Helping team members embrace change
One of the most common frustrations I hear from Team Leaders is ‘How do I get my team to come on board with changes that need to be made?’ People resist change for all sorts of reasons – they don’t believe in the changes, they are being challenged to move out of their comfort zone, and they are concerned about not knowing what to do when the changes occur. Human beings are creatures of habit. We gain a great sense of feeling in-control by staying with familiar ways of doing things.
By helping team members to feel more in-control, you will tend to have less resistance to the changes you are endeavouring to make. You can give team members more control by involving them from the start in developing changes that need to be made. People are more likely to embrace change to which they themselves have contributed. If the changes are being initiated by you, then explain why the changes are needed. Where they have valid concerns, develop a plan with them for addressing those concerns.
The problem for many Team Leaders is that they are often required to implement changes which have been imposed from above. These are the types of changes which tend to attract the most resistance as team members have typically had no real say in developing the changes. In these situations, it is important to brief your team as soon as you possibly can. People tend to be more open to such changes if they know they are coming, rather than simply being informed when you need them to make the changes. If staff do complain, allow them to vent and remember that they may well need to do so for a period of time. Don’t try to counter any negativity. Simply acknowledge how people are feeling and then direct them in a positive way about how everyone can adapt to the changes with the least amount of pain.
Where possible, give your team some flexibility with how the changes are implemented, even if the overall change has come from above. You may be able to break the changes down into smaller parts and tackle them one at a time. Remember, the more in-control team members feel, the more open they will be to embracing change. They still might not be totally happy with the changes, but they will be more co-operative.
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Ken Warren, known as ‘The Doctor of Difficult People’, is Australia’s leading speaker on the topic. He can show you how to turn difficult customers and co-workers into pussycats, make great teams even better, and achieve better outcomes with challenging clients. Check out his free resources at www.positivepeoplesolutions.com.au
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