Creating Organizational “Change You (and Your Employees) Can Believe In” - continued

Rule #11:  Have a vision.  Be demanding. 

When embarking upon an organizational change, whether it’s introducing a new brand or post-merger integration activities, it is critical for you as a leader to create and share a compelling vision of the future.  Be demanding of your people in moving toward the vision, but especially be demanding of yourself and lead by example.

 Rule #12:  Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.  

Once a strategy is in place, it is your job as a leader is to help everyone stick to it.  Most businesses fail not because the strategy was wrong, but because there was a failure in execution.  Always listen to others, but also work to get beyond your fears and those who question the new direction.

 Rule #13:  Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. 

Just as the fear and doubt you feel can spill over to your employees, so too can enthusiasm and energy. When your company is embarking upon any major change, your attitude and demeanor is extremely important.  People can read you like a book and their behavior and performance is affected accordingly.

People 

Whether the change your company is undertaking is related to a new strategy, process or technology, it is people – your employees – who will determine the ultimate success or failure of the change initiative. 

 There are two key factors that need to be in place for your employees to be prepared to implement change successfully: 

1.       The “Want To” factor

2.       The “Can Do” factor

 The “want to” factor is a measure of the amount of buy-in your employees feel with regard to a change.  Many companies make the mistake of relying solely on training programs to address the “want to” factor.  In implementing a change, training is an essential tool and can be used as an effective way to communicate the rationale behind a change, but to achieve genuine buy-in, leaders at every level must model the new way, live and breathe the change and act in ways that are consistent with the new vision.   

While employees may want to get on board with a change, if they are not equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to perform, then the change effort will falter.  To address the “can do” factor, training is always a necessary element of any change initiative.  If your people feel as if a new technology or new business process will render them incompetent, they will fiercely resist the change.  With any major organizational change it is almost always a given that your employees will be expected to either accomplish new things or accomplish things in a different way with new tools.  In either case, targeted just-in-time training to transfer knowledge and build critical skills to perform in the new environment is a necessary ingredient for a smooth change implementation.

Implementing organizational change can be stressful and sometimes frightening – especially when a topsy-turvy economy forces your company onto a “battlefield” fraught with uncertainty.  Paying attention to time-tested leadership principles and ensuring that your employees are motivated, confident and competent will help your company bring order to the chaos and not just survive, but grow and prosper in a brighter economic future ahead.