8 steps to lead your team through change
Change is in the air, and it is time to prepare yourself to lead it.
If you do not shape the future for you and your team, someone else will shape it for you!
In times of change, there is a lot of flexibility you can use to shape the future for you and your team, if you choose to.
Through the political unrest and global pandemic, our teams have proved that they are adaptable, they are part of the flexibility that provides us with our competitive advantage. They are our special sauce.
As their leader, it is our obligation to harness and lead that specialness.
Here are eight things that will help you shape your future and make a difference to you and your team.
Know where you are going
Be positive
Prioritise
Mind the gap
Communicate clearly
Build confidence
Create new rituals
Energise
1. Know where you are going
The most important step. Know where you are going and what will impact your ability to get there.
Why do you and your team need to change, what is the problems you, or your organisation is trying to solve.
How is your external environment and/or customers shifting? What impact will that have?
What do you want to keep?
What do you want to change?
How do you need to show up as a leader? What will be different?
2. Prioritise
You and your team can’t do everything. Focus!
Ruthlessly prioritise what is most important to your customers, your business or team’s health. These need to be maintained while you change.
It will feel like juggling, that there is not enough time for everything, you will need to make choices. Be clear on what is on the list and what is not. A deliberate choice, not a default.
It is hard to stop things, but now is the time to be brave and decisive. It might be the right idea, but the wrong time.
3. Be positive
Dig deep and find the reasons why you believe the future will be bright for you and your team.
Inspiring leaders are those with positive, can do, attitudes. If you aren’t feeling it, your team won’t either. Get your internal compass sorted before you attempt to lead
Smile! Think positively; problems are opportunities.
4. Mind the Gap
Humans like predictability. Gaps create uncertainty, and uncertainty paralyses.
Communicate what the change is AND what it is not. Do not leave a vacuum, which will be filled with the worst possible thoughts.
Not everything will be certain; communicate what you do know and the basis (trigger) that will change the instruction. Create predictability.
Layout a road map of good expectations. Expectations delivered builds trust.
5. Communicate clearly
Keep it simple! Short impactful sentences. Three-word phrases. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Communicate more than you feel comfortable with. Measure your effectiveness, are your team repeating back your language, are they focusing on the right things?
Check out our ten steps to being a better leader for more tips on communicating effectively.
6. Build Confidence
Fear is a strong emotion. It causes us to be defensive, ready to fight or flight.
Use small, manageable steps to build confidence. Success breeds success.
Over time, the small steps will lead to a longer, more sustainable journey.
7. Create new rituals
We like routines and rituals. What rituals will serve you and the team well in the future?
Build flexibility into the new routines. Restrictive routines give comfort but compromise the adaptability you may need.
No stability paralyses. Find the balance.
8. Energise!
Making (even more) change feels tiring.
Take time for you and the team to build your resilience. Plan renewal into your activities.
Put your safety mask on before helping others.
Leading change is tough. Look after your own energy and manage the energy of your team, it is a precious resource.
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As a leader you have two choices, craft your outcome or let it find its own place.
This is your opportunity to shape your change, be a change-maker.
These eight steps will leave you and your team stronger in your new environment.
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At Irrational Change, we have been guiding and mentoring leaders as they lead their teams through change for over three decades. In that time we have identified eight steps which will make the difference. Use them.
If you are feeling that this is all a bit too much and would like some help, then we are here for you. Build your leadership resilience and effectiveness through our Leading Change Masterclass.
