To Drive Change, Meet Your Team Where They Are At
Does this sound like you?
Mia, a senior director who managed a talented team, had big ambitions. She’d crafted a solid plan for taking the team’s work to the next level. But strategizing was one thing; implementation was another. The problem? Her team wasn’t much of a team. Each person did their own thing, not thinking much about the group as a whole. At times, her direct reports competed openly with each other. At their lackluster team meetings, they held back from sharing ideas and resources with each other so they could develop them individually.
Mia felt her plan would bring them closer to achieving the organization’s mission, but they needed to truly come together as a team for it to work. She rallied her direct reports, getting them on board with the plan and affirming its connection to the organization’s mission. She led them through an exercise to help identify barriers to collaboration and how to overcome them. Each person promised to make changes. Mia felt hopeful. However, over the next few weeks, her team remained stuck in the same behaviors. How could she initiate real change that would create a collaborative culture?
Is any of this familiar to you? In my experience, most leaders go through a version of this at some point. You have great ideas for change, but they fall short on implementation. Why? You may be missing out on the key starting point: meeting your team where they’re at so that you can guide them forward. Let’s dive into three key questions you can ask to do this well.
Question 1: What do your team members care about?
Working with numerous leaders has taught me this key lesson: What motivates your team may not be the same thing that motivates you.
As the leader, you may be miles ahead of your team in terms of vision, direction, and connection to mission. I invite you to pause for a moment to think about what each team member really cares about. What excites them about their work? Do they have a chance to do that regularly?
Connecting team members to opportunities for meaningful work is a great incentive to get them onboard with change. In some cases, people fear that the change might require them to do less rewarding work. You can help them make the link between what’s changing and what’s meaningful to them.
Question 2: Where’s your team in the transition cycle?
“All transitions begin with an ending,” says William Bridges, organizational consultant and author of the book, Managing Transitions. I’ve found this to be a great framework for coaching teams. It is only after navigating the ENDING of something that you arrive at the BEGINNING!
Understanding the three stages of transition will help you to guide your team through change while keeping everyone focused.
The ending. “This first phase of transition begins when people identify what they are losing and learn how to manage these losses,” says Bridges. “They determine what is over and being left behind, and what they will keep.” Your team members may be letting go of old processes, methods, roles, or colleagues. Even when the change is viewed as positive, there may be a grieving process. Anticipate your team’s emotional responses to the change and demonstrate empathy and energy for the future.
The neutral stage. Here, people are learning to adapt to change. They’re experimenting with new ways of doing things, but they don’t fully identify with these yet, Bridges explains. New patterns are evolving, and new roles may be taking shape. During this stage, focus on building employees’ confidence by providing extra support so they can carry out their new responsibilities. Providing structure and plans help too. Have lots of one-on-one and group check-ins about their progress. Find ways to laugh about your blunders together so small setbacks don’t feel earth-shattering!
The new beginning. At this stage, people have embraced the change. Their identity has shifted, and they now view themselves playing a strong role in implementation. They begin to feel energized and excited about moving forward. During this time you want to continue to help build your team’s capacity to excel. Ongoing training, mentoring, setting clear goals and providing feedback -- all of these are helpful.
Breaking down a transition into these three stages will help you to provide the right kind of leadership every step of the way. Notice the major perspective shifts that occur through these three stages of transition. During the ending stage, people often fear the end of the system or structure that they are familiar with. Seeing the full potential in the new beginning takes more time.
As the leader, you’ll have more time to get comfortable with the ending and anticipate the responses during the three stages of transition. It is likely that mentally you will be in the new beginning stage, while your team is still sorting through their feelings about the ending! To be effective at guiding them, you need to assess where they may be and take a step back to meet them there.
Question 3: What are you afraid of?
When thinking about the three stages of transition, jot down the fears and uncertainties that surface. Sharing your own fears and concerns, along with what you appreciate and find valuable about the change, will support your team in getting onboard. Allow yourself to be human rather than pretend that you never experience doubts. This will show your team that you’ve thought deeply about all aspects of the change.
When you show vulnerability, it gives your team permission to do so as well. Instead of pretending that you’re all invincible, you’ll spark an open and honest discussion of genuine concerns. By doing so, you’ll build trust—the single most important factor in building a strong team—and a sense of group identity.
Try to anticipate any additional concerns your team may have, too. Rather than dismissing them offhand, lean into them. Is there potential for failure? How can you avoid it? Speak to these concerns thoroughly so that people will know you’re on the same page. Otherwise, a “you vs. them” dichotomy could emerge.
Getting to Yes
As Mia used these strategies for navigating change successfully, she noticed a sense of camaraderie emerging. By meeting each person where they were at through the different stages of transition, she saw her team’s confidence in one another grow dramatically. Soon they were fully invested in carrying out the plan of action, and they began collaborating in ways that they never had before.
You’ll see better results with your own team if, like Mia, you consistently meet them where they’re at and work to build trust. They may not immediately feel your level of confidence in the new plan or process, but if you continue to meet them where they’re at through each stage, they’ll get there. By showing empathy and understanding, you’ll help guide your team to where they need to go.
Ready for a deeper dive on how to drive change effectively with your team? Book a call with Amanda Silver Consulting to find out how we can help.