They say there are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and change.
Change has become so rapid in the 21st century that sometimes it’s hard to clearly focus on what is supposed to be the goal, when the goal posts keep moving. Often, it's growth that creates the change.
Think of it like growing pains. They can be sudden, fast and are inevitable.
We can't force the process, and we can't ignore it either.
Just like you can’t force a butterfly to hatch from its cocoon - You’d kill it.
Or if you’ve ever witnessed a healthy teen in a rapid growth spurt dislocate a major joint playing sport, while unaware of their transition. Trust me, it’s not pretty. There’s a sudden snap and crash as the kid hits the floor in agony. It takes time to recover and all we can do is attempt to create a strong supportive environment, understand the growth cycle, apply care strategies for rehabilitation and be patient.
The more we understand the ‘transition’ process and period of change from one state or condition to another, the more effectively we can adapt and support those who are in the process of change as well.
So how is this relevant to our workforce?
Some people and organisations are good at change management, but countless studies show most aren’t. The bigger the change and the more people involved, the more complex the process becomes. A wildly optimistic goal with a solid technical strategy is one thing, moving people through the process is quite another.
Here in Australia, we often see a ‘suck it up princess’ attitude. This mindset is ineffective and potentially detrimental to the success of the change and all involved, apart for the one’s with this style. It forces dislocation within joint groups.
Do you need to visualise the teen growth spurt again?
No?
Didn’t think so.
It's sad (and scary) that there are many leaders, managers and even learning professionals who take this hard core uninformed approach.
To adapt to change effectively, organisations must understand the HUMAN process and ‘respond’ accordingly.
But instead, many react by enforcing policy and ignore the human transition process by hand balling staff to external employee assistance programs (who don’t always understand their business or roles), while teams are pushed to produce results and to hit targets without reasonably adjusting time-frames and without actively listening to or realistically acting on the concerns and needs of their people. Teams become overwhelmed and even more stressed, ultimately ending up in the pit of the change transition curve.
The diagram below shows the extreme variation in employee state and the human emotions that arise with a loosely structured change process vs a well-structured change process.
"The vertical axis represents an employee’s well-being or emotional state, ranging from an initial positive feeling to ones of denial, anger, guilt and depression. The horizontal axis represents time."
Image credit: NCVO Knowhow Nonprofit
So, what do you do to get through the transition of change with your greatest asset - your people? Are you equipping them with the environment necessary to withstand the transition and growth?
The following article from knowhownonprofit.org provides a great list of preparation and management response ideas for smoother transition and change success.
Read the full article with their recommended strategies here: MANAGING THE TRANSITION
“The transition cycle provides a valuable model for organisations, managers and employees to understand the different phases of transition that all employees and groups will go through during a period of change. Understanding this process helps managers to support employees through this natural human process.”
Some of the article's recommended strategies in assisting employees in transition are:
engage in real two-way dialogue, not one-way communication
understand the organisational change from the employee’s perspective
align the organisations human resources systems to support the employees in transition
allow for individual differences in employees capacity to cope with change
concentrate on providing adequate training, mentoring and coaching for employees affected by change
equip managers and employees with the personal and leadership skills to manage change and the transition process
In the words of Simon Sinek;
“Words may inspire, but only action creates change“
Empowering our workforce is key to future business success. Authentic leaders know that. And we all know change is guaranteed. Just remember, we're all human and with greater understanding of the natural transition processes, together we can all grow and succeed, no matter what changes we face. And just like the teen with the sudden growth spurt, it takes time to adjust, but if we create a strong supportive environment, understand the growth cycle, apply care strategies and be patient, then it doesn't have to be quite so painful. And just like a butterfly, we transform and can fly with new wings.
So what actions are you taking to manage change that encourages and involves your teams so that they are supported through the transition period?
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