Navigating Constant Change & Chaos
Organizations often initiate change programs, to respond to pressures on budgets, customer preferences and technological advances amongst many other factors. As a manager, if you are faced with the task of leading a team through a change program, knowing what to think about or prepare for can feel daunting if its something new you have not worked through before. Frequently, there is a considered plan to follow with timelines and a dedicated change ‘team’ to ensure the outcomes are achieved. This can provide some level of support and guidance on how to share the changes with your team and is a point of contact for questions and concerns as the ‘change’ progresses and is embedded into regular business practices.
But what if there is no official program (or structure) and the organization is in a permanent state of change and growth. What does that feel like?
When I speak with clients, they talk of a few key areas of pressure.
There is no time to think and plan ahead, and you are continuously in ‘reactive’ rather than proactive mode.
It is a struggle to keep up to date with organizational changes, and be able to communicate those effectively to the team.
There is little time to focus on staff development and even having one-on-one conversations is difficult.
It is exhausting to lead in this type of environment and so building personal resilience is imperative to success.
There is a lot of guilt associated with leadership inside this environment - guilt that you are not supporting your team enough, and guilt that your leadership is not good enough.
So, what can you do about it?
From my own experiences there are few areas that leaders can focus on to help support an evolving organization.
1. Communicate frequently through regular check ins and team meetings. Ensure to schedule the time for people to express any concerns or frustrations and to ask questions of each other and leadership. Collaboration is key to avoiding teams working in isolation (and missing opportunities) or even individuals working apart from the team.
2. Respond rapidly to questions from staff so issues do not escalate. Errors and confusion can quickly cause anxiety for people. Advocate for your teams and find out answers quickly to avoid undue stress.
3. Share successes and acknowledge accomplishments. People need to hear that there are some successes and progress being made when there is constant change. Ensure to share these to maintain momentum.
4. Provide practical support to staff (e.g., this may include training to develop new skills, coaching conversations.) This is often ignored, but frequently staff are stressed at the thought of change because they anticipate they will need to do something they are unfamiliar with and perhaps ‘fail’ to do it well.
5. Empower your team. Delegate authority and encourage autonomy among your team. Empowered employees are more likely to take ownership of their work and contribute to innovative solutions.
6. Maintain a customer centric approach. Keep the customer at the center of your decision-making process. Listen to their feedback, anticipate their needs, and continuously strive to deliver exceptional value.
7. Lead by example. Demonstrate the values and behaviors you want to see in your team. Your leadership sets the tone for the entire organization, so embody the qualities you want to foster in your company culture.
7. Cultivate a culture of innovation. Encourage creativity and experimentation within your organization. Foster an environment where employees feel empowered to suggest new ideas and take calculated risks.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, we need to remember that if people are not bought into whatever changes are taking place, they will likely resist it throughout and this will be evident through various behaviors and will impact team effectiveness and delivery.
As a leader, it is part of the role to make it easier for your team to embrace but you cannot do that without making the space and time for yourself to understand, digest and then direct on where the team needs to focus effort next.
Trying to overcome some of this conflict and challenge is time consuming and at times emotionally draining but if you can be open, communicate well and offer support to those who are struggling with rapid change, then this will go a long way to providing a successful and productive working environment.
Wishing you great success and a smooth journey if you are leading in a fast growth organization!