Change management is ultimately the skill of bringing information to people about changes, so they'll understand the change and feel comfortable when it starts to impact.
Not all changes are going to be happy news for people. Just this week the strata manager is repainting our common hallway with a nice, fresh, coat of paint. Wonderful. But the colour is what I'm affectionately calling High School Blue. It certainly seems like it's going to be awful; and the current tasteful palette is to be no more. Even though I'm not happy about it, I can choose to be positive and move on, or I can choose to be engaging in an inner argument every time I walk the corridor outside my home.
Why would I choose to be positive when the re-paint was unnecessary, has cost me money, and the colour scheme is truly awful? For my own sake. If I don't move on, I'll be allowing this change to produce a negative impact on me every day.
The power of staying positive is not applying the pasted smile of toxic positivity, and welcoming every disappointment, misjudgment and error with open arms. The true power of staying positive is creating a way forward through difficult or unfortunate circumstances, growing from an experience, or using our tools, personality and drive to make things better.
In this week's Saturday Catch-up we take a look at the theme of staying positive and its relationship to change management.
On 27 January we published The Power of Change Management in Enhancing Customer Experience. We put forward that the goal of customer experience is to recognise the value of customers, and to provide a long term mutually beneficial relationship with your brand. It means understanding customer need and fulfilling it. It may require micro-shifts in thinking away from providing what you want - towards providing what they want. Change management can support customer experience by ensuring that these transitions are smooth, efficient, and embraced by stakeholders at all levels.
Workplace Community and Wellbeing: Fostering a Healthy and Productive Environment from 10 May 2024. A mentally healthy workforce is a more productive workforce. When employees feel supported and valued, they are more motivated to give their best effort. Applying great change management, including consultation, involvement, engagement and communication, can lead to better outcomes for both individuals and organisations.
In March 2024, we asked Effective communication: is it the first business fundamental?. Effective communication is not just a valuable skill—it's a prerequisite for achievement. By mastering the art of communication, you can build stronger relationships, align goals and expectations, resolve conflicts, inspire others, and ultimately propel your career to reflect who you are and why you're uniquely suited to the roles and opportunities you desire. Whether you're just starting out in your career or aiming for the next level of success, remember that effective communication is the first fundamental step towards realising your professional aspirations.
The life-changing value of hard work published in 19 January 2024 took a lighter approach to that mental adjustment of staying positive about something we might not feel like doing. Imagine it's the weekend, you've been working all week. You wonder, should I put on a movie, go for a run, have a nap? Then your social media feed pings. Your friend is struggling with their home renovation. If you swipe past quickly enough, your conscience won't sting for very long. But it's too late. You've already seen it.
Also from March, Moving beyond uncertainty covered the challenges at we face through change, and how these are raw materials for creating something new and finding a little treasure. By not viewing uncertainty as a void, but viewing it instead as a blank canvas, we're demonstrating the courage to start moving towards the change. And hopefully while we're moving through our changes, we'll see wonderful things along the way.
You've nailed your Saturday Catch-Up: Staying Positive
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Please enjoy your Saturday catch-up.
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