Here are the three factors through my research which I feel will
be useful to navigate and lead change:
- An effective change process is the one which defines
clear and shared vision: Having a clear vision, defining
why the company needs the changes and what needs to be done helps
to create support for the
success of the change process. Since the change management process
affects every member of the organisation it is important to have a
clearly defined vision, direction & understanding of the need
for change. A shared vision makes sure all employees are invested
in the process to bring the needed change. People are able to
communicate effectively & work with organisational
commitment.
- The second aspect that makes an effective change
process is having clear accountability at all levels:
After having plans, vision and understanding of the entire process
it is important to track the progression at regular intervals. Lack
of accountability makes the entire process aimless leading to
return to the old habits. Hence it is important to ensure
accountability until the process is closed. The accountability
across all levels ensures that change is accepted throughout the
organisation.
- Ownership by leaders and managers is the third
important component/ insight which I attained for change
management: While the organisation stakeholders and
employee needs to embrace change & support the change
management process it is important for having leadership in the
entire process. It is important because having a leader who has
trust and support from its employees needs to take ownership of the
process and guide the process to ensure objectives are met. Strong
and passionate leadership helps a lot during the process. The
ownership of achieving goals of change management must be shared by
senior executives of the organisation.
Here are some other factors important while implementing
change:
- Effective communication helps to bring employees and
team members involved in the process of executing the
strategy/change management policies together. It
makes them understand and align daily decisions and tasks in the
direction of the company.
- The top leaders and senior members of the organisation need to
communicate and cascade the message from the top making sure no
communication is lost and synergies are well defined hence it is
important to have a clear understanding.
- It is important to have a clear understanding so that leaders
can communicate the value and what is in store for employees of the
organisation as it helps to drive down behaviors and defines the
expectations for recognition and rewards.
- The alignment and understanding of change management amongst
top leaders ensure that all team members are able to figure out how
their individual job descriptions are related to overall
strategies. The alignment stage makes the overall strategy
understandable in a simplified manner and avoids misunderstanding
and confusion.
- The clarity and understanding also help the business
leaders to bring a degree of innovation and creativity into
play. The customer-centric behavior should be at the heart of
alignment as it helps to bring change management in the
organisation.
In order to bring & sustain change, it is important to
focus both on productivity and innovation aspect of
employees.
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