The dizzying pace of change today is accompanied by growing uncertainty. We humans are uncomfortable with uncertainty and change. How can compassionate leaders break through resistance to change? By keeping humans at the center of change, creating learning culture, leading collaboratively, and practicing courageous compassion, compassionate leaders bring forth more effective change while supporting their team’s flourishing.
Stay focused on the human aspects of change.
Change starts with people – meeting customer and client needs better, deepening employee flourishing, or improving shareholders’ returns. From that jumping off point, in order to measure the success of the change, the process usually gets translated into measurable goals. While these goals are connected to the humans, they are only a stand-in for the actual people. Soon, the measures become the goal itself.
As change unfolds, routines, workflow, even the way that we communicate with each other also change. Failing to prioritize the human considerations can torpedo ideas that look great in concept. If the client management software designed to make the staff’s life run more smoothly requires a major alteration in their daily routine, it not only won’t make life smoother, but it also probably won’t roll out successfully. A financial decision that looks good in a financial forecast is only as good as the assumptions that go into it. Those assumptions are based on the forecaster’s expected human reactions. Those human assumptions need to be well researched in advance and monitored closely as change is rolled out.
Create a growth and learning mindset.
Change involves going somewhere you haven’t been before and will bring you face to face with many new things. This is simultaneously an opportunity and a threat. A growth mindset allows you to maximize the learning opportunity while minimizing the negative impact of threat.
Growth mindset, a concept developed by Carol Dweck, is the belief that, with effort, a person’s capabilities can be improved over time. While it sounds simple, failures in our past can lead us to believe that we can’t improve, which creates a strong aversion to risk and an unwillingness to attempt activities that might fail.
To develop a growth mindset, focus inquiry about missteps on “What can we learn?” instead of “What did we do wrong?” Allowing people sufficient time to gain mastery at one step in a process before pushing on to the next step will reinforce the idea that with effort and persistence, they improve at the tasks.
Most importantly, create a culture with permission and encouragement to try new things. Make innovation and testing fun and even playful. Reward ideas and attempts, even if they do not reach the finish line. We need to normalize risk-taking, within parameters, and let people explore what’s possible to spark more growth, creativity, and innovation.
Make sure that the goal of change is shared.
The fundamental definition of leadership is motivating others toward a shared goal. There are two aspects to such a definition – motivation and a shared goal – both of which are required for success. Focusing only on the motivation aspect isn’t leadership. It is the (ab)use of power.
To create true goal sharing, engage the team at the earliest stage of the process. Openly solicit – and use – input from a wide range of team members. While it may feel as if this complicates the process, it has a number of powerful benefits. The creativity that will be unleashed through the process will drive more innovative and beneficial solutions. Early inclusion will also turn the natural fear of change into the excitement of a shared challenge. When implementation begins, instead of resistance, leaders find enthusiasm for the path forward.
Don’t mistake getting buy-in for your pre-made decision with collaboration from the start. That is a sure-fire way to make the leadership job harder. First, you have to motivate others to share your goal, then you must motivate them to that “shared” goal. True collaboration on a strategic decision eases the process, creating shared purpose and motivation at the same time.
The only way is through.
There is no guaranteed easy path to successfully implement change. Not wanting to walk a challenging path often motivates a rush to completion. There are many ways to manage change, but they all include a thoughtful sequence of actions. Both the order and the thorough completion of each step contribute to the ultimate success or failure of a project.
Each step in the process is linked to the others, and each step will offer its own sets of difficulties. Skipping over a step because it is hard will undermine an organization’s ability to complete the other steps well. From the earliest stages of needs assessment to the final implementation steps, be willing to recognize and name uncomfortable learning that is revealed. While you might want to wish some challenge away and keep moving forward, that’s rarely the successful strategy.
Compassionate leaders and teams must summon their courageous compassion to continue moving through the hurdles and unexpected twists. Be clear about naming the obstacles and, with the team, devise and celebrate ways to keep going.
In closing…
Managing with and for change is a staggering assignment in these times. Approaching change with our compassionate leadership skills can elevate the process to one of generative transformation.