We all know that change is inevitable in everything that we do. Most of us are creators of habit and probably want everything to stay the same. Well, that is not how it works. Change is everywhere… Like it or not. There are many things in change that we need to make sure that we watch out for the elephant holes. I would call them pitfalls, but that would make them seem small.
So what are those elephant holes that we have to watch out for?
- Lack of or ineffective communications:
- Ineffective – It is so easy to fall into the trap of sending out emails that say, “EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, we will be doing X.” X could mean anything that is different than how we do it today. I have seen these emails. I can not remember if I had ever sent one of them out. For me, I want to put in the situation today, what we will be doing differently and the reason for the change. Of course, before I move forward with sending an email or verbally discussing with the team – I would bounce the change off some key folks first.
- Lack of – Sometimes communication happens as a surprise to folks. Look if you are changing your team roles and responsibilities – you have to discuss this with each involved individual before you communicate the changes outward. Maybe the changes that you want are not going to work with some of the individuals. Best to find that out before you communicate to everyone.
- Not giving sufficient incubation time: Almost goes hand in hand with communication issue above. Many changes are made hastily or under pressure. As a result, there is insufficient time to given to the change to show progress. Managers become dissatisfied with the slow progress and claim the employees are not committed or devoted to the change. You may want to change to happen overnight, but nothing happens that fast.
- Make your people the bottom-line, not profits: If the board or upper management is only focused on profits and implements changes based on that, and managers are required to follow blindly – times are going to be rough. I have seen it way too much, not taking the people into account, will cause my damage or harm which normally leads to crisis. Your people are your most important asset. Shouldn’t you treat them that way?
Change management is thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, with consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. Change must be realistic, achievable and measurable. There are some pretty important questions to ask yourself: What do we want to achieve with this change, why, and how will we know that the change has been achieved? Who is affected by this change, and how will they react to it? How much of this change can we achieve ourselves, and what parts of the change do we need help with?
Just watch out for the elephant holes!
Image via: Copyright: mostic / 123RF Stock Photo
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