September ushers in autumn each year, and for many of us, this is our favorite season.
Change and loss are not interchangeable, and yet these two words seem to conjure up some heavy-duty feelings and emotions along with a good dose of resistance. The idea of changing something usually signals that there is an impending loss associated with it.
What if change and loss brought about positive feelings and thoughts? The idea of the seasons moving from one to the other might bring a positive change with the new weather patterns or the holidays that bring families and friends together to celebrate traditions.
LEADERS face the challenges of introducing and implementing new roles and processes in organizations regularly. The ones who have figured out how to leverage the positive feelings, thoughts, and consequences of change are the ones who are most successful with its sustainability in an organization.
Throughout my nearly forty years as a corporate change agent, I have gathered enough experience and data to assert that these principles support any change initiative.
- Change is predictable; we know that each season in nature shows up, the next phase of a business will present itself.
2. Change can be kinder than the stories we make up about it; the horror stories rarely come true when change is planned and implemented competently.
3. Change happens with or without us; it doesn’t need our permission; we are not as powerful as we think we are when it comes to resisting change to stop it.
My acronym CHANGE is a powerful tool for LEADERS struggling with the work required to change their organizations effectively.
Collaboration: Work with the change champions already in your organization; they will support the drive to implement effective change.
Harness: Leverage the energy and enthusiasm that many in your organization demonstrate when doing things in new ways.
Assess: Gather the data supporting the business case for the change and share the vision for the post-change benefits to the individuals and the organization.
Navigate: Correct the course and plan as needed along the way to avoid critical errors or catastrophic barriers.
Grow: Introduce growth and development as benefits to learning how to implement change initiatives effectively.
Empower: Develop LEADERS by engaging them in doing things that will increase their skills, knowledge, and competencies.
Introducing and implementing change initiatives into an organization is not a spectator sport, and it is indeed not a one-player game.
Successful change outcomes have been achieved by following the CHANGE model throughout my long corporate career. It might just be the model that will take your work with introducing and implementing change to the next level.
How will you intentionally work to implement the next phase of change into your organization?
Will you follow a model or rely on trial and error to bring about the necessary change for your organization to move into the next level of successful outcomes?
LEADERS know the value of sharing their best practices with other LEADERS, especially when they are developing other proficient LEADERS.
With much gratitude.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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