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How to Lead and Manage Through Change and Uncertainty
How to Lead and Manage Through Change and Uncertainty
The impact of the pandemic, the Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and high inflation continue to be felt globally. Add to that the skills shortage, low levels of retention and engagement, and it is not suprising that most leaders want assistance with how to lead and manage Change. As Darwin said ‘It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself.’
With unprecedented levels of uncertainty and change, leaders need to focus even more on their core skills and competencies to demonstrate their ability to lead and manage through major change. Executives need to implement change management principles and be visible, honing their skills in building effective working relationships, negotiating and influencing, creating and communicating a revised vision and strategy, making sound leadership judgements, creating a culture of innovation and growth, as well as developing resilience. Successful leaders need to be able to demonstrate authentic,collaborative leadership, leading from the front and by example, in order to drive through necessary changes with an unsettled workforce.
What Successful Organizations Do
The organizations that are most likely to succeed in this uncertain future need to be agile, able to overcome resistance to the high levels of uncertainty and change, ready to seize new opportunities, adopt new and improved ideas, as well as creating and embedding different values, attitudes, norms, and behaviours. Leaders need to increase their levels of communication to allay fears and anxiety by addressing the associated shock, resistance, confusion and possible stress associated with ongoing uncertainty and change; their aim is to move team members along the change curve towards the more desired reactions of problem solving, acceptance, openness and learning in order to avoid disengagement and a fall in productivity.
During times of uncertainty and change, those leaders and organizations who succeed tend to be able to embrace change as an opportunity to create a new vision and strategy, improve processes, seek new markets, identify areas for greater profitability, viewing change as an opportunity to learn and evolve. Such leaders and companies will often buck the trend and witness increased productivity, improved employee engagement, with a renewed sense of pride and ownership.
One of the ways to address the fear of an uncertain future and the potential negative effects of change is to greatly increase levels of communication, with regular updates on progress, whilst at the same time obtaining feedback from team members. Business leaders need to show authority and confidence in defining new directions with specific goals in order to continue to motivate and inspire their teams, build organizational unity and a united culture with values, such as honesty and trust being clearly demonstrated. Leaders should try to show enthusiasm and positivity to address the uncertainty and change, adapting their leadership style to become more ‘commanding’ and ‘pacesetting’ in Daniel Goleman’s terms, in order to allay fear, give strong direction, to drive and implement necessary changes, motivate teams, and create some short term stability. Younger team members in particular are often asking to be led.
With any change, such as an organizational restructure or M and A, managers should try to explain options and empower team members to problem solve. Individuals working internationally or in hybrid teams may now require more clarity on their roles and responsibilities to understand how their daily tasks and projects contribute to the overall vision and strategy. In order to keep teams engaged, short term tactics and objectives should be set, creating a sense of urgency, as well as asking for patience until the future becomes clearer. Business leaders are being forced to become even more proactive, seize the initiative, and be highly innovative in order to survive the economic and political uncertainty and try to embrace further upcoming changes.
Leading not just Managing Change
Whether we like it or not, change is constant. Here are 10 advice points to better lead, manage, and implement change:
- Align your individual priorities with the company strategy and key organizational goals; be proactive in linking your daily activities with the overall change initiative in order to stay ahead.
- Learn to live with ambiguity; those who approach change with a positive mental attitude tend to benefit more from it.
- Understand your Leadership Style first in order to maximize your strengths and improve your communication style.
- Change what you can first – yourself; change your attitude and behaviours to cope better with the new organizational structure and objectives.
- Influence what you can’t change – others; give timely feedback and model the behaviors you want to see in others.
- Become an early adopter and ally for change; being enthusiastic about change creates a more positive working environment.
- Demonstrate that you are a champion of change; lead the communication and the change projects.
- Help others to cope with change; identify who is struggling with the uncertainty and change, practise active listening and help people deal with their emotions by providing rational discussion.
- Encourage communication; to avoid the rumour mill communicate much more often and clearly than normal.
- Believe in the change and speak up; show your enthusiasm and be creative about the new opportunities that change always brings.
At Natural Talent our Change Management Programs are highly practical and involve assessing and developing key Leadership and Management competencies and behaviours. In addition to the training on strategy and vision, we emphasise the importance of leaders and managers ‘walking the talk’ and increasing their general activities during times of high growth, uncertainty, and change.
Clients who have experienced our Change Management and Executive Coaching and Mentoring Programs have observed excellent ROI with many tangible results, including lower levels of attrition, individual team members being promoted, a significant reduction in employee absence, an increase in employee engagement, as well as greater productivity, an overall improvement in morale, and the ability to maintain reliable client service.
'Thank you for all your help with the merger. Your support to me personally to navigate the new working relationships and address key challenges has been invaluable. And my team have coped so much better as a result of your Coaching and are adapting extremely well.' CEO
You can listen to my Expert Audio Talk on this topic here: https://bookboon.com/en/lead-your-team-through-change-and-uncertainty-ebook and read my eBook on Hybrid Leadership here.
If you would like to know more about this topic or other leadership and management issues, or to book any of the following services, please contact me:
Coaching:
Executive Coaching and Mentoring, Career and Transition Coaching, Business Coaching, Resilience Coaching, Life Coaching Retreats
Training:
Leadership Training, High Performance Leadership Development, Management Training, Leadership and Management Team Development, Facilitated Away Days, Group Coaching
Assessment:
Executive Assessment, 360 Feedback, Face to Face 360 Feedback, Talent Management and Succession Planning