Why Doesn’t Change Get Easier?

This is a question I am often asked by my clients.  The answer is easy to give but implementing the answer may be more difficult.  There are things you can do to help make change easier to deal with inside your corporations.  The first is to acknowledge that change is unsettling.  Once you do that you will know instinctively that sometimes something unsettling bothers you and sometimes it doesn’t.  You know what I’m talking about – those times when your life is sailing along wonderfully, everything is great in all areas of your life and then something happens that is unsettling.  But because everything else is going well it is a blip on your radar screen and then gone.  Other times your life isn’t going so well.  You or a loved one might be sick, your son or daughter may be having a problem with math or english, your job isn’t as fulfilling as it used to be, your raise isn’t keeping pace with inflation…you get the picture.  Then something happens that is unsettling and it clearly throws you off course.  It is harder for you to get back on track and sometimes you doubt if you even can.

When planning a change realizing that different people will react differently is a huge step.  The next big step is to plan for it.  Having a change plan that takes into account both ends of the spectrum and then making sure your managers have the skills to implement the plan is critical.  Having an executable plan is one thing, building resiliency in your work force is another.

Change depends on people and as I’ve said, people are in different places at different times.  As a businessperson you can’t do anything about whether your employee’s marriages, health and children are doing well.  But you can do something about building their resiliency so they can weather all that life throws at them.

These are some simple approaches that build resiliency in individuals.  1.  Make sure your employees feel valued each and every day.  Every day they feel valued builds on the previous day and they develop a confidence level that spirals upward.  This not only builds resiliency but results.  2.  Check in with your employees regularly to make sure that the job required still matches the skills they have, and if not help them come into alignment again.  Feeling like they don’t have the right skills, or feeling like the skills they have are antiquated saps their resiliency.  3. Understand what motivates your employees and make sure those motivations exist for them as rewards.  As your staff realizes that you are now focusing on their motivations vs. being lumped into a group, they will work to remain motivated in their jobs.  Happier workers are productive workers and productive workers are resilient workers.

I know it doesn’t sound like change management but rather good people management…and you are right, that’s what it is.  If a successful change begins and ends with people, making sure those people are managed well seems to be the key to a successful change.  As your management skills increase, so will their change skills – then implementing change will get easier.