Those leading and affected by change: Enabling trust and confidence will help everyone to work towards achieving the same vision.
Responses to change:
Everyone's brain is developed to notice and react to change; common responses include excitement, fear, shock and denial, before acceptance and eventually integration can take place. These psychological responses derive from the way that we have evolved to protect us from ambiguous and uncertain situations, which were essential for survival in the past. Yet in today's rapidly changing world, being overly wary of change and risk averse is not always helpful. We therefore need to draw on coping strategies to manage and counter these emotions.
One of the most powerful activities that we can do during change is to become aware of our state of mind. Becoming conscious of what is changing, and discussing this with others, can help us begin to make sense of the change and our responses to it. To increase our resilience during change, it is important to have honest and open discussions - by reaching out to others and accessing/establishing our own support networks.
Adopting a project management approach:
Although change is not always linear or tidy, the process for managing it in most organisational contexts is grounded in a project management framework. At the University of Greenwich, if the change affects someone’s job role you should seek advice from Human Resources and review the organisation restructure policy.
Prior to undertaking any change, you will need to develop a successful initiation stage - which will support your business case. To do this, it is vital to have a proper understanding of the problems/issues at hand. Ask yourself: is it an actual problem which is affecting the quality of what we do or want to achieve in the future? You need to be aware of the range of options available, and to undertake a cost/benefits analysis by carrying out research with key stakeholders. Early conversations with your key stakeholders will allow you to assess whether change is needed, and to consider the breadth of what is required.