People hate change. It is really no surprise that the book, Who Moved My Cheese? sat on the New York Times’ business bestseller list for five years running. People hate change at home and they really hate change at work.
I always think, “I don’t hate change…” My husband will likely (okay, he will) tell you I am not a big cheerleader of change– if I did not at least get the chance to weigh in on the outcome. This is true with your employees as well. Your employees care about the decisions you make, but they really care about the process you used along the way to make the decision. This is called fair process.
When tackling a big strategic initiative, like succession planning, or a new product line, the use of fair process is imperative to its success. In a Harvard Business review article, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne found a direct link between processes, attitudes and behaviors in the 19 companies they studied. They found that managers that showed a high-level of trust and commitment to change were those who believed the processes of the company were fair. For those who did not believe fair process was exercised in their company, they notoriously dragged their feet and hoarded ideas.
Research shows that cooperation during change or transition is much higher in companies that follow these simple steps.
1. Engage employees in decision making
This does not mean decision by democracy or vote. It is creating a safe place for employees to share ideas and attitudes about an upcoming initiative. This does not have to be a weekend long rally session for the whole company or a one on one meeting with every employee. It is best when it is organically rooted in listening to key employees or pillars in your organization. You can target those who have influence over how others view the company and start there. You could create an idea think tank (that doesn’t include you) and have them present several of their best ideas to you and the executive team. Listening and interacting is extremely important to this process. They will be able to tell if it was just for show and the whole process will backfire.
2. Explain the decision with confidence
Be confident. Whether you are announcing an unpopular decision or gutsy move, you must take significant time to explain the reasons behind such a decision. You may want to use more than one communication medium to outline the thought process in deriving the direction chosen. You must make it clear that you have listened to all the options and have weighed them carefully in coming up with the solution. A great tactic is to mention the unselected “most popular” choice and explain the reasons that that decision was not selected. This simple justification sends a message to your employees that they can be trusted with a high-level of thought and that you are brave enough to face even the biggest arrow thrown.
3. Set clear expectations for the future
As the leader in your company, you cannot just stop at explaining the decision. Painting a picture of the future confidently is what separates good leaders from great leaders. Employees want something to rally behind. The majority of employees want to know the ‘why’ behind a decision and then they want to be a part of its success. For example, if you are announcing your successor, you must identify the timeline, the transition organizational chart, the training schedule etc. to all employees. They intrinsically have a need to know how this decision and each tangential decision affects their daily lives.
In summary, research shows that people are more willing to accept an outcome that is not wholly beneficial to them if they feel that the process for arriving at the outcome was fair.
Now, go boldly move some cheese and take your company to unprecedented heights.
