Is Your Organization Change-Ready? What Traits to Look for in Your Operations

There are two ways you can look at managing change.

At the organizational level, managing change involves planning. The goal is to execute an initiative to change the operating model to reflect the current needs of customers or the business. While it’s understandable to plan the systemic actions needed to support business, it can feel separate from the business. It might even feel controlled and well-managed due to the comprehensive plans for action, but that’s not always the case.

Then, there are those leaders who become the hub of decision-making in times of change. It can be comforting to set the direction for the sake of doing something to alleviate the discomfort of uncertainty. The problem is, all the spokes lead to the hub. Being the controller of action in times of change is an exhausting and short-sighted approach. When these leaders step up, they overstep and cause their teams to step back, waiting for decisions and plans to come from the top.

Being "change-ready" means acknowledging that you can’t know, see, and decide everything. The best decisions, plans, and actions, even when made hastily, rely on the support of their teams. Change-ready leaders still feel responsible for leading change but are grateful for the support. Teams step up in the face of this type of leadership.

The question then is, what’s the difference between a change-ready organization and one that’s not? Do change-ready organizations have similar traits? They do, and often start with the following:

1. Inclusive

Change-ready organizations view the entire company as a source of ideas. They value diverse perspectives, data-driven conclusions, and half-baked ideas over rank, position, and authority. Rarely, if ever, will you find the stance that information is on a “need-to-know basis” or “leaders know it all.” Instead, communication is more transparent and often carries the tone of “we’re all in this together.”

As a result, team members become active participants and take purposeful action if not ownership of the change. They see themselves as part of the solution and are connected to a purpose bigger than themselves. They understand how their contributions make a real difference. And though this should go without saying, inclusion tied to purpose increases engagement and commitment to seeing change through to its natural conclusion.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that inclusivity starts at the top. Take the stripes off your sleeves and see every person – and I mean everyone – in your organization as contributors and authors of your future, not merely spectators to what’s possible. Start cultivating an atmosphere of mutuality and respect. Look for ways to reward inclusive engagement and participation in supporting the change.

2. Inquisitive

Change is far from comfortable and will inevitably be met with resistance. Instinctively, leaders will “sell” the change – that, or increase the volume and frequency of the whys and whats of the change. Knowledge is power, as they say. While such an approach may work to some degree, team members’ reactions to change will be the determining factors in whether the change is successful.

The best decisions, plans, and actions, even when made hastily, rely on the support of their teams.

Resistance met with resistance isn’t the answer. Instead, change-ready organizations will engage with the resistance to come to some understanding of people’s reservations. If you think about it, there will always be a kernel of wisdom in resistance. The only way to uncover it is to ask questions. Once visible, reservations can be addressed and you can position team members as problem solvers, not just rely on decision-makers to drive the change.

Being that change is a continuous process and the source of new opportunities, growth, and innovation, routinely “what if” the future. Not for the purposes of upending your plans or strategies, but to future-proof them. Bring those “what ifs” to the table, as it’s possible to teach teams and whole organizations to accept that change is continuous and in change lies future possibilities.

More importantly, embrace the practice of debate. Debate can become a habit and tool to examine ideas, encourage the best thinking, and air reservations. Remember, the lack of debate is not a sign of agreement but, more likely, a culture of “nice.” A good trait, but one that doesn’t enable change and could very well derail your efforts.

3. Adaptable

The only way to uncover it is to ask questions, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But with the future seldom turning out as planned, a singular view of it – and a singular strategy to address it – reinforces the flawed assumption that change is controllable. Change-ready organizations imagine multiple futures and think through the alternatives. The very act of considering the risks and alternatives mentally prepares leaders for change.

In fact, it ensures decisions are made at the right levels with the right data and perspectives. Decisions can then be made faster and implemented more nimbly. It also ensures that the results are understood in the spirit of learning and experimentation. If the first plan doesn’t work, people are ready to take up the next plan.

Take an objective look at your organization’s culture of change. Cultures are not good or bad, but they tend to solidify at some time, and then times change. The organizational habits of even last year may not be supportive of your purpose and strategy now. A clear-eyed view of the culture, how it got you here, and how it won’t take you forward allows your leaders to move on to more productive cultural habits.

By Anne Wilson, vice president and principal at BTS; with Kelsey Raymond, associate director at BTS; and Kevin Bronk, senior director at BTS 

Photo: Getty Images