The Certain Uncertainty Of Change

By Marianne Schofield | 8th Mar 2021

The global pandemic has made one thing certain… uncertainty! Very few businesses will have escaped without being put in difficult positions and requiring need for change.

Change is hard, especially when it comes quickly and is driven by outside influences. It makes people uncomfortable, it forces people and businesses to make difficult decisions and it can create an atmosphere of blame and anxiety. To successfully navigate change business leaders need to tackle it head on with a clear goal and a meticulous plan. Most importantly it needs to be transparent to your employees. Hiding only creates unease and confusion and the repercussions of this can long outlast the change.

I would suggest, that when faced with change, leaders take a methodical approach and consider one of the many change models available. These can help with planning and are built to understand the needs of your employees. In particular the Kubler Ross model was created to understand individuals emotional journeys through a change:

                                                             Shock & Denial | Anger   Bargaining | Depression | Acceptance

This model was created by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross to understand different stages of grief as it evaluates how people move through the stages of change. Often starting with shock, denial and anger before ultimately moving to acceptance. However this model can also be applied in the work place as a change in a business usually triggers the same range of feelings. Obviously everyone is different and life is not linear. If there is a change at work employees may go through these stages at different rates and some may miss some altogether while others will move back and forth. As a leader, leading through change, you need to recognise these emotions and that is why being transparent with your employees is so important as well as allowing them time to effectively ‘grieve’ the change. 

When managing a business change there is obviously a lot of business issues that need to be addressed. This is fundamentally very important but don’t get so lost in the day to day transition arrangements that you forget how your staff are dealing with the difficulty of the business change. Retaining staff and keeping a consistent workforce is ever more important at these times. Remember people are resilient and can get through anything with the right support and guidance and that is where a leaders role takes on its real importance.

With the right emotional leadership that supports employees and recognises their concerns your business will successfully manage whatever change it meets. 

Reference list:

https://www.change-management-coach.com/kubler-ross.html