To successfully influence change throughout your organization, you must create an environment that promotes change. You create the readiness for change by removing all the roadblocks that inhibit successful change.
Now I have a confession to make. I have an addiction that I have been trying to shake off for years. I have gone for therapy several times and it has not worked. I am still trying to get over the addiction and hope that one of these days I will succeed. I am addicted to helping organizations, leaders, professionals, and individuals embrace, explore, exploit, and navigate change successfully. This addiction has so much impacted me to the point that I talk about change and transformation continuously; I give keynote address to organizations on change and transformation, I gossip change, dream about change and transformation, go to bed and wake up with change and transformation. If you know of a great therapist who can help me work on this addiction, kindly give me a shout.
We are all products of change. Where you are today as a leader, organization, team, has been influenced by the changes you embraced and the changes you fought against. When we learn to be nimble, ride the waves of change, make change our ally, pivot and be flexible with change, we will be successful in the end. Don’t become obsolete, work the change so that change can work for you and your organization.
I have observed over the years that the environment for successful change is tainted by ineffective policies, practices, leadership behaviors, and tinted mindsets that cloud and muddy the waters for successful change. When we create an enabling environment for successful change, empower and equip our leaders and employees for change and create a psychologically safe space for genuine and authentic conversations we influence change positively.
The first step to influencing change is to identify what you want to change in the first place and preempt how people will react to the change. When people believe and understand how the change will impact their lives, how they have been engaged through the change process, their involvement in shaping the change, they are better prepared to support the change. Remember, those who help shape and plan the change will rarely battle the change!
Knowing how to influence change in your organization can help you take steps to improve your organizational productivity, performance, and culture. It’s important to remember that Change isn’t something you do to an organization, but with an organization. In this episode I share nuggets on how to influence change and get the results you want out of change. Have a fantastic week.
