Change is loaded with uncertainty and can get messy if not
handled correctly. Cautious behaviours, high strung emotions and wobbly
expectations create an unstable pot for progress. Double-minded leaders guiding
doubtful team members causes blindness to the various traps that will drag you
back to the level you wanted to leave. Four traps in specific are common to
change agents and will prevent your path to progress. These four traps are:
1.
The fear of failure: Did you not the trap is not
failure itself, but the fear? Ask any one that has failed about their
experience and they will tell you that even though the experience was
unpleasant, it offered great lessons and rewards.
But when you have the fear of failing – you
don’t move! Blinded, you will miss opportunities, signals to turn, options for
progress and lessons to grow. It is not failure that limits you, it is the
debilitating fear that prevents your progress.
Leader – it is time to move beyond your
fear and observe the horizons of opportunity. Chances and change await your
arrival with eagerness.
2.
The fear of the unknown: Again! It is not the
unknown that limits you, but rather the fear. In twenty tears of consulting the
number one reason change doesn’t happen in business, teams and an organisation
is the failure to do research.
Leaders feel that research is time
consuming and costly, and it is shoved off to one side in order for the
progress to begin. Ignoring research fuels the burning uncertainty in the minds
of your team members. They are acutely aware that they are planning and
stepping out completely blind.
Correcting navigation errors or decision
blunders can be even more costly and time consuming that the research that
could have prevented such a disaster. Yet, the biggest cost of not doing
effective research to start with, is the team will lose faith in your ability to
lead, for which the remedy is extremely time consuming and costly to your
career.
Do research to remove the fear of the
unknown. Research and planning turns the fear of the unknown into a calculated
risk.
3.
The pull of the past: When your team is torn by
uncertainty and confused about what
The Pull of the Past shouts that the leader
failed to train and equip the team for the change to come. A lack of training
and validation causes a desire to flare, that wants to return to a time and
place more familiar.
Train your team. Let them practice all scenarios.
Let the training be in a safe place with a forgiving mindset, and focus on
equipping your people for what is to come.
4.
The lack of instant feedback: When the future is
dark and uncertain, people look for feedback. The desire for validation of
skills, behaviours and attitudes becomes overwhelming.
Encouraging and positive feedback from the
Leader is crucial at this time. Positive affirmation of the correct behaviour
is vital, and gentle correction of deviations is essential.
At times, people won’t even want your feedback.
They just want to voice their experiences and concerns. At times like this, you
as the leader, are called to listen.
Open a two-way channel for feedback before
you implement change. The sense of being heard and being validated will relax
your team members and make them feel valued.
Managing change is a leaders greatest calling. Learn the Phases of Change; learn to recognise the phases of team development. Prepare yourself and grow your leadership ability for it is not in times of peace that you will make your mark as a leader. It is in times of change that you will be set apart and listed with the great leaders of history.
More Articles on change include:
1. The Architecture of Change – The 7 Key Phases of Change
2. Challenges of Change – 5 Key areas that will kill your efforts to bring change
3. Superpowers of the Superheroes for Change – 8 Traits for leaders of change
1. The Architecture of Change – The 7 Key Phases of Change
2. Challenges of Change – 5 Key areas that will kill your efforts to bring change
3. Superpowers of the Superheroes for Change – 8 Traits for leaders of change
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