3 Ways to Thrive During Times of Change

Every client I work with is experiencing change right now.

Technology has changed the pace we work. Social media has changed our communication style. Our competitors are not traditional sources and industries are shifting. Change is a part of everyone’s lives.

As a leader you can help people prioritize what’s important so they pay attention to what matters when they are experiencing change.

Here are 3 ways to thrive during times of change:

1. Understand emotions –we often don’t talk about ‘feelings’ at work however fear is a common emotion. Fear of not knowing, changing clients, new budgets, different territory and more. People may also be so excited and know where to begin. Acknowledge the emotion and allow others to share it with you and build action plans to pay attention to what matters.
2. Communicate expectations – be specific with new responsibilities or roles, clients or territory. Don’t be scared of over communicating during a time of massive change and accelerate your 1:1 meeting with team members – they will appreciate your openness and availability.
3. Create environment – create an open conversation and be approachable to answer questions, manage emotions and build trust. Create positive language with the change so that people hear you say words like ‘challenge’ instead of problem or ‘opportunity’ instead of issue. Words are powerful during times of change, be careful with our language palette.

If you want your team to thrive during times of change, pay attention to their emotions and environment and communicate actively. Invest in additional development and training if required, share resources for more information and remember, you don’t have time to do everything, only time to do what matters.

Help your team understand where to give their attention today.