Preparing People For Change

It seems as though everybody is facing workplace changes.  If it’s not a direct layoff, it’s the possibility of one, or some other shake up that will affect my work life.  If you’ve not been affected, you know someone close to you who has.  I’ve been through this– both as a manager and as an employee.  And it’s no fun.  At the time I don’t think I was very successful at leading a staff through a transition, nor did I do everything right when the change came to my door.

Several years ago, there was a man (now with the Lord) by the name of Thomas J. Stevenin who was a very successful management consultant.  He wrote a couple of books which were printed by Northfield Publishing (possibly out of print by now).  I’ve always kept them on my shelf and referred to them whenever I needed some workplace wisdom.  In his book Win/Win Solutions, Dr. Stevenin said this about change:

“Changes in the workplace are particularly discomforting in today’s climate of corporate downsizing (this was printed in 1997).  Workers desperate to hang on to their jobs seldom welcome the uncertainty that change brings and the effects it has on relationships.  No matter what the reason for restructuring, whenever personnel holes appear in an organization, personal relationships develop holes as well.

Sadly, so much time is spent creating the new wheel that little time is left to consider the people in its path and how it will roll over them.  Most leaders do a woefully inadequate job of preparing people for change.  Managers who are well prepared to deal with the nuts and bolts of the change process can be ill prepared to deal with the human ruts and revolts.  Consequently, as managers organize and implement change, the human side often gets undermanaged.”

Dr. Stevenin had a lot more to say about helping people cope with inevitable change, but just re-reading that much is a helpful reminder to me.  “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”  Romans 12:10 ESV