How Have You Helped a Business Leader Navigate a Significant Organizational Change?
We asked fourteen CEOs, coaches, and founders for their insights on how to best support business leaders during times of change. From strengthening emotional intelligence to maintaining open communication, discover how to successfully navigate organizational change.
- Strengthen Emotional Intelligence
- Communicate Clearly and Transparently
- Ask Guiding Questions
- Avoid Giving Specific Advice
- Re-Evaluate Your Approach
- Ensure Transparent Communication
- Remain Curious and Open
- Realign Core Values
- Understand Emotional Landscape
- Craft a Compelling Narrative
- Foster Innovation Culture
- Empower Teams With Training
- Maintain Open Communication
- Communicate Consistently
Strengthen Emotional Intelligence
As a business coach with a certification in emotional intelligence, I believe it's important to help a business leader strengthen their EQ while navigating organizational change. Large-scale change often comes with discomfort, fear, confusion, and uncertainty, which can contribute to resistance from team members.
Leading with empathy and being genuinely open to listening to the concerns and questions of their employees can help a leader communicate more effectively, foster trust, and ultimately inspire the team to embrace change rather than resist it. Business leaders are responsible for managing the organization through change while also still meeting company goals. EQ is not only an effective skill for supporting team members, but it also helps a leader regulate their nervous system and manage their own emotions during this heightened period of stress.
Communicate Clearly and Transparently
Whether it's a change in leadership personnel, business processes, or strategic plans, clear and transparent communication is critical. An effective leader is trusted, and they earn trust through consistent words and action. Big changes, and changes in general, make people uncomfortable, and they need to be reassured that changes and impacts will be positive. They need to understand the context of change and how this will be beneficial to them, their team, and the company.
To the extent possible, communicating early about upcoming changes and even allowing for feedback and Q&A where possible will give people time to prepare, adapt, and perhaps feel that their voice played a role in the change. Getting people to embrace change by helping them understand the why, and listening to and working to address any concerns, will allow for a much smoother transition.
Ask Guiding Questions
A coach's job is to listen and ask questions. Questions like: Why are you making this change? What's the cost of not changing? What could go wrong? What is the ultimate goal? Good coaches don't give advice; the best ones lead through questions, helping clients develop their own solid plans. People are far more likely to succeed when they've had a hand in creating the roadmap.
Avoid Giving Specific Advice
Never give specific advice! It's so easy, as a coach, to dish out your opinion, and, in some instances, it can be valuable. But mostly, you should avoid giving advice of any kind. Tiptoe gently, especially if the challenge being faced is significant and will impact other people. Explore the issue from multiple angles, honing in on what the underlying goal is. Then examine the viable options in a non-emotional way.
Re-Evaluate Your Approach
We brought in a business coach when we made the decision to switch to a fully-remote structure in the wake of the pandemic. One of the most helpful things they did for us was ask the kinds of open-ended questions that helped us re-evaluate our approach. We were taking so many things for granted that turned out to be a lot more optional than we ever realized.
Ensure Transparent Communication
Ensuring transparent and effective communication is essential when guiding a business leader through significant organizational change. Leaders often underestimate how much information their team needs or how quickly they can become anxious without it. It's crucial to clearly articulate the vision, goals, and roadblocks of the change process to all stakeholders. This not only aligns everyone towards common objectives, but also reduces uncertainty and resistance among employees. Regular updates and open forums for questions can go a long way in maintaining morale and fostering trust.
Adopting the ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) model can be particularly effective. Begin with creating an awareness of why the change is needed, then build a genuine desire for change. Share the knowledge required to implement the change successfully. Ensure that employees have the ability to adapt through training and support, and finally, reinforce the changes to make them stick. This structured approach helps maintain a steady flow of communication and keeps everyone on the same page throughout the transformation.
Remain Curious and Open
When navigating organizational changes, it's helpful to remain curious and open, despite being used to the old order of things. Seek first to understand (the reasons for the changes and the people involved), demonstrating an eagerness to embrace a different strategy with an attitude of exploration and willingness to grow. Consider willingly stepping outside your comfort zone by learning to take a step back and embrace other perspectives and novel approaches. Learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable for a while, knowing it will get easier, and be sure to acknowledge that there will be difficulties for everyone adjusting to new ways of doing things.
Especially important for your team is to loop them in. Communicate the reasons for the changes and the goal(s), so they feel involved, know that they matter, and are not just powerless bystanders waiting to see what happens next. Failing to do this can lead to low morale, turnover, and decreased productivity. Reinforce that each of them plays a role and that their contributions are important. Emphasizing that you're all in it together, and that you fully support them, stay positive and lead by example to engender confidence.
Realign Core Values
A business coach could guide a leader through organizational change by circling back and making sure the leader realigns core values with the company's new direction. At my company, environmental stewardship plays a major role in everything we do, and when change happens, it's key that our values don't lose any focus in new strategies. This helps to solidify team cohesion and preserve stakeholders' confidence in the mission of the company, even while it undergoes transformation. Great change is rooted in great values. When leaders connect their decisions to the core beliefs inside companies, a clear path unfolds that employees and customers alike can follow.
Understand Emotional Landscape
One crucial consideration for a business coach when helping leaders navigate significant organizational change is understanding the emotional landscape within the organization. Change can be daunting for employees; it often brings uncertainty and anxiety about job security or shifts in roles and responsibilities. As a coach working with leadership teams during these transitions, it's essential to guide them on how best to communicate openly with their staff about upcoming changes while addressing any concerns they may have.
Additionally, fostering an environment where feedback is encouraged during times of change is vital. Coaches should emphasize the importance of listening actively—not just hearing what employees say but genuinely understanding their perspectives—and incorporating their insights into decision-making processes whenever possible. This collaborative approach helps build trust among team members while ensuring everyone feels valued throughout transitions.
Craft a Compelling Narrative
Among the key things a business coach must take into account in helping a leader manage a change at a large organization is "narrative crafting." This is when leaders create and present a compelling story about the change, not just to share the facts, but a storyline that resonates with employees and aligns with the company's mission and values. This narrative-writing extends beyond ordinary communication strategies—establishing a narrative that employees can invest in, one in which they are active players, not just passive observers.
When applied in the real world, a business coach can teach executives how to incorporate this story into everything from business announcements to conversations. They should stress messaging coherence and storytelling for engagement and acceptance. The coach, for instance, could coordinate with the leader a town-hall-style format that highlights not only the logistics but also the narrative of how the change has helped other parts of the business, or how it supports the history and goals of the company. This is one way to make the transition seem more familiar, less scary, and creates a connection between the familiar and the unknown, which results in a more seamless transition.
Foster Innovation Culture
Fostering a culture of innovation is essential when navigating organizational change. At PlayAbly.AI, we encourage our team to embrace new ideas and approaches, which has been invaluable during periods of transition. It's crucial to lead by example, demonstrating openness to change and a willingness to take calculated risks. We've found that involving employees in the change process, soliciting their input, and recognizing their contributions can significantly boost buy-in and enthusiasm. Remember, change is an opportunity for growth—frame it positively and your team will likely follow suit.
Empower Teams With Training
Empowering teams through targeted leadership development programs is essential when navigating significant organizational changes. I've witnessed the transformative impact of such initiatives at Atticus Consulting, where our MBTI-based approach has helped countless leaders guide their teams through complex transitions with confidence and clarity.
Maintain Open Communication
Organizational change often brings uncertainty and anxiety among employees—a business coach should emphasize the importance of OPEN LINES of communication, where leaders can share their vision and address concerns. Transparent communication not only builds trust but also aligns everyone toward the same goals, making the transition smoother and more cohesive.
Additionally, a business coach should encourage leaders to be adaptable and responsive to feedback. Change is rarely linear, and unforeseen challenges are bound to arise. By fostering a culture of adaptability, leaders can remain agile, making informed decisions that reflect the evolving landscape of their organization.
Communicate Consistently
One thing I emphasize when advising is the importance of clear, consistent communication throughout all levels of the organization. In my experience leading our company as we grow, I've found that transparency and frequent updates are critical to success.
As a business coach, your role in guiding the leader's communication strategy is crucial. This strategy should address the "why," "what," and "how" of the change and include regular check-ins with employees at all levels, providing opportunities for feedback and addressing concerns promptly. It's important to emphasize the potential benefits of this approach, as it can motivate the leader to apply it.
