Guest Post by Blaire Palmer
Can you remember a time when you had to navigate a large change in your day-to-day life? Organisational change can be a tough time for the employees who are most directly affected by it. But we can implement cultural shifts and build trust when we approach the process with empathy.
On Thursday 26th January we had the pleasure of hosting a dinner at The Ned in London with HR Leaders from across the public sector. During this fantastic evening, we discussed leadership, company culture and adapting to change through a challenging moment in the recruitment landscape.
We were also delighted to be joined by our guest speaker, Blaire Palmer, who is an expert in organisational culture and the future of leadership. The following article is the third in a series of posts by Blaire about how you can be the champion of values and change in your organisation!
Be the guinea pig
It’s easy to look around your organisation and see the most serious offenders when it comes to reluctance to change.
Typically we will talk about the wonderful 10% who embrace change and want to drive it forward. Whether that is rethinking how we attract people to work for our organisation or whether it’s shifting the culture so that people simply love working there or coming up with a clever way to manage remote teams or the new IT system which will simplify how you manage data IF people can get their head around how to use it…there will always be a few who are up for it from the start.
Then you’ve got your middle 80% who will go along with it all because things change and ‘What can you do?” but they’re not your change champions.
And then you’ve got your 10% who are rather unfairly often called the Terrorists. They aren’t up for change, they don’t think the change will work and they think they can carry on as they are because, in the end, things will go back to normal.
Managing organisational change
Firstly, I’ve never liked this way of categorising people.
It’s easy to be an enthusiast for change when that particular change isn’t a change for you. If you wanted options for remote work and then it becomes policy you haven’t had to change your mind. The organisation is changing to be more like you were already. If you designed the new IT system, using it isn’t a change for you. It’s a known quantity and you’re fully onboard with the solution that you came up with. Not so for other people.
That 10% of ‘Terrorists’ may well be the ones who can see the flaws in your plan. Maybe they agree in theory but they understand far better than your flag-waving enthusiasts what change will entail and how painful it’s going to be.
Sometimes your ‘Top 10%’ hit a wall they weren’t anticipating (that your bottom 10% saw a mile off) and the shock of what change really means lands without warning.
And secondly, why on earth would someone be willing to change if they hadn’t seen you do it first? Others may have a longer journey ahead but, if you want others to do something differently or embrace new approaches to solving problems, you have to go first.
Get uncomfortable
Ask whether you and your team are REALLY changing things. Are you REALLY pushing the creative juices? Are you REALLY holding yourself to high standards? Are you doing the things that you want others to do…REALLY?
You don’t need to be perfect
But you have to be willing to change. Unless you are you won’t have credibility. But you also won’t have a recent reminder of what change feels like, how difficult it is to do sustainably and the very human temptation to give up or dilute your resolve.
A recent reminder of this in your own life and work will help you empathise with others and move them through the stages of change with your support. Leaders look for what isn’t working as well as it could and they disrupt the status quo to make things better. And they are willing to disrupt themselves continually too in search of even better ways of doing what they do. It starts with you.
How can we help?
Organisational change can be a scary time for employees. To find out how you can support your staff’s well-being through times of change, check out more of our resources or get in touch today!
Blaire Palmer