You don’t have to be in a leadership role to achieve change in your organization. Often, the best changes happens from those not in an executive role because these individuals – who are doing the work of the business day in and day out – actually see the need for change. Change enables for a variety of great benefits to the organization:
- Increased innovation
- Improved customer service
- Improved problem solving
- Smarter risk taking
- Products out to market faster
- Increased revenue
- Improved collaboration
- Increased teamwork and sharing of information
Of course, we need to recognize that people are afraid of change – we all are to some extent. We get used to the tried and true. We get comfortable and are afraid to shake things up. Maybe we won’t be as successful as we have been. Maybe we’ll have to learn something new. Maybe we are afraid we just can’t do it. This makes it difficult to push forward change in an organization. Especially if overall the organization believes everything is just fine as it is. People need to see the case for moving forward with change to accept it and embrace it.
Build a case for change in your organization by:
- Highlighting performance gaps
- Getting buy-in early on from top leaders
- Understanding what your top competitors are doing
- Reviewing missed opportunities in the organization
- Looking at market trends
When we undertake change – focus on strategy and not tactics. You can’t be an organization that embraces change if the focus is on tactics only.
Achieve success for your change initiatives by socializing what you are trying to accomplish throughout the organization to ensure:
- There is a shared understanding of the need to change
- There are clear goals and objectives
- The right people are involved in the initiative
- Critical success factors have been defined and there is a way to measure them
- Clear and consistent communications
When making your case for change – focus on:
- The need for change based on data
- A compelling story about the future and how it will look when the change is implemented
Provide a vision to the organization about the change that is clear, challenging and achievable. Help them to see the benefits of moving forward. This keeps people engaged and excited and wanting to participate.
