One thing that you can always count on is change. Change is a constant both in life and in business. Key team members get promotions. People move into different positions. Management shifts. Processes get overhauled. I could go on and on. The point here is that you have to figure out how to process and manage change for yourself and your team. How can you continue to be an effective leader while managing change in your organization?
Think of times when you’ve had a working plan that was functioning great. You were a well-oiled machine and then something came along and threw a wrench into the gears. Instead of turning to negativity, your next step has to be regrouping followed by walking through processes and figuring how to best implement a new strategy.
Regardless of what you think of the change, it’s the way that you manage it that makes all the difference. Your attitude and reaction will trickle down to the rest of your team and those around you. So, what do you do if you have a team under you looking for direction? You have to sell it to them. In figuring out what the positives are in the situation to sell it to them, you will be able to see the change from a new perspective and that will significantly help morale and help to come up with a new strategy.
You are heading up the new direction. Managing change needs to come from the top down. To be blunt –you just have to get over the fact that you may not agree with what changes are being made. Instead use that energy to figure out why it’s a good thing even if you don’t personally believe it. You don’t to create a dip in company culture or for morale to plummet. That’s the job of a manager. Put your personal feelings aside, figure out the positives, and push forward.
When managing change you have to accept it and then advocate for it. Once you can get past the initial shock, you can find the silver linings to sell to the rest of your team. Your job is to accentuate the positives. It really is key that you don’t go in with a negative attitude because that’s how change fails. If you have a poor attitude and assume it will fail, then it probably will.
Find the potential for good, manage the negative consequences, and search for the advantages. That’s the way to effectively manage change. Your job as a manager is to create a positive from a negative. Whether you like it or not.
What are your thoughts on managing change? Do you agree that it’s the manager’s job to find the positive and bring that energy to the team? Do you think that a negative reaction creates issues within a team? What are some of your strategies for dealing with change in business? Comment below!
