8 Quick Tips For Leading Change When Your Organisation Has Screwed It Up In The Past
Every week leaders tell me about how their organisation has screwed up an important change initiative in the past.
Even if you’re new to the change leadership role or new the organisation, when your Department or company has a legacy of failure with these things, it can seem a near impossible task to drive transformation in a culture of mistrust and fatigue.
If you’re in that boat, you’re not alone. This episode of The New Way is for you.
In it I’m breaking down my 8 steps for leading change when your organisation has screwed up in the past, and of course I’m giving you practical tips to help get you moving in the right direction.
I cover:
The big assumption you MUST make
An important step new leaders often want to hurry past (and why that’s a mistake!)
Exact questions to use when asking employees for feedback
The organisational engine room you must engage; and
So much more!
This is a jam packed episode (but still only 19 mins!) with so much practical information that will help you to start turning things around so this time, under your leadership, your transformation program is a huge success, even if your organisation has screwed up in the past.
Tune in now!
TOPICS DISCUSSED AND WHERE TO FIND THEM:
[1:30]: If your organisation has a history of screwing up change, it can make your next change initiative a whole lot harder because employees develop change fatigue.
[4:17]: #1 - Assume that people don’t trust you and they expect your change initiative to fail too
It’s not personal and will help to appropriately guide strategy, planning and decision making
[4:55]: #2 - Openly acknowledge the pain and frustration of past failure
If people have been burned before, acknowledging their pain will be incredibly helpful in resolving
[6:55]: #3 - Humbly ask folks to hear you out about why this transformation initiative could be different
It’s about asking and partnering rather than telling or delegating. Respect their free will.
[7:55]: #4 - Diagnose why change has failed in the past and build a plan that uses the results
We use a transformation diagnostic tool and you can also do this in house however there is a lot of power in involving an objective third party
[8:50]: #5 - Actively seek feedback on the change experience from your employees throughout the change journey
This creates an ongoing dialogue with your people to rebuild trust, track progress against KPI’s and look out for red flags.
A big red flag to look out for is staff saying that the change experience feels the same as it has in the past.
Have open ended conversations with staff to find out how they are feeling about the change experience. This also builds trust.
[11:15]: #6 - Enlist the support of the engine room in your organisation
A top down approach isn’t enough. Activate and drive change from the middle by engaging and activating the Directors and Assistant Directors
The goal should be that they confidently spread key messages and motivate their teams across the organisation
[12:25]: #7 - Think about negotiating for more time to deliver the change
Time is your friend. A sustained change effort over time will help the organisation adopt the change and absorb it into the culture.
[13:55]: #8 - Do what you can to build a culture of psychological safety
This is the shared belief by a team that it is safe to share their thoughts and opinions
Your employees will naturally feel like a big part of their role is to help make the organisation better
If your people aren’t comfortable sharing honestly about what’s not working, it’s impossible to prevent failure
Start with open ended questions and listening without judgement
[16:50]: Wrap up
LINKS
Website: https://www.everchange.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkatebyrne/