Managing change from a place of empathy

Sometimes changes come down the pipeline that you don’t have control over.

What you do have control over is how you help your team navigate the change.

I’ve had many conversations with people who felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath them when major changes happened within their organizations. They didn’t know about them until after the fact, when decisions impacting them directly had been made without their input.

You can’t help but wonder why they aren’t brought into the conversation prior to the changes especially in the circumstances that have a direct impact on their role.

Here are three tips to help manage change successfully:
1. Keep people in the loop. Remember the game telephone we played when we were kids? One person whispers a message into another’s ear and it goes around the table, by the time the message has been passed around the table, it is completely convoluted. Don’t play telephone. Be upfront. Share information when you can and provide reassurance.

2. Get their input. State the facts - changes are coming. Ask for input - what can we do to make these transitions as smooth as possible? The people impacted by change will likely have some of the best ideas. You want them to feel safe, secure, valued and trusted. Trusted enough to be brought into the conversation. In his book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek shares a story of an organization who had to make serious budget cuts and thought they were going to have to make major layoffs. They brought it to the team who came up with the solution that everyone would take four weeks off without pay - and because this company had built such a strong level of trust and connection, the people who could afford to take the time without pay, also “bought” some of that time off from people who couldn’t afford it.

3. Put yourself in their shoes. Looking at circumstances from another’s perspective is a great way to come from a place of empathy. How would you feel if this was happening? People are so scared to talk about emotions and feelings in the workplace but if you’re a manager dealing with change, you’re likely feeling frustrated, uncertain and possibly intimidated about having to undertake this big change. If you’re feeling that, think about how the people who work for you are feeling. How can you approach this in a way where everyone feels supported? When changes aren’t handled well people feel unseen, unheard and powerless which has a huge impact on morale and seeps into the workplace like poison. Take the time to meet with the team and ask them ‘how can I help support you through these changes?’

Ultimately when it comes down to change management there are two options:

Option one - be proactive. It is much easier to bring people on board at the start of the process. It is a hell of a lot better for team morale, staff retention and productivity.

Option two is damage control. Sometimes the level of trust that is lost just can’t be repaired. I heard a story recently of an individual whose role was changed without them knowing about it. They found out when the news was shared publicly and were completely blindsided. This person was so hurt that they are no longer seeing coworkers as people first, but as the enemy, people who were also powerless in the change but appeared to have benefited from it. It is so important to take into consideration the impact change will have on the team dynamic.

Don’t waste your time putting out fires, bring people into the conversation early.