Managing The Personal Side Of Change  (Page 2)

By Virginia Major Ph.D.

Help reduce uncertainty and ambiguity by providing a simple plan for the change. Specify any modifications in policies, procedures, and roles.

Provide access to the training people need. Employees will feel frustrated and angry if they are expected to do things they don’t yet know how to do.  Tap into the creative aspects of this phase by encouraging people to experiment as they work to achieve short-term, attainable goals. Recognize “small wins” to restore employees’ confidence (Kotter, 1996).

Phase Three: A “New Beginning”

Even as people increasingly accept the “new way,” you need to encourage continued movement forward.

• Continue to communicate the vision and ways to get there—over and over and in multiple ways.

• Watch out for inconsistency.  Actions that conflict with messages leave employees feeling skeptical and damage trust. Hold managers and supervisors accountable for “walking the talk.”

• Ensure employees have easy access to technical assistance, such as on call experts, as they try out new skills and behaviors.

• Reinforce efforts by continuing to reward small successes, while tolerating the mistakes that are inevitable early on.

• Just as “the ending” was observed, plan to celebrate the “new beginning” once it seems in place.

Leaders typically focus on the strategic, operational, and technological aspects of change. Yet a host of psychological changes must occur in each individual employee in order to realize leaders’ vision of a new organization. By adopting the techniques described above, most of which are straightforward and relatively easy to put into practice, you will be doing your part to guide people through the challenges of transition and towards a successful “new beginning.”

References

Bridges, W. (2003)   Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change

2nd ed. Da Capo Press

Duck, J. D. (1998)   Managing Change. Harvard Business Review on Change

Harvard Business School Press

Kotter, J. P. (1996)   Leading Change

Harvard Business School Press

Kathy Miller, Ph.D. is President and Founder of Miller Consultants, Inc. For nearly 30 years, she has helped clients such as Toyota Motor, IBM, Brown-Forman, and Shell Oil with the leadership and organizational performance challenges of an ever-changing competitive arena. She can be reached at: Kathy@Millerconsultants.com.

Virginia (Ginny) Smith Major, Ph.D. is a Consultant and Executive Coach at Miller Consultants, Inc. Ginny has broad expertise in organizational change management leadership coaching, talent management, and work-life integration. She can be reached at: Virginia@Millerconsultants.com.