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Change mindset and navigating change is often a requested topic for me, and what better month to tackle it then one where we are discussing mindset. Here are a few thoughts and tips about change, looking at it from three different angles; your personal relationship with change, how teams can be more prepared for change, and a couple ways companies can communicate and navigate change more effectively when it’s happening.

Your personal relationship with change

This is very much connected to having a growth mindset. It’s beneficial to see change as an opportunity and also just embrace the reality that change is inevitable.

If you want to have a torturous life, then be resistant and reluctant to change.

Pretty much everything about your life, at some point, has changed to get you where you are and will change in the future.

Other than your birthday, there's not really much of anything about your life that you can guarantee will never change. If you were to write a list of everything in your life that could not possibly change, you should end up with a blank sheet of paper. You don't know when it will happen, or what it will look like, but change is a factor of life that you simply cannot avoid.

Change is growth. Nothing can grow that doesn’t change. And it is true that change is not always positive, but even when it’s not great, or even terrible, there are always ways that it can be an opportunity for you personally to grow, and learn and yes, to change.

Preparing teams for change

The less we humans experience change, the more comfortable and resistant to change we become. Here are a couple ways to build receptiveness to change on teams.

1) Make change something you experience often in little ways that are intentional. When people and teams experience change on a more regular basis, it becomes normal and less jarring. There are things you can do to promote and reinforce the idea that change is a normal thing and that no one will die from it at work. Depending on your team and situation some of these may not be possible or work for you but here are a handful of simple ideas to get you thinking of some of your own:

- Refresh and move around things in the space/office
- Have a different person run your weekly or monthly meetings
- Let people work from home 1 day a week or from a different place than normal
- Cross train people for another job in the company
- Hold internal competitions around different metrics or goals (these can be silly & fun)
- Reassign or swap different minor responsibilities of people on the team, etc.

To clarify, don’t go around torturing people for no reason by changing all kinds of things all the time. Use some discretion about how and what kinds of changes you implement; be smart about it. The idea is that if nothing ever changes then when any change comes it will feel like a bigger deal than it is.

When teams normalize change, and talk about it, and intentionally embrace it as part of their culture then they’ll spend less time asking when it shows up “Why aren’t our people prepared, and why are they so reluctant to change?” Incorporate and build those mindsets along the way.

2) And this goes hand in hand with the first: Talk about change. Have conversations, provide resources, and be proactive about cultivating positive relationships with change. Teams need to understand that along the way things will change for them in order for the company to grow and improve and be healthy. They also need to understand that having good, healthy mindsets and reactions to changes are critical, and they must be clear about what that looks like and what’s expected from them.

A great resource is the classic book “Who Moved My Cheese?” Simple, and a great way to spark conversations and level up people's relationship with change. There are many, many resources out there to help teams be better with change. Find them, use them.

Another fantastic resource is Cy Wakeman and her book “Reality Based Leadership.” I highly recommend it, it’s a great resource for leaders and individuals. Something that she says (that I love) is that when it comes to change inside organizations, buy-in cannot be optional. Requiring high accountability from individuals is key.

3) Look for ways to make change fun. Ask people, “What can we change around here that would be fun for you?” Through that process maybe include a competition or something that mixes things up and provides some fun for everyone. Get creative, include everyone’s input, shake things up.

For companies undergoing changes

Overcommunicate.

Before and during changes, it is never a bad idea to overcommunicate. Give people a lot of information and be transparent so that they don't feel excluded, and they don't make up narratives about what's happening and why.

This could look like having an internal blog or communication or press release that explains, “This is what's happening, this is why, this is the context for it, this is what's expected of you, here’s how to get more info if you want it, etc” And the more this sounds and feels like it’s coming from and was written by a real human and not an emotionless robot the better.

Along with this, give people the opportunity to ask questions and understand more if they want to. Some people won’t but it’s a good idea to create an avenue for people who do.

It’s not always possible to say everything.

I know there's a balance here because it’s great to be as transparent as possible, and also in business, depending on the situation, there are a number of things that cannot be communicated all the way throughout the organization. In my opinion, share everything that you are able to with discretion and don’t hoard information.

Sharing, or not sharing, information is a great way to build (or erode) trust and rapport with people. These things impact morale, engagement, and retention. Choose wisely.

It goes both ways

Understand that some people have a hard time with change because of their own lived experiences and personal relationship with it. Be gentle and patient with those people, and come from a place of support. At the same time it’s important to hold people accountable.

Organizations and leaders have to bring people along and support them, and employees have a responsibility to stop sucking at change and embrace it. They’ve got to understand that it’s necessary and get on board with it.

Change makes us all better.

Competitors and outside forces that cause you to change almost always make you better, faster, and stronger as an organization. By having competition in a marketplace, it forces you to level up and ask, “How do we offer more, give better service, deliver better products, and ultimately serve our clients and customers in a more effective way?”

Like it or not, change will always be a part of the human experience and an ongoing factor in business. Your personal relationship with it, and the mindset and culture of teams play a huge factor in whether change works to your advantage, or makes your life miserable. Yes, it can bring uncertainty and fear of the unknown, but will also cause growth. You might as well embrace it and enjoy it.

To quote the great Joseph Campbell, “If you’re falling… dive.”

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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop (previously the #shiftyestribe). Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop 

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