From Resistance to Resilience: How Leaders Can Grow a Change-Ready Culture
Change is not just a possibility but an inevitability. As leaders, our actions, both in initiating and managing change, often determine its success or failure. We are either enablers, paving the way for a smooth transition, or blockers, unconsciously hindering the process. Our role in ushering transformative change is critical, and it starts with self-awareness: How do you behave during times of significant change? Are you empowering your team, or are you inadvertently making it harder for them?
Here are five ways you can support change initiatives at your organisation, whether you’re a leader or aspiring to be one.
1. Reflect on Your Role
Start by taking a moment for introspection. Reflect on your attitudes, behaviours, and reactions during change. Are you demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and openness, or do you find yourself resisting and making it difficult for your team to navigate the transition?
By doing so, you are setting the tone for your team’s response to change.
Ask yourself: “Am I setting the right tone?”
Ask yourself: ``Am I setting the right tone?``
2. Model the Behaviour that Leads to Change
If they see you do it, they’re more likely to do it too. Your actions as a leader can significantly influence your team’s willingness to adapt. When you visibly support and participate in company-wide initiatives aimed at improvement, your team is more likely to follow suit.
So go ahead, only come to the office twice a week (or as outlined in your new hybrid working policy) so your team will know that you support this change, encouraging them to do the same.
3. Commit to Your Obligations
Send that email when the project team needs you to, share expected next steps in the upcoming team meeting. Support the project team with their requests wherever possible and show your commitment with timely responses and sharing of information.
What about inviting the project team to the next company town hall to share important project details with the whole firm at once?
4. Join Steering Committees on Complex Projects
Especially those involving new technology. Representation from the business is sometimes sparse or completely lacking when IT or Innovation teams implement new tech. It’s often the difference between seamless adoption and integration into business as usual, or projects dragging on for longer than they should, costing everyone more time and money.
And don’t just join for the sake of joining, actually be involved – provide input and feedback when asked. Be available and show up.
5. Encourage your team to be Early Adopters
A change-positive approach can present as being the first to adopt new tech or a culture change that’s being rolled out company-wide. Any project/change lead worth their salt would start with a pilot to learn and adjust with a smaller group before scaling up or out. Volunteer your team to act as a Sounding Board for solution design, to quality check to-be processes, and provide guidance on how to help the wider organisation adopt and adapt with ease.
You and your team can be like: been there, done that… what’s next?
And then while everyone else is dealing with a company-wide roll-out… you and your team can be like: been there, done that… what’s next?
Leadership and change management are inseparable. As leaders, we need to ensure that we not only drive change but also act as role models for our teams. Through active involvement, commitment, and embodying the desired behaviours, we can successfully facilitate transformation.
Your actions and attitudes during times of change are a reflection of your leadership style. How do prepare yourself and your team to be change-ready? Let us know in the comments.