A large percentage of the population, and hence a decent percentage of the people in your office will be resistant to change. So change needs to be approached with careful consideration.

Note I am not saying ‘do not worry about change, don’t fix what isn’t broke.”

Change is such a necessary part of business and life in general. If businesses don’t evolve with the times, they get left behind and inevitably fail. Nokia and Blockbuster are now blasts from the past and are the perfect example of what happens when change is not embraced.

1. Encourage a culture of behavioural flexibility and growth mindset.

Always encourage change on an individual level, teaching your team how to pivot when necessary and how to adapt to situations. If change is a constant in your business then there is less shock associated with change as your team is used to it. The best way for your team to feel safe and secure with change, is to respectfully communicate and give heads up so that they trust you, even when faced with last minute changes.

2. Involve the team in the decision making process.

When there is a potential change to be made, share with the team why you believe it will be beneficial for them and the company, then give the team a chance to share their feedback and thoughts. If the idea is met with mostly excitement then it’s pretty straight forward, but if there is an assortment of opinions, resort back to the ‘old faithful’ Pro’s and Cons list, majority wins. This ensures people feel heard and that you are taking into consideration their opinions.

3. Drip feed the change.

Rather than pulling the rug out from beneath everyones feet all at once, take the time (if possible) to slowly roll out the change. Arrange some ‘test subjects/guinea pigs’ – ideally confident and in a good place mentally – giving them a few days to a week to wrap their head around the change. Then utilise their experience to breed certainty into the rest of the team.

4. Ensure everyone understands how to use / get most out of the change.

If change is being introduced office wide, training needs to be provided at an office level rather than at a team or individual level. Reason being, when training is provided to everyone at the same time the message is consistent and everyone is on the same page. When people don’t understand the full benefits of the change, they will resist it, and they will share these frustrations with their colleagues, like a red sock in a white wash, uncertainty will spread through your office.

If you follow these steps even those who are naturally resistant to change will feel comfortable with adopting change.

TO PROSPER: Don’t be scared of losing momentum, risk is where the reward is. I know it can feel safe doing what works, but the best fruit lies at the end of the branch and playing it safe will mean you miss out. But if you are proactive, risk can be mitigated, and rather than momentum being negatively affected, you instead add fuel to the fire!!

Hopefully you have had a couple of lightbulb moments in reading this. There is always more that can be done to improve business, it’s just up to you to put in the work and follow through.