It’s an easy line to take – people don’t like change. As people who are responsible for change in an organisation, we can hide behind this assumption and get into the mindset that all change projects are an uphill struggle, and that the focus needs to be on changing people, changing minds, changing mindsets, change, change, change!
And if it’s really hard, we can be forgiven for not getting it right… right?
Well, here’s an idea which might help a bit. Stop assuming that everything is always going to be so difficult. Change your mindset. Tell yourself that it’s not change you’re trying to manage – it’s progress. Or improvement. Or anything which has a positive, rather than a negative, connotation. Tell yourself that you’re making people’s work lives better, easier or more productive.
It’s sometimes easy to forget that the reason for change is improvement, and to get hung up on the change itself. But look at why you’re doing what you’re doing, rather than what you’re doing, and leading that change process becomes easier.
So stop hiding behind excuses. Not everyone hates change. But people are looking for a good reason to change.
