What should management expect when changes occur?

There are basically 2 types of change.

Firstly, there is normal change. That is the regular, ongoing, routine change which is common in life.

Secondly, there is the type of change which is out of the ordinary, unexpected and usually needs urgent action.

Normal, on-going, routine change and the management of it is a part of everyday life. We experience it all the time – a vacation, a new commute route to work, a local store changing management etc.

The seasons change and we automatically make changes in our clothes to suit the weather. Usually, a vacation is a welcome change – we look forward to it, plan for it, buy new clothes for it and get excited about it.

Those sorts of changes we take for granted and we don’t become anxious about them.

However, there are some changes which aren’t like that and they belong to the second type of change. We perceive them as a threat, particularly if:

• We don’t expect them
• We are not involved in the planning of them
• We are not involved in the planning for them
• We don’t have a strategy for dealing with them

..…and that is the heart of the problem of dealing with change and of change management.

What we expect, what is normal and what we feel we have control over – doesn’t make us afraid.
The corollary is that the unexpected, the unusual, things over which we feel we have no control, cause us anxiety and fear.

When people are anxious and fearful they exhibit:

• Indecision
• Suggestibility
• Loss of Confidence
• Difficulty concentrating
• A feeling of falling apart)
• Short term memory loss
• What’s the point? What’s the use?
• The struggle is becoming or has already become too much
• Feeling alone
• Being a perfectionist
• Little or no motivation
• Fear and fear of the unknown
• Feelings of unreality (such as detached from surroundings)
• Mentally Detached
• Compulsive actions
• Overreacting mentally / Emotionally / Verbally
• Becoming short tempered

Every human being has a desire to be involved in events which affect their lives.

Part of the project in the management of change must be providing people with the information they need and providing it regularly and at every stage of the processes.
It’s important to develop practices which support people and to give staff access to all possible resources and information they need to manage their own change strategies.

HR departments could organize personal development workshops to provide training for employees in dealing with change. Providing people with appropriate tools and resources to work with organisational change, can bring about a transformation in how people see change. It’s possible to see change as personal development and as beneficial continuous improvement.

Managers need to add coaching to the ever-growing list of skills they need to have in order to be a skilled manager of change.

Managing the change process successfully is an essential skill which all managers in any business have to master at some point.

If they do it badly, the result can be anxiety, uncertainty and de-motivation. To do it well, managers would benefit from learning from best practice in other areas of human resource management.

If a management team understands what to expect when changes occur, they can be good leaders, meet organizational targets and design a strategy to deliver the results which will benefit the company.

Managing change successfully is an essential skill which all managers have to master at some point. If it’s done badly, the result can be anxiety, uncertainty and de-motivation for everyone.

There are three articles on change management which will be delivered to you in your Manager Toolbox