For change to take place there has to be a ground swell of support pushing new behaviours to the forefront and allowing old, less effective behaviours to die off; a wave of new intention and energy that creates a different way of doing things. Self-evaluation, learning, capability growth and behaviour change lie at the heart of any change. Understand your current state, learn new things, develop new skills and put them into action.
The need for change can come from many different avenues. It can be learning from past mistakes or new tools or learning from ideas that bring to light unknown or unseen patterns in the organisation. To create momentum you need a few key things:
A vision: What is your vision for the change? Why is this change necessary? There may be a dramatic impetus for change, a burning platform that says ‘change or die’ such as poor business results, high organisational turnover, declining engagement results or bad customer feedback. It may be recognition that the organisation can be more than it currently is; an opportunity in the market or a chance for the organisation to redefine or reinvent itself - we’re good but we could be better.
Tied into strategy: ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ Yes, but together they create a beautiful menu for years to come. So, any change must support the overall strategy of the business. It seems like common sense and it is; give people the context in which they are operating and empower them to make the right decisions.
Clearly defined and communicated: Communication across the whole organisation will create understanding, support and collaboration. If people know what you’re doing and why, they can align it to their own action and plans.
Mandated and modelled by leadership: It’s vital that leaders in the organisation understand the change and role model it. They need to lead the change in their teams, mandating it if necessary but embodying the change whenever and wherever they can. If the change is implementing coaching, then they must coach and encourage others to do so. If the change is to put the customer at the centre of everything, then leaders must ensure that that is what they do.
Championed by the people: Change will almost certainly be for the benefit of the employees as well as the organisation, so make them part of it. Don’t tell them - engage them, use their knowledge and experience to shape the change. This means that they will manage their own behaviours, peer moderate, influence up and through the organisation and champion the cause. Top down approaches rarely work. Holistic, organisational-wide change does.
Read more in our Blog Series:
How to become more attractive to others
And coming soon...
Does culture really eat strategy for breakfast?
