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Leadership Development Management Training Professional & Management Professional Development

6 Proven Steps to Implement Organisational Change

The challenge of change

Anything new or different in our lives means change. Isn’t that exciting? Apparently not! When asked about change, most people will answer that they do not like it. Why? Usually because their comfort zone is in jeopardy. That wonderful protective bubble that we lovingly construct around ourselves. In the comfort zone, life is good. In a routine, we go through the motions each day, and we like it. The comfort zone is warm and fluffy and protects us from the horrors of the outside world. Until the evil change manager makes an appearance, destroying my comfort zone and dragging me kicking and screaming by the ankles to unfamiliar territory.

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Managing Change

 

 

 

 

 

 

As change managers, what can we do to overcome this? Let’s give your change project a good chance of SUCCESS:

Shared vision

Change is often told, but not sold. This is why people don’t buy it. Create a shared vision for your team. A vision of what life will look like once they have got on board with the change and successfully implemented it. Paint a picture of their future that is attractive, compelling and inspiring. You want them to achieve it, but can you make them want it too? Can you make them willingly pursue the goal? Think of Martin Luther King’s famous speech in 1963: “I have a dream…”

Understanding of the organisation

The more you know about your organisation, the better. It brings context into the picture, along with imminent trends, threats and a sense of short to long term goals.

Do your homework before announcing any changes. This leads nicely into:

Cultural alignment

Make sure your change implementation effort is aligned to your organisations’ culture. Is it open to change, or resistant? Has there been a lot of change recently, making people more receptive? Or, does the opposite apply? Maybe have things been stable for a while and people have forgotten what change feels like? This might mean that your announcement of change may not be well received.

Communication

Simply put, a vital factor in successfully implementing change. Next, how will it be communicated? Do the stakeholders prefer face to face meetings, conference calls, mass email, or a poster on the wall next to the coffee machine? Or all of the above? Who needs to be consulted before a decision is made, or informed afterwards? A stakeholder communication plan works extremely well here.

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Communication: one key to change management

Experienced help where necessary

Sometimes we can’t do it all on our own. A change project usually requires a project team to get the work done. Use the human resources at your disposal.

Strong leadership

A good leader leads by example and is a strong and effective role model. Good leaders have willing followers. They understand why they should follow and are happy to do so. They’re engaged. If you believe in and are excited by the change, they will be. If you’re not, it could be an uphill battle to harness team productivity and performance.

Stakeholder buy-in

How do we get the stakeholders to buy-in to change? Consider the vital question: What’s in it for them? Sell them the benefits of the change from their perspective: “what this means for you is…”

Alternatively, you could try Situation, Implications, Solution (SIS) – another form of leverage. Tell them about the current situation (changes are coming), describe the implications of change failure (bad publicity, lose customers, disaster) and propose the solution (let’s get together and implement the change!).

Conclusion

Most people don’t like change. So, if we’re going to implement one, we need to;

  • create a shared vision
  • understand our organisation and its culture
  • communicate effectively
  • get help if required
  • lead effectively
  • obtain stakeholder buy-in.

Good luck!

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Leadership Development Management Training Professional & Management Professional Development

Boost productivity and reduce stress with ‘coping networks’

Coping with stress

Stress defined? ‘When the demands placed upon us at work exceed our resources, and we feel we can no longer cope’. You’ve had a stressful day – there’s too much work, deadlines are tight and you’re worrying constantly about the consequences of not getting it done. Perhaps your manager (also stressed) is shouting at you? It’s the end of another working day and you feel exhausted, irritable and on edge. What is going on?

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If you are stressed, you spend your day in a state of constant anxiety. Basically, you’re stuck in fight or flight mode, that powerful survival instinct designed to assist us whenever we feel threatened or in danger. You perceive a threat, fight or flight is switched on, and adrenaline and cortisol is released into your bloodstream. There are physical effects such as increased heart rate, raised body temperature, sweaty palms and butterflies in your stomach).

However, the main problem is the amount of nervous energy it gives you, which is designed to keep you alive, to fight back or take flight! But you’re in the office, not about to engage a sabre-toothed tiger in mortal combat!

Once you have dealt with the threat, the fight or flight mechanism is supposed to switch off. It’s only meant to be used in temporary, short-term bursts. The problem is that stressed out people see threats around them all the time, so they go into fight or flight mode and get stuck there. The nervous energy within them builds up throughout the day, and at some point it will have to be released!

What can you do?

Let’s talk about coping networks; finding an appropriate outlet for the pent up nervous energy, emotion and frustration generated during a stressful working day. These networks are very important, because if we can’t find a suitable way of releasing our nervous energy, it will come out in other ways. This could be an outburst – we’ve had a hard day, and someone says something we don’t like. Before we know it, we’re raging at this unfortunate victim!

Here are some popular coping networks:

  • Exercise – ever wondered why people go to the gym after work, or go running? Obviously a healthy pastime, but also an effective way to burn off the nervous energy accumulated at work. Any form of sporting endeavour can be useful here.
  • Talking things through with family, friends and colleagues. Perhaps after you’ve played sport, it’s time for a drink in the bar? Over a nice glass of something, the conversation usually starts with ‘you will not believe the day I’ve had…’
  • Hobbies and pastimes – any activity which allows you to relax for a while.

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There are no hard and fast rules here – it’s each to their own. Some people like to take the dog for a walk in the countryside, learn to play an instrument, or take a hot bath with essential oils and candles.

Conclusion

During a stressful day at work, nervous energy accumulates within us. That energy is going to find a way out at some point, and it’s better for everyone if we can control how and when that happens. As discussed, there are a number of possibilities available so find the way that works for you. Thinking about your day and any stress points, what’s worked well for you in the past? And what could you do today to create some essential ‘me’ time?