Leading Others Through Change

First, ask yourself...Do you ever feel like you don't get a full "buy-in" from your employees when you implement a change?

When change takes place, it is human nature to have concerns about it. The level of accuracy with which those concerns are addressed will significantly impact the type of reaction (either positive or negative) we have towards the change. If our employees' concerns are not addressed, fear and resistance will overcome other emotions, and they will have little motivation to "buy-in" to whatever the change happens to be.

Often the most overlooked concerns that must be addressed are the personal concerns our employees have. They will always have questions such as "how will this change effect me?," "what's in it for me?" and "what must I do to be successful in relation to this change?"

If these questions/concerns are not addressed and we leave employees wondering or guessing, there is a strong likelihood of immediate resistance to the change and an even stronger likelihood that fear will take over. Luckily for us, the best, easiest, and most effective way to ensure our employees DO NOT fear the change is to simply answer questions proactively, and be open and honest about information.