3 minute read
From the Roundtable: A Message from the Board
This summer edition of Vision Magazine has a theme focused on Human Resources.
Change is happening all around us, consistently, within our industry. Whether it be legislative, process, systems, company ownership, leadership, culture, team members, or remote work, it is not about stopping change. Change is not something you can stop. It is about how you choose to deal with change itself.
David Garvin, Professor, Harvard Business School, stated:
“Despite realizing that change is necessary, employees are often afraid of big changes in the organization, preferring the dissatisfaction of the status quo to the risks of a new reality. Often, the most important thing a manager can do is not identify the need for change but provoke the momentum to begin and maintain the change.”
One of the most useful processes that I learned as a leader was how to lead through change and understand the change curve. Knowing this process helped me to be successful. The change curve model has four stages that your team will need to be led through for success.
The first stage, or stage one, is the team’s initial response, which is shock or denial as they react to the news being shared regarding the proposed change. Once they realize that it is now their reality, they begin to move into stage two of the change curve. This is usually when they fear the impact, feel angry, and sometimes protest the change itself. The fear may be the threat to their current positions within the company or the perceived negative consequences of change. If not carefully managed stage two, in my experience, can quickly spiral into organizational chaos. It is vital not to allow the team to stay in stage two for long.
During stage three, the team members stop focusing on what they perceived they have lost and start exploring what the change means to them. Some will accept the changes and begin learning how they will need to adapt – for better or worse. Stage four is when the team members start to accept and embrace the change. This is when they find ways to incorporate the change into their daily work, and the company starts to feel the rewards of the changes that were made.
Understanding this process will help leaders effectively lead their teams through the change curve. The actual shortening and flattening of the change curve process aids in leveraging the benefits of the change sooner and lessens the negative impact.
And as always, remember to embrace the journey, trust the process, and never stop learning!
