Ok you have just announced the next change for your organisation or department, people do not look engaged and are already complaining. This is not the end - it is the beginning of the next change.
Recent research indicates that change is not simple (despite the myriad of courses saying that the opposite, preaching about a miracle 3 steps) despite the over 70 years of research into why change programmes so often fail. I even interviewed someone years ago that pronounced that all their change programmes had been successful without any setbacks, fair to say that has not been my experience and not found in my research.
There may be 50+ factors that affect resistance to change as found in the research going back to the 1940s. In recent years it is thought that many of those factors may interrelate making it more difficult for change to be successful. It is recommended that some of the known factors be assessed and recognised when your organisation sets out to change. My recent research found that several management and leadership qualities were linked to both negative and positive influences on change.
My recommendation is that your change programmes should have a full element addressing several sources of resistance, where you have identified the best strategies and actions to improve the change. It is clear that communication is a fundamental factor in change and resistance so it will be best to have a broad and multi-faceted way of communicating the change that you have a ahead.
Communication is a often misquoted topic and clearly relates to trust and engagement in your organisation. With communication you should sit back and think of the types of communication - written, verbal, face to face, email, web based, social media. Consider the way you will use each form, how often and for what purpose.
Yes setting a plan to reduce resistance and improve your change is a big effort, but one that is often overlooked. Starting to consider the various factors in change at the outset in your planning. More factors than mere communication that will be discussed in future Dr Mats daily
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The above and many more management and leadership content in the context of change are contained in the book " Leading and Managing Change in the Age of Disruption and Artificial Intelligence" that is being published in Kindle format on 24th May, 2019 and hard copy on July 16th. Link to book for purchase on the home page of this website.
Should you have any questions or enquiries in relation to this topic or any other management or leadership topic feel free to approach Dr Mat at the bottom of the home page, where he will aim to be responsive and helpful to your enquiry.