Guest Post from Suzi McAlpine of The Leader's Digest, an award-winning leadership blog.
I like acronyms. They’re handy. Where would we be without RSVP, ETA and FYI? And having to remember the colours of the rainbow in correct order is made easier by ROYGBIV. This is required far more often than you’d think when you have a ten year old daughter.
Then, there’s the ‘too weird to believe’ acronyms. Like WISEASS: Weizmann Institute of Science Experimental Astrophysics Spectroscopy System. Yep, it’s a thing.
But here’s an acronym you SHOULD remember when you're leading change. This will be often, BTW, given you’re in a leadership role.
It’s called SARAH, and like my best friend of the same name, it’s helpful, handy to have around and hard to forget.
The acronym SARAH stands for the stages most of us go through as we adapt to change. It might be a restructure, a redundancy, or a change in strategic direction of your company. It might be a torturous IT systems implementation. Or just the fact the boss you love is leaving. Change is inevitable. The SARAH model helps you lead more competently through that change.
Some people zip through the SARAH process as fast as you can say, “hey pronto!” Others amongst us take a little more time to adjust to the new norm. We might even get stuck in the A or R stage. AAARRR indeed.
There’s no right or wrong. But understanding your reactions to change or more importantly, your team members' reactions - is ‘mui importante’!
Feeling heard is always important. It’s even more important during a change process.
This response is often characterised by strong feeling and emotion - or none at all. They might not understand the change. Fear often paralyses. It might show up as denial that the change is even happening at all! Think head in the sands or deer in the headlights.
What to do? Respond gently, empathise, listen. Provide context or historical information that led to the decision. Support is key here. You might ask, “what support do you need?”. Stay close.
Shock can manifest into anger or anxiety once people realise the implications of the change. They might be highly defensive, belligerent or passive aggressive. You might even see downright 'dig your heels in' rage. Resist the temptation to fight anger with insistence or anger. The person in this stage may not agree with the need for change. It’s like the rejection response, but less rational and is heat in the moment behaviour. They may lash out at you, when what they’re really lashing out at is the thing that’s changing.
What to do? Show empathy, ask questions, and let the person talk. Listen, listen some more and paraphrase to check your understanding of their perspective. Restate your points – but only after you’ve done the steps I’ve listed beforehand. Oh, and did I mention listen? Loads of that.
During the rejection phase, they reject the need for change. They might deflect, identify loads of other issues and support their case with logic and reasoning. They may be apathetic, check out or temporarily give up hope. You might see cynicism, self-pity or a sense of injustice.
What to do? Be patient (easier said than done). Listen without diving into collusion, stick to the issues. Agree action plans over clear time frames and with success indicators. The theme for this stage is 'one step at a time'. Ask, “what is the one small thing you can do today or this week that’s within your power here? What support do you need to get it done?” Focus on small wins and low hanging fruit.
This stage occurs when they’re coming to terms with the change and are ready to accept or live with it. When people begin to embrace or accept the change, the benefits start to become visible to them.
What to do? Encourage them to take small, manageable risks. Give them positive feedback and cautious corrective feedback, where they can accept it. “Well done on xyz! That meant (insert positive impact). What could we do next to build momentum?”
Hallelujah! The person is now asking for help. Signs include a lift in energy and motivation. You’ll know it when you see it. You’ll see a shift, a 'lifting' of sorts.
What to do? You can now begin to coach and guide them. This includes setting goals, discussing the current situation, exploring options and agreeing actions. Helping to balance learning and develop new skills. And now more than ever, uphold the vision.
Use the SARAH model the next time you're leading change. Or if you have a boss who’s leading YOU through change and needs to read these tips, drop this article on their desk ASAP. Or "accidentally" email it to them.
Leading change is hard. But it can be easier if you befriend SARAH, just BTW, FYI.
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How interesting reading social media and hearing in the news how NZ and its staunch dedicated rugby supporters are dealing with the shock loss to South Africa in Wellington on Saturday.
While the feeling isn’t anything like prior losses at world cup events, there is certainly a sense that perhaps change is happening in the global rugby community. Has the competition learnt from their experiences losing to NZ for so many years? Have the changes they’ve implemented in their teams, their organisations and the way they play the game finally taken effect?
Change management is an important concept to consider when making any sort of transition or transformation. Whether it’s on the rugby field when deciding who plays what position and when, or in the business world, when it’s time to make a change to company goals, strategy, processes or technology.
Unfortunately, what’s often forgotten or not done well, is not the ‘change’ itself, but how organisations help their people adapt and get on board with the change taking place.
Now more than ever, people leaders are responsible for managing their people through change. No longer is it seen as the sole responsibility of the HR team, but a core skill for people leaders to develop and master.
Type ‘change management’ into any search engine and the availability of information and research is mind boggling and endless. So as a people leader, where do you start clicking to ensure you’re reading the latest best practice advice available around this very hot topic?
I’ve always thought ‘simpler the better’ when working with managers as they support their people through change, whether it’s organisational, structural or simply a change in process or policy. Therefore, I’ve come up with some tips that I always recommend for anyone leading through change – whatever it is!
Not dealing with uncertainty and resistance will only escalate the issues and increase the risks.
Educate your leaders first, get them on board and aligned. Encourage a ‘single source of the truth’ to avoid confusion and uncertainty.
Have a clear change management plan in place that you can articulate to your people, what it means to them individually and what the process for implementing the change is.
It needs to work both ways so make sure you have in place the opportunity/forum for your people to discuss how they’re feeling, what they’re concerned about and what support is available to help them through this. Have regular, timely advice in place throughout the change process.
Your people are more likely going to accept the change and get on board if they hear it from you rather than someone they don’t know or trust.
Be aware of your own reactions to the change and how this is perceived by others. If your people are struggling with the change they need to learn from you around maintaining personal resilience and dealing with things in the right way.
It’s a big part of change and can’t be sugar coated or ignored. Therefore, be a strong leader, explain why the uncertainty is necessary, what action is being taken and when it will be resolved.
Communicating once won’t cut it as you lead your people through change – whatever the size or scope of it. Imbed a process for keeping everyone up to date with the change taking place. Even if there isn’t anything to update your people about – an update is an update.
Keep in tune with how your people are functioning and reacting. Respond to this as quickly and effectively as possible.
Be clear about how the change will impact the individual (or team), and what is expected of them during and after the change programme.
Perhaps like most of us on Saturday night, we thought the AB’s would never lose. In fact, what we’ve experienced is a fundamental change to not only our winning streak as a team but to our mindset - yes, we can be beaten. This change is a journey for everyone to get on board with – coaches, players and fans.
Perhaps a quick reflection of the tips above may help us on this ‘journey of change’?
By Amanda Parish, HR & Talent Partner
