How to Champion Organizational Change

5 Ways to Champion Organizational Change
We know from change management simulation data that organizational change is essential for organizational survival and growth. We also know that driving successful change at work is a complex process that requires foresight, planning, and execution. Leaders who want to champion organizational change must adhere to a set of change management consulting guiding principles that foster a culture of adaptability and resilience.

How to Champion Organizational Change

1. Support the People You Want to Keep
   Organizational change often causes shifts in roles, organizational structures, and the way work gets done. To champion organizational change, make sure that you reward and actively involve those who are embracing the new ways.  Spend time with the most important people who are key to your future success.

   Remember, organizational change is a delicate process and is not irreversible. Even if the change starts off with high levels of excitement, people in the center can lose their burning desire and cause the desired changes to stall.  This causes people to return to the old ways of thinking and doing things.

2. Start with Leadership
   Changes in organizational designs, business practices, and expectations need to start at the top. That means that the executive team must change, sometimes radically, to support the new ways of thinking and working. For change to take hold, the executive team must visibly and openly engage in its own change process.

   Executives need to visibly learn new skills, adopt new beliefs, and show that the changes deliver real value to the organization.

3. Provide Inspiration
   Leaders need to use the symbolic power of their executive position to remain in touch with the actual state of people’s energy and ensure that there are processes in place to minimize change resistance, fatigue, and fear. Use highly visible gestures to show personal commitment to change such as promotions, large meetings, and rewards.

   Purposefully identify and let go of symbols that remind people of the old ways and co-create new symbols that convey the desired new ways.

4. Lead Situationally
   At different points in the change process leaders will need to lead situationally. Early on, change leaders should be more “hands on” by setting clear and challenging goals, focusing efforts on delivering those goals, and aggressively applying resources to move the changes forward. Later, change leaders should be more “hands off.”

   Once you gain buy-in from a critical mass of people, it is important that leaders and key stakeholders spread decision making power and responsibility for the change effort to take hold.

5. Be Open, Honest, and Transparent
   When it comes to change, the pressure to produce can create an environment where people try to cut corners, avoid dealing with difficulties, and keep bad news from reaching the top. You need to make sure that people are not reluctant to share bad news and that reward structures do not inhibit constructive debate. The leadership team must set a strong example of willingness to see, hear, and discuss problems candidly.

   If stakeholders do not have the trust to bring issues up as they arise, address complications, and make midcourse adjustments, change implementation will struggle. When it comes to change, nothing proceeds as planned.  Be open, honest, and transparent so that challenges can be collectively discussed and solved.

The Bottom Line
The ability to champion organizational change requires a strategic and comprehensive approach that is grounded in clarity, transparency, engagement, and exemplary leadership. By adhering to these guiding principles, leaders and change catalysts can better steer their organizations through change.

To learn more about how to champion organizational change, download How to Mobilize, Design and Transform Your Change Initiative