failure. Until you acknowledge the failures your employees have suffered, they won’t believe that committing to change again will be worth it. To rebuild their resilience and win back their confidence, you’ll need to take three important steps at the outset of your initiative. First, acknowledge the pain of the past by apologizing for previous failures. Too many leaders charge ahead, trying to inspire people as though their effort is the first. Without realizing it, they are erasing the very real frustrations of their employees. Second, ground your plan in evidence. Whatever the case for past failures, come back to your team with a detailed diagnosis of what went wrong before and how you will avoid those problems this time. Finally, regularly check in with employees to see if they have any concerns, or if your plan might be falling into traps they are familiar with from past experience.