Dealing with change effectively
One of the most asked questions we get asked is, how to deal with change effectively? Now the most important factor to this is, what type of change is it and what has ultimately driven the change to occur? Good change or bad change? All types of change have the same effect and impact on people, where ultimately something becomes different. However, what type of change is being implemented will also affect how your team handle the news.
Depending on each situation with the type of change and your team, the way you should deliver the information will differ widely.
What is the difference between good and bad change?
Good - Refers to change that will impact your team for the better, leading to something that will benefit them in the long run.
Bad - Refers to something that will have a negative effect on your team, something that will disappoint them causing them to feel down.
Communicating Change
Perhaps it is inevitable that no one notices the good change but only the bad change. Good changes are often seen as benefits rather than change and are taken on board with ease. The trick is to adopt 'bad' changes and use the same tactics. Taking the change on board, no matter positive or negative and working with it as a team until it becomes the new normal.
As business leaders, you must ensure that whenever you implement change it is in a way that it is understood by all as much as possible in order to increase the chances of any changes of your team embracing the change rather than resisting. To not do this effectively means that we run a high risk of any changes being subject to resistance causing motivation and general levels of morale to inevitably suffer.
We know that things have to change in every aspect of our business life. If we don’t stay competitive, adapt to market conditions or simply look for or launch new products then we stand still and standing still in business is not an option.
Wherever possible try to ensure that change is collaborative. It’s not always possible of course, but if you can consult your people about the proposed changes and elicit their opinion before taking any action then there is far more chance of them buying into it as they will feel as though they own, in part at least, the changes that are about to be implemented. This will increase their willingness to embrace and not challenge.
Overall you must think of communication strategies when communicating change, based on your team, the type of change and your leadership style, the way you communicate changes will differ greatly from case to case. Using the right one could completely change how your team take the news on board.
How can we help?
At Maguire Training, not only do we offer classroom-based courses and programmes, but we are also proud to offer a versatile and intuitive suite of over 190 eLearning modules on our website, which covers a range of topics. Including our Managing Yourself and Your Team Through Change Course, where delegates experienced and new will learn the professionalism of communicating change with their team.
Contact us
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in contact with us:
Phone: 0333 5777 144
Email: info@maguiretraining.co.uk
Or, simply fill in the ‘Contact Us’ form on any page of our website.
