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It’s hard to read the headlines today
without being rocked by what’s going on in the economy. The
stock market has tumbled to historic lows, while home
foreclosures and unemployment levels have reached historic
highs. With the financial markets in turmoil, virtually
every business around the world is experiencing the impact.
Although some businesses (like those that sell home safes)
are thriving, most businesses are reeling from the global
impact of the financial meltdown. The pace at which this is
all happening is stunning. It seems every hour there is some
news that will change the way we do business, forever. We
are reminded of the words of W. Edwards Deming, “It is not
necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
In the midst of all this chaos, one thing seems crystal
clear. The way we did business in the past won’t work in the
future. If we keep on doing what we’ve always done, we’ll
always get what we’ve always had . . . and that’s not
working now. Those organizations that can successfully
manage change will be the only survivors. Follow these
guidelines to help your employees navigate through these
turbulent times and ultimately position your organization
for success.
Strive for excellence, not
perfection,
Peter B. Stark
and Jane S.
Flaherty
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Leading in Chaotic Times
1. Tell it like it is. We are fond of
saying, “Employees may like reading a mystery, but
they don’t like working in one.” Don’t ever
underestimate your employees’ depth of awareness
regarding what’s going on in your organization. They
read newspapers, listen to the news, talk to your
customers or clients, and more importantly, talk to
one another. Despite what leaders may think,
employees typically have a fairly accurate picture
of reality. When employees raise concerns, answer
their questions honestly, to the best of your
ability. In many cases, you won’t have a complete
answer for them. Tell them what you can, even if you
have to preface your comments with, “Based on what I
know today, which could change tomorrow, . . .”
During these uncertain times, you will maintain your
credibility if you address employee concerns
honestly and to the best of your ability, based on
what is currently known.
2.
Over-communicate.
Chances are, during these turbulent times and the
resulting impact on your business, normal
communication channels in the company won’t be
working as well as usual. Employees will be hungrier
than ever for information. Give them an opportunity
to provide input. Ask questions to get their
opinions and reactions to the changes. Maintain your
visibility and make it clear that you are
accessible. Immediately clear up any rumors and
misinformation. And if you don’t have any new
information—let them know that too. During chaotic
times, employees rarely complain that they get too
much information.
3. Involve
employees. There is generally a lag
between the time management discusses organizational
changes and the time they are implemented. Although
managers like to believe they are the only ones who
know about the upcoming changes, employees usually
get wind of them through informal communication.
Unfortunately, that informal communication often
tends to be negative. The sooner you get employees
involved in the change process, the better off
everyone will be. A formal communication channel is
much more effective than a negative, informal one.
4. Know the
climate.
Leaders who successfully steer their team
through difficult times in an uncertain world
understand the emotional impact of organizational
change. To ensure success, these leaders talk to
their team members. Asking questions like, “How are
you feeling about these changes?” and “What do you
need from me to be successful?” keeps the leader in
touch with reality, from the employees’ perspective.
It is only when you accurately understand employees’
feelings about the change that you know what issues
you need to address. It is difficult to effectively
sell employees on change without understanding their
needs, concerns and fears.
5.
Ask, don't tell. Employees who do not deal
well with change are generally the same ones who
cannot be "told" anything. There’s an old saying, "You
can tell tough employees, but you can't tell them
much." For this reason, it’s a good idea to ask
employees questions rather than tell them why the
changes are taking place.
One organization, in an attempt to improve both
profitability and customer service, decided to move
from having a specific individual responsible for
satisfying a specific customer to having a team of
individuals responsible for satisfying many
customers. This altered the way the organization had
done business for thirty years. Management tried
many times to tell employees why the change was
needed, but the employees remained adamantly
opposed. As a last resort, Management switched
strategies and asked the following question: "If we
keep going without any change, is our organization
going to flourish in the next ten years?"
Ninety-five percent of employees stated that not
changing would lead to the company’s demise. With
this feedback, Management proceeded to involve all
the employees in designing the specific change
strategy to be implemented.
6. Involve both
negative and positive informal leaders. Every
organization has informal leaders—some positive and
some negative. Positive informal leaders have a
reputation for supporting management. Most managers
and supervisors get these positive leaders involved
in implementing changes, but avoid involving the
negative leaders. This is a mistake, since leaders
who are not involved lack commitment to the change,
and may even try to sabotage it. It’s better to get
the negative leaders involved in the change early in
the process, find out what their objections and
concerns are, and then use this knowledge to design
your change strategy. If you can meet the concerns
of the organization’s informal leaders, they will
help sell the change to the rest of the employees.
7.
Don't cover all the bases yourself. Too
often, supervisors try to police all activities.
It’s better to concentrate on effective delegation
during the early stages of the change process.
Delegation helps you manage and maintain your
workload and gives your employees a sense of
involvement, which positions them to share in the
responsibility for change. Delegation expands skill
sets and gives you more time to focus your efforts
on leadership, not day to day routine.
8.
Raise expectations. With all the media
coverage of layoffs, buyouts, mergers, retirement
packages, etc., employees understand that employment
is not the given it was even five years ago. Most
employees expect to do more work during these
challenging times. While it may be more practical to
expect less in terms of performance, this is
actually the time to raise the performance level.
Employees are likely to be changing their work
habits to accommodate the changes anyway. Take the
opportunity to push employees to try harder and work
smarter. Require performance improvements that make
the process challenging, but keep goals realistic to
eliminate frustration.
9.
Ask employees for their commitment. It’s
important to personally ask for each employee's
commitment to the success of the change effort. It
is equally important to tell employees that you want
to hear about any problems. If a negative employee
does not tell you about problems, you can be sure he
or she will be telling other employees about them!
Your employees’ commitment will be vital to see
change through to completion. Abandoning it halfway
through destroys your credibility.
10.
Stay positive. Your attitude will be a major
factor in determining the attitude exhibited by your
employees. Maintain a positive vision of both your
team’s and organization’s success. Try to remain
upbeat, positive and enthusiastic, but also
empathetic and supportive. Foster motivation in
others. Compensate your employees for their extra
effort. Write a little note of encouragement on
their paychecks. Leave a nice message on their voice
mail. Take them aside and tell them what a great job
they are doing. Listen to their suggestions.
Finally, encourage them to view organizational
change as a personal challenge!
Need
help? Peter Barron Stark & Associates has
been successfully guiding organizations through
change for over twenty years. We help
build organizations where employees love to
come to work and customers love to do
business.
Please visit our
website,
www.pbsconsulting.com, contact us via email,
peter@pbsconsulting.com or call us toll free,
877.727.6468.
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