Three Must-Haves For Leading Change

This week last year, I completed the Leading Organizational Change Program through Wharton Executive Education.

And boy did it come at the right time.

The months since I completed the program were chock full of transition, both professional and personal. I navigated changing work demands, grew Parable, and managed the shifting needs of a growing family.

Here are the strategies for managing change that got me through this past year in the office and at home:

Assess and prioritize stakeholders (and yes, YOU are a stakeholder). I learned quickly that there was no way I was going to show up to everyone all the time. Each day, sometimes every hour, I reassessed whose needs were the biggest priority. Sometimes they were my business’s, sometimes my family’s, and sometimes my own. I allowed myself the flexibility to pivot accordingly.

Takeaway: Amid change, identify the people you care about most and then focus on satisfying the most pressing needs for the greatest number of them, yourself included.

Get buy-in and move with intention. There is a ripple effect to change. I knew that making any transition - personal or professional - would affect more than just me. It would affect my family, my partner, my business, and my personal and professional relationships. And so I resisted the urge to “move fast and break things.” Instead, I moved slowly and involved my stakeholders at each stop along the way.

Takeaway: Discern the right next steps in consultation with others and take them intentionally.

Communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more. Even the best-laid plans for change are messy, and the people experiencing change need reminders of what the mess is for. I took to frequently reminding my stakeholders (including myself) of what was changing, why, and how committed I was to them.

Takeaway: Communicate to yourself and others to keep your sights set on the horizon and manage change with a positive mindset.

Christina is a writer, speaker, and Founder of Parable. To get in touch with her, reach out to christina@findyourparable.com.