Leadership Solutions

It's Back to School time!

Even though it may have been years since you waited for the school bus wondering if you will have a nice teacher or if the cool kids will sit with you at lunch, the fall seems to bring a feeling of change even to companies. At some, fall marks the end of the casual style employees have been afforded over the summer-it means wear a tie; for others fall marks a serious push to get projects done before the holidays slow everything down. Leaders are coping with unrelenting changes, demographic shifts, technology advances and the need to keep pace with management practices. Curt Carlson, the CEO of SRI International talks about it as the "exponential economy". Segments of the economy are doubling in the ability to deliver performance for the price charged every nine to twenty-four months. The impact of exponential growth to leaders is profound. Never before has understanding and managing change been so important.

The problem from a leadership perspective is that most people do not like change. Like the child that wants last year's teacher rather than a new one, employees prefer what they know. In fact, it's said that only one third of the population reacts to change with acceptance. The other two-thirds range from a minor reaction to a major problem when change is introduced.

Here are some suggestions to help employees deal with changes you might face:

Communicate! Hold frequent communications sessions.

• Acknowledge individual's feelings throughout the process, including your own.
• Ask for opinions or talk to people one-on-one. (Especially if you are not hearing from them.)
• Be open, encourage employees to voice their comments and concerns.

• Be Proactive--The first 100 days of any change make or break the implementation-do your homework and be ready.
• Contact virtual and remote employees on the phone, if not face to face.
• Address "What's in it for me?"
• Include the input of others before and during the change process.
• Ensure that objectives, responsibilities and time frames are clearly defined and communicated during transitions.
• Maintain a positive and upbeat outlook, but don't try to oversell the bright side at a time when others need to vent or explore their concerns with you!

Like going back to school, leaving those carefree days of summer behind is fraught with both excitement and dread. Leadership Solutions can help you manage the changes...now if only we could get the cool kids to have lunch with my grandchildren.