Everyday Change Management

Change is everywhere

Source: Logan Weaver / Unsplash

When we think about organizational change management, the image of consultants in suits may come to mind, but the practice is something that everyone should understand, applicable to many cases outside the office, to better support customers, colleagues, and friends in daily life interactions. We experience changes throughout our lives, but often look at them from our own point of view. Change management challenges us to look at what is changing from the viewpoint of others and help them to work through the change.

For me, Exhibit A was a recent international flight in which a simple delay turned into a horrible 24 hours with a plane diverted, alternatives changed, promises made and broken, winding up back in the city we’d flown out of.

In corporations, the impact is clear. Organizations can achieve a threefold improvement in project outcomes simply by applying some degree of change management,¹ according to a recent study from Prosci, one of the leaders in organizational change management methodology and certification. For those with excellent change management programs in place, 88 percent met or exceeded objectives. Of those with good change management programs, 73 percent met or exceeded objectives, while 39 percent with fair change management programs met or exceeded objectives.

Change management comes down to three principles:

1. Understand the needs of the stakeholders

In my personal example, they are the passengers on the plane and the crew, which includes anyone on the ground who would interact with passengers after the flight. The airline needs to know what each of these groups wants out of the change, what they will worry about, how they will react, and what we can do to help alleviate their concern.

The crew needs to know what is going on, what the timelines are for the delay, and what they should or should not communicate with passengers. They will have their own personal concerns, but since they are working, their focus will be on keeping passengers happy and working through the delay.

The passengers will want to know everything, much more than they need to know. But it will be important that they understand what is happening, why it is happening, and how it will be resolved. They will be upset, scared, or frustrated due to the change. Some people will vent their frustration loudly, while others will not. The rumor mill will begin to swirl with time, and lack of communication will drive them to ask more questions and fill in their own answers.

2. Decide what to communicate

Once the stakeholders are identified, the need is to define what to communicate to them. The communication will be a mix of what is important to them and what will help them move through the change process.

For the crew, the need is to rally together, to act as a team to help address the needs of passengers, keep them calm, and share what information is available. There is a lot they can do to control the situation, address concerns, and keep things from getting out of control. The communications to the crew should focus on teamwork, customer service, key flight information, and empathy for the challenges ahead.

For passengers, the communication needs to be different. They need to know that you understand their concerns. They will want to know the reason for the delay, what the new timeline is, and how issues are being addressed. But overall, they will need empathy; they will need to feel heard. Some people will be scared, others will be angry, but each of their experiences is valid and needs to be acknowledged for them to move through the change. They also need honesty in this case, real timelines for the expected delay, and the continued promise to share more information when available.

3. Enable the change

In corporations, enablement often means training, but in day-to-day life outside corporations, it means providing stakeholders with the tools they need to work through the change, enabling them to process it successfully.

The crew already received training in how to handle situations like this, so they should be prepared, but they must also be given the tools they need to help address passenger issues. This means providing food and water; helping to care for the sick, elderly, or young; and prepping written information as needed for passengers. The crews on the ground may need to prepare to quickly process complaints, provide refunds, or set up hotel rooms for passengers who have missed connecting flights and are now stranded.

The passengers may feel helpless, as there is little they can do in this situation. For them, the enablement will be having the information they need to act when they need to. This will be the ability to get a hotel, know what has been promised, and know with whom to speak. They need the ability to contact friends and family to let them know they are delayed, to make new travel arrangements, to learn about connecting flights, and to be empowered to take back some control over the situation.

This same process could be applied to any change you encounter, at work or in your personal life. Imagine you need to share something with your spouse and, instead of just telling them and hoping they see things the way you do, take a moment to run through this process.

• How will they react?
• What will be important to them?
• What could I tell them to address their concerns?
• How can I give them the tools to move through the change?

If you use these tools correctly, you can manage the changes you encounter in your life and help the people around you work through them. Remember, you can achieve a threefold improvement in project outcomes simply by applying fair change management, which most of us could do.

Change management practices can also help you reflect on what your own needs are, what information you need to hear, and what you need to feel enabled to address a change you are experiencing. The process is simple, but the impact is long-lasting, especially in today’s world of changes, large and small, every day.