When it comes to largescale organizational change, things don’t always pan out how leaders expect. Changes may not necessarily be well received by customers, employees or other stakeholders. In some cases, this can result in leaders having to back-pedal fast or even revert to the drawing board.
Getting buy-in from all levels of the organization – as well as from customers and other stakeholders – is essential for making a success of largescale organizational change. Leaders should consider both the internal and external impacts of any proposed changes, including how periods of instability might affect employees.
So, how can leaders ensure that everyone buys in to largescale change?
1. Don’t sacrifice your values
The idea of having dependable ideals during a volatile period of change may seem paradoxical. Nevertheless, as business strategist and performance coach Will Polston outlines in his book ‘North Star Thinking’, keeping all changes in line with an ultimate goal, or ‘North Star’, can provide some grounding in times of instability.
“Your North Star enables you to make better decisions that are going to serve you for the long term,” says Polston. “When you have a North Star that you work toward every day, teams are kept on the same page and you can maintain a sense of community.”
Polston suggests that leaders could use, as their guiding light, a mission that leads to a set of goals “that are so big, they may never actually achieve them”. He explains: “A lot of people think that’s crazy. ‘Why would I want to do that?’ they say. ‘I’m never going to feel fulfilled.’ The reason is that having big goals keeps people aligned and consistent, despite uncertainty.”
2. Be empathetic toward all your employees
If you want to ensure that everyone gets behind your proposed changes, it’s essential to accommodate diverse needs and interests. “Employers have a responsibility to be attentive to the mental wellbeing of their employees, whatever their grand plans are,” according to Lesley Heath, co-author of Woman of Our Time. “It is important to pay attention to the disadvantaged positions held by some people, such as women, within the professional environment. Largescale change will only add to the burdens they already face. Changes should improve experiences, not exacerbate them.”
Heath argues that by taking care of employees and respecting their boundaries, leaders show their people that they are an important asset to the organization, which hopefully encourages them to support the organization in return.
3. Provide what you promise
During any period of transformation, there must be a clear link between the promises that are made and the tangible evidence that shows they are being followed through. For Jasper Steinhausen, author of Making Sustainability Profitable, changes should be consistently implemented at every level of the organization to gain the support and trust of customers and employees.
“Doing something somewhere in your business and then continuing with business as usual will be seen as window dressing,” Steinhausen says. “It will be hollow instead of trustworthy. The language of business is results. Results create credibility and trust. Results attract. Results talk.”
4. Be clear about people’s roles
“Employees want to believe in the organization’s purpose, in its vision,” says Tom Williams, author of Startup Scaleup or Screwup. “They want to share the passion, and when they do, people show up at work energized and delighted to be there.”
For employees to believe in the organization’s vision, they first need to understand the role they are expected to play in achieving it. “Before even considering a rebrand or any other largescale change, there must be a clear understanding around how the responsibilities of employees could change, or even if their roles could become redundant,” says Williams. “It is important not to lose sight of team composition or culture.”
Williams believes that the extent to which employees buy in to largescale change will be largely dictated by them understanding how they can meaningfully contribute to the future of the organization. “If employees feel as if they aren’t offering anything, then there isn’t any legitimate reason they should feel they need to support changes,” he says.
5. Have a flexible strategy
Preparing to enact far-reaching changes is a daunting prospect in itself. But the possibility of having to switch approach if things don’t go as planned is perhaps even more frightening. That’s why it’s important, in any strategy, to allow room for adaptability.
“In a competitive world, you dramatically increase your opportunities if you can provide different options for how you could move forward,” says David García González, entrepreneur and author of Chancing Your Arm: How I Made It Big in Britain. “Inventive and flexible organizations stay relevant in their industries for decades.”
Leaders should communicate openly with their employees, González argues, to demonstrate their flexibility and show they are making the utmost effort to ensure that transitions are as smooth as possible.
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