Change is a part of life that can be very difficult. However, change is an opportunity for you and your team to grow if you can push past the fear and resistance. The success of change, as with many things, comes down to leadership. And in this article, we are going to look at leading through change.

What To Change?

One part of change that can be extremely difficult is identifying what to change. There is always a battle between what needs to be changed, versus what is easy to change!

As a leader you need to look at the situation and identify which changes will bring about the greatest growth for your company.

Push Past Fear And Animosity

Fear and animosity are common emotions to experience during change and to see others in your team experiencing. As humans, we are hardwired to look for the comfortable and resist change as change can lead to risk.

However difficult it maybe it is important to push past that fear and push forward on the change to help your company grow to new levels. As the saying goes, “If it were easy, everyone would do it.”

You also have to help others push past these feelings as well. Some members may find it hard to adapt to change, especially if they have been doing something in a specific way for a certain time. Change can be scary and can quickly lead to thoughts of uncertainty. It is important to lead the change and to assure your team to avoid any misconceived ideas from occurring.

Focus on Small Wins

Often change can be big. For example, changing your companies project management system from one service provider to another. These big changes can take months to complete, leading to long periods of changeover. During a changeover period, your team can become despondent, especially if there are lots of setbacks.

To combat this, try to focus on and celebrate small wins. While this may seem tedious, celebrating the small wins can help to keep your team focused and motivated during a period which can often be difficult.

Look At Change As An Opportunity

As Jack Welsh calls it, “change opportunity”. Change is a great opportunity for you to rework, redesign, and improve the way you operate. Use times of change to come out stronger than ever before.

Furthermore, try to focus on the opportunities a change can bring, rather than the challenges it brings.