How to Deal with Change - Seven Suggestions to Ease the Pain

The only constant in life (and business) is change.

So goes the (slightly modified) quote from Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher. 

So how do you cope/survive? Seven tips to make it through organisational change.

Your organisation announces a restructure/reorganisation/transformation and the immediate response of many individuals is to put their head in their hands and say ‘Not again’, ‘What for?”, and in some unfortunate cases “Why bother?” where previous experience has shown the only result is fewer people left to do the same work at the end of a long, resource intensive process. The process changes how things are done, but without the trumpeted benefits - ‘different but not improved’.

In my experience the gap between changes seems to be getting smaller! In the over 30 years I’ve been in work (excluding actual job transfers) I have moved desk as the result of a restructure, reorganisation or transformation about ten times. With the frequency increasing  in the last decade or so where I haven’t stayed in the same seat for more than two years (except since March 2020 when I’ve stayed in the same seat whilst working from home!). 

Change can be exciting and motivating if done properly, but inevitably some people always feel insecure and stressed. We all have to work our way through the change curve (Kubler-Ross).

As a manager it can be particularly difficult, not only do you have to deal with your own feelings, but you have to support and manage your team through the change as well. 

Business as usual continues whilst the change is going on, which can mean more work with the same resources. People who will be directly affected are often asked to contribute by analysing what and how they currently do things, and being asked to agree what ‘best practice’ looks like (turkeys voting for Christmas scenario). Communication may be poorly handled which increases staff levels of concern. Third party consultants are sometimes used, which isn’t in itself a bad thing, many have years of expertise and knowledge to bring to the process, but they can add to the stress of the process, and staff sometimes feel excluded.

If you’ve been around as long as I have then you’ll find trends drive some change, and inevitably in a few years the trend reverses, centralise, de-centralise, out-source, in-source, flatten the organisation structure, introduce more levels…..it goes on. It can sometimes seem like one big cycle.

So, as it’s almost inevitable that in the near future you will have to deal with some sort of restructure or reorganisation, let’s emulate the Scouts and ‘Be Prepared’.

Here are seven suggestions for helping you, and your team, make it through.

First - be PEAR shaped – make sure that those responsible for the change see you at your best, but also support your team and lead by example. 

Positive - it’s very easy to see the negative side of any changes, find out as much as you can about the proposals, find those positives and share them with your team

Easy to work with - demonstrate that you can work through the process, cooperate with the change team and any external organisations involved, more importantly give your team a safe space to discuss their concerns and experience, communicate as often and as transparently as you can.  

Appear in control - don’t let your own personal feelings show through at work, either to those managing the change, or to your team.  This doesn’t mean keep everything bottled up, but find an appropriate way to deal with your own issues outside of the office space.

Reliable - and consistent, these are key management skills in all situations, but during periods of change are even more important, deliver on your promises.

Second - make the most of your internal network.  Keep in regular contact with everyone, especially those in areas you don’t have much involvement in, offer to help where you can, strengthen relationships. Regardless of the outcome of the change, strong relationships will benefit you going forward. Help your team to strengthen their relationships too, include them in discussions wherever possible, have them attend meetings in your place etc.  

Third  - don’t depend on any promises made during change. Until the final proposal is signed, sealed and delivered things can change (no pun intended).  From a personal point of view don’t make any promises you may not be able to keep yourself! No harm in saying you will try your best, but broken promises will be remembered for a long time.

Fourth - be proactive – get as involved as you can. Regardless of whether you think the reasons for the change are valid, or the outcome achievable, the only way you stand a chance of really influencing is to be part of the change.  By doing this you also stand a better chance of getting any concerns your team have across and make sure they are taken into consideration. You will be as best informed as you can be to reassure them about what’s going on.

Fifth - manage expectations, your own and those of the team.  The team may have high expectations - lots of promotions/pay rises/improved conditions - which are unlikely to be achieved across the board. They may have low expectations - redundancies/wage cuts - which you may be able to reassure them about.  If you are following the other tips you should be in a good position to deal with this.

Sixth - have clear personal goals – what would you ideally like to get from this change?  What opportunities are you looking for? These may not be within the organisation, but change may help facilitate you in achieving what you want to do in the longer term. Understand what your team wants from it too. 

And finally Seven - make sure you’re T-shaped (with a broad cross bar), meaning you have at least one area of deep technical expertise, showing your specific value to the organisation, but also a working knowledge across other areas, demonstrating your ability to be flexible, and bring that varied experience to your specific role,  Your broad cross bar skills will also include universal (soft/essential skills) like negotiation, communication, and time management, which are needed in all organisations.  Help your team to develop their skills, especially those essential skills. Coach and mentor, be an example and show the team how to demonstrate them. 

So that’s how to deal with change – pick one suggestion and work on it so that you’re ready for the next time that everything gets thrown up in the air yet again…