Change—Controlled or Chaotic?

“Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.”
– Bertold Brecht

What does “Change Control” mean to you?  Is change in your organization ever “controlled?” This concept has always been a critical part of software development.  Indeed, Change Control is actually written into the development plan!  We should all embrace this practice of putting allowances for change right into the project plan, not just in the area of software development.  No matter how thorough the business analysis job or how complete the project plan, there's always something that needs to be changed or added after the fact. There will be change. So, there needs to be an orderly process for incorporating changes, corrections or fixes. And the smart manager has the courage to mandate a change control process.

Here is the clincher: We cannot change people and how they react to change. Change, even positive change, creates stress--another thing we can't change. What we can control is the implementation and use of programs and techniques that ease the pain and stress of change.

Many leaders have become proficient in managing incremental change (continuous improvement) and the occasional (or annual) large-scale transformation. But managers today are facing a flood of continuous, overlapping, and accelerating change that has turned their organizations upside down. And managing people through that kind of change requires all the communication and leadership strategies we learned in the past - and then some.

The shift from “a change” to “constant change” is more than just semantics. The increased difficulty lies in the fact that most people and processes are set up for continuity, not chaos. We're built to defend the status quo, not annihilate it. But the world is throwing change at us with such intensity that there is hardly enough time to regain our equilibrium or catch our breath. Nor is there much hope that the rate of change will ease in the future.

So, what does it take to manage people through continuous change? Here are some suggestions:

Realize that resistance to change is inevitable - and highly emotional.

This may not really surprise you, but understand that it is a very real result of our neurological makeup. Change jerks us out of our comfort zone by stimulating the prefrontal cortex, an energy-intensive section of the brain responsible for insight and impulse control.

But the prefrontal cortex is also directly linked to the most primitive part of the brain, the amygdala (the brain's fear circuitry, which in turn controls our “flight or fight” response). And when the prefrontal cortex is overwhelmed with complex and unfamiliar concepts, the amygdala connection gets kicked into high gear. All of us are then subject to the psychological disorientation and pain that can manifest in anxiety, fear, depression, sadness, fatigue or anger.

Didn't think you were hired to manage emotional turmoil? Think again.

Being aware of and responsive to the emotional component of change is now a prerequisite for effective leadership. This task is complicated by the fact that the emotional cycle of transition (denial, resistance, choice, acceptance, engagement) overlaps - as one change begins while others are in various stages.

Give people a stabilizing foundation.

In a constantly changing organization, where instability must be embraced as positive, a sense of stability can still be maintained through corporate identity and collective focus of purpose. The leader's role here is to create stability through a constant reinterpretation of the company's history, present activities, and vision for the future.  “Vision” in this situation is not a pithy or trite catch phrase, but a clearly articulated, emotionally charged, and encompassing picture of what the organization is trying to achieve.

Remember, change really is the only constant, so make it your goal to convey this and help the people around you feel comfortable with it.  Let’s face it; everything has a much shorter shelf life than it ever has before.  Processes are more likely to remain the same than situations, relationships or projects.

Encourage information access and knowledge sharing.

One of the most important functions of management is to act as an informational conduit for the whole organization.  But when an organization is willing to publicly present that information, to listen to different interpretations and to encourage the conversation -- the result is a powerful catalyst for change.”

Acknowledge that you are not in control.

The biggest obstacle to the organizational flexibility that executives say they want may be their unwillingness to give up control. Rather than tighten the reins, leaders need to loosen their grip in order to align the energies and talents of their teams and organizations around the latest changes. Mandated change faces an upward climb to success.  Change efforts that include involvement from stakeholders are much more likely to get the resources that are needed for success.