How To Lead Change Successfully

Change Management - It Starts at the Top. Change is a common occurrence in business and in life. It's the one surefire thing that every manager can count on happening.

Change will continually take place because the world in constantly revolving around us. It is important that you possess strong management skills if you want your business to be a success long term.

Change management skills include leadership development (to get people to believe in you); marketing and sales abilities (to promote your case for change); and communication skills (to help build support for the decision to change).

It will also help if you know a little about the stages people go through psychologically when they are dealing with change so that you are able to tell if your change management approach is being successful, or if there are additional issues that you need to address.

The first thing to focus on is your leadership ability. Companies continue to make the mistake of focusing too much on business processes and not enough on good, strong examples of leadership.

To be an effective leader in the change management process, it helps if you:

• Set An Example - As the top person in your business, others look to you for direction, not only in terms of business needs, but also related to behavior, ethics, and standards.

  If you want others in your business to change, you must set a stellar example for them to follow.

• Eliminate Perks - It's important to understand that change management is more successful when the barriers between management and frontline worker are minimized. Perks show favoritism and suggest division between ranks. By eliminating or reducing your own perks, you show your desire to level the playing field. You can more easily "connect" with your employees and more quickly earn their trust once perks are minimized.
• Walk Around and Talk To People - The old school of business management promoted the idea that the top person was off limits, enclosed in his or her own glass tower.

  Leaders of today interact more with their employees. They manage by walking around and getting to know their employees and learning about the problems they are facing on a day-to-day basis.

• Be Genuine - As a leader of change management, it is important to be as real and honest as possible in your interactions with others.

  Let others get to know you. Being a leader doesn't mean hiding your emotions. By interacting with employees on a one-to-one basis, you will build rapport and trust.

• Have Passion
- To be a strong leader, you must have passion around your vision. Without it, you will soon find yourself facing burnout. Leadership is tiring and saps energy at a very high rate so make sure you are passionate about what you do.

Building your leadership skills is the first step in the change management process. Once employees believe in you and trust in what you're doing, you can then begin your campaign for change.

Your strategy for change should target the different groups within your business and outline for each the reasons why a change is necessary.

For instance, the board of directors will want to know what the long-term effects of the change will be. Similarly, your employees will want to know how they will be personally effected by the changes you are proposing.

Once a change occurs, it is very important to communicate on a regular basis with all of those who will be effected. Let your employees know what is happening.

If your communication skills are weak or you don't have a formal way of letting your employees know what is happening, set up a weekly or monthly conference call or meeting. Establishing a consistent communication structure is key to effective change management.

By keeping everyone informed, you reduce the chances of low productivity and low morale that often accompany difficult change. You minimize rumors and effectively "nip" bad information from spreading like an out of control virus.

It is important to realize that although you can use change management techniques to smooth the transition process, you will never be able to completely jump from one way of doing something to another without experiencing at least some level of resistance.

Why is this? People adjust to change at different rates. Don't be surprised, it is just a part of human nature. To reduce your frustration with this process, it helps to know the six phase's people go through whenever they are experiencing any type of change, be it personal or professional.

1. Anticipation - People in Phase 1 are in the waiting stage. They really don't know what to expect so they wait, anticipating what the future holds.
2. Confrontation - At some point, people reach Phase 2 and begin to confront reality. At this stage, they are beginning to realize that the change is really going to happen or is happening. They start to become more open to change management.
3. Realization - Once the change has happened, people will usually reach Phase 3 - the stage where they realize that nothing is ever going to be as it once was. Often times, this realization will plunge them into Phase 4.
4. Depression - Phase 4 is a necessary step in the change management process. This is the stage where a person mourns the past. Not only have they realized the change intellectually, but also now they are beginning to comprehend it emotionally as well.
5. Acceptance - Phase 5 marks the point where the person begins to accept the change emotionally. Although they may still have reservations, they are not fighting change management at this stage. Usually, they are beginning to see some of the benefits even if they are not completely convinced.
6. Enlightenment - In Phase 6, people completely accept the new change. In fact, many wonder how they ever managed doing things the "old way". Overall, they feel good about the change and some even begin to accept the necessity of change management as the status quo from here going forward.

It is important to note that people in your organization will proceed through the different phases at different rates of speed. One person may require two weeks to reach Phase 6 while another may require 2 months or longer.

To make things even more complex, the cycle of change management is not linear. In other words, a person does not necessarily complete Phase 1 through 6 in the same order. One person may go from Phase 4 to Phase 5 and then back to Phase 2 again. That is why there is no easy way to determine how long a complete change will take to implement.

However, by using the skills we've outlined above, you will increase your chances of managing the change effectively.

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