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Darren Jones

Leading through change

leading through change

Now more than ever it feels like businesses are looking to change, to recover, survive or thrive in the COVID dominated world we live in. Here I explore 5 ways to effectively lead through change. As the leader it’s important that you have a clear idea of how you’re going to navigate the organisation through the change to make it meaningful and sustainable.

Clearly articulate the reason why

All change must have a clearly defined reason why and how it supports the delivery of the business’s wider strategy. It could come in the form of organisational, technology, process, or cultural change.

The one thing that is consistent through all of these is the need take the time to think about what you want to achieve and then to clearly articulate and document it. Having your reason why committed to paper will ensure a consistency in communication and alignment with the rest of your management team.

Set clear, achievable objectives

Once you have defined your reason why, a set of clearly defined objectives should be captured. These will help people understand what needs to be delivered, by when, by who and how success will be measured. It sounds obvious, unfortunately many businesses pay it lip service, as a result they fail to deliver on time, to standard or budget.

Manage your energy

As the leader of the business, you’ll be the one people look to when they’re feeling uncertain, worried or resistant to the change that’s happening around them. This can result in you expending a lot of personal energy, it’s therefore important that you make time for yourself to recharge your batteries, so consider how you do this. It could be yoga, family time, whatever it is make time for it. The better you feel, the better you’ll be for your people.

Celebrate success early

As you travel long your change journey you will encounter people who have experienced failed change and will therefore remain unconvinced that you can successfully deliver the agreed objectives. Celebrating success early no matter how small will start to convince people that what’s happening is working and worthwhile.

Be available for your team

We all know about the emotional cycle of change and the peaks and throughs that people go through. What’s sometimes less recognised is that people can go through it more than once and may also experience a sense of loss from a previous role or colleague who may have left. As the leader it’s important that you ensure your team are available to have supportive conversations that help people move through the change.

About the author

Simon Costigan is The Change Partner, helping businesses of all sizes improve their performance. Simon collaborates and challenges in equal measure to ensure your goals are achieved. He will work with you and your team to identify quick wins that’ll instantly benefit your business whilst working with you to determine your longer term goals that’ll set you up for sustained success in the future.

www.thechangepartner.co.uk | phone: 07411 429159 | email:[email protected]

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