Change management: Make change happen

Whatever business you are in, you know that change is the only thing that is constant. Your business has to change in order to grow, to meet new challenges, to keep up with the competition, to adopt new technologies and improvements, and to tap into new markets.

Yet managing change well is a challenging process. It is, in a sense, a way of creating the future. True change management doesn’t just involve getting through the change, coping with the change, or surviving the change; instead it requires careful construction of a process that will lead to successful implementation of the change for you and your colleagues or employees. Being successful at bringing change into reality at your organization requires that you first understand some foundational points such as the process of change. Let’s take a look!

The Process of Change

There are a multitude of change management models that you can follow in order to manage through change. However, each model takes into consideration the individual and his or her response to change.

1.   Denial

The general process of change begins with the change being presented to the group. There is a general environment of denial. Thoughts are shared, such as ‘this isn’t necessary,’ ‘the way we’ve always done things works just fine.’ In this way, the group’s focus is on the past. They have a kind of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,’ attitude. They are still in denial of the need for the change. Other emotions that the group will express may include: shock, discouragement, disbelief, anxiety, uncertainty and immobilization.

2.   Resistance

At this point, the individual will feel resistant to change. Individual performance may start to suffer. The manager will face a challenge in overcoming the resistance of each individual because each person will respond differently. It will take being attentive to what is happening with each individual in order to successfully overcome their resistance. Some of the behaviors or ‘symptoms’ a manager may see in this stage include: Suffering, anger, loss of productivity, confusion over roles and future, bargaining, feeling of loss of control and loss of trust or commitment.

They may be confused about what exactly the change will mean for them. Will they still have a job? Will they be expected to do things they don’t know how or don’t want to know? What will the workplace be like after the change?

It is at this point that good change management processes can help the individual to move from focusing on the past way of doing things to the new way. Management can reassure the individual, work to rebuild trust and commitment, and champion the change as a model of it for their employees.

3.   Exploration

The next stage occurs when the individual begins to accept that the future will involve the change. She now begins to consider what the change will actually mean to her individually. Managers should be prepared to share a lot of information and expect a lot of questions at this point.

This is a sort of learning phase for the individual. They’ve accepted that this is how it’s going to be; now they want to tentatively figure out what it will be like. There are several different things that the manager can help the individual do in order to get through this phase: manage stress, clearly define the vision, communicate new values, identify the strengths of the new situation, seek benefits and opportunities, reaffirm there is no going back, educate, Train, and clarify.

4.   Commitment

In the final stage of the change process, the individual has become committed to the change and to the remainder of the process in getting there. At this point you can expect to see some positive behavior from your employees, such as: modeling the new behavior, taking responsibility for implementing the change, asking questions that show proactive thinking in how to proceed towards the ‘model’, assisting others through the change process, focusing on the future – both to the final implementation of the change and beyond.

At this point, the employee is part of the change, not just in agreement with it.

Realize that your employees will all reach this phase at different points. Some may move from denial to commitment rather quickly, while others may need more support from you or other leadership in order to feel comfortable progressing through the stages. You will need to be patient but firm during this time as you help each employee make the transition to commitment.

If you are interested in more facts about change management, “Managing through Change” is the right book for you.

Download “Managing through Change” right here