Change Fatigue, Change Management and the Role of Leadership

All changes, even positive ones, create a certain level of fatigue because they disrupt known routines, require new considerations or add new responsibilities. Not knowing that a change is coming, how big it will be or how long it will last magnifies the intensity of that fatigue.

Bertolt Brecht said “Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.” We need to accept that change is inevitable – that change itself is in fact unchanging. It’s an essential part of the life of any organization. Those businesses that don’t or won’t change will die.

So what can turn a needed, positive change into something demoralizing or destructive?

Many organizations are very purpose driven with a focus on short term goals. They often restructure processes or deploy the latest technology in the hope of making measurable improvements to the operation. Plans are created, put into motion and mechanically managed in terms of objectives being met and schedules being kept. Beyond providing “training” little consideration is given to the impact a change has on those who need to adapt to it. Very few project plans include a section devoted to a Change Management strategy that limits the amount of Change Fatigue felt by those who are affected. Why? Read more

One of the biggest reasons is that the need to purposely manage change isn’t understood or accepted. The classic focus on implementation, evaluation and adjustment is limited to the processes that are being impacted and the technology (new or improved) that is being introduced.

And it’s not just the deployment of technology that creates problems. Organizational re-structuring creates a tremendous amount of stress in the environment. All too often the re-structuring is driven by issues (existing, new or imagined) before other options to address a problem can be explored. So now you have a new team addressing an issue that involves processes with which they are not fully acquainted. The team that is gelled and understands the operation is dismembered. Team members are re-assigned, leaders are swapped out or the mission is redefined.

Some organizations – and parts of organizations within an organization – are better at re-organizing then they are at solving problems. The result is the illusion of something being achieved – of progress being made toward an ever-redefined objective – when there is no progress at all. The problem still exits along with the stress it creates. This stress is compounded by confusion which leads to anxiety which results in fatigue.

Winston Churchill said: “There is nothing wrong with change as long as it is in the right direction.” This statement provides a subtle instruction for successfully managing change.

The purpose for a change needs to be completely driven by the vision of where you’re taking your organization. The vision of what will exist after the change is made.

Once the vision has been painted, leaders need to present the vision in a way that addresses their staff’s basic, selfish concern which is: “What is my new world going to look like?”

When people don’t have this answer, stress starts with the accompanying worry that begins to create change fatigue. (Think of the never-ending saga that is COVID). Those who champion the change shouldn’t try to “sell” or provide assurance that everything will better. Paint an honest picture of what is to come with as much detail as possible. Be careful to keep it direct and simple. Many words will create different understandings about what will occur.

Communication is the key to successfully managing change and avoiding change fatigue. Explain the conceptbehind the change first. If a person doesn’t understand the concept no amount of conversation or training or advertising or PowerPoint presentations will help. And the idea that “Everyone will see how much better things are if they just accept it” isn’t true. This goes for internal changes and changes that affect external clients or customers.

A large part of communication always revolves around the questions that will be asked. So be prepared for questions on a wide variety of related topics. Welcome these questions because they provide a wonderful opportunity to maintain a dialogue and build consensus about the vision. Don’t rely solely on FAQ sheets. Many people use FAQ sheets to “check a box.” They compile the questions, arrange them by topics and provide as much of an explanation as possible in three to five lines. Remember, nothing beats face to face dialogue.

Face to face does not necessarily mean one on one. The use of small lunch and learn meetings or larger town hall style groups can be very effective. Provide an opening statement and then open it up to a question and answer session. Invite suggestions about what can be done better. Listening to these recommendations creates a sense of ownership (especially if you can implement some of the suggestions). And go for ownership not “buy in.” When people “buy in” it is often situational with no commitment implied. When people have a sense of ownership they have a greater desire to see the change succeed.

Be direct with your answers even if you say “I don’t know.” Use these meetings to build their trust in you and acceptance of the change by being candid. People can sniff out duplicity. Don’t assume they’ve accepted your answers even if they don’t challenge you on them. Your people are smart and they will know when things don’t add up.

Just like “success doesn’t happen it’s planned” so is “change doesn’t just happen, it’s managed.” A project plan for introducing a new technology is focused on, well, implementing that technology from testing through “go live” with training for the end users typically included. Put it into place, show them how to use it, declare victory and walk away. That doesn’t always work out. A change management plan that parallels the project plan needs to be implemented too. It lays the groundwork for acceptance and enhances the chance of success. It should address concerns and provide feedback to the technical team. Most important it should eliminate surprises by presenting information about the coming attractions in the following categories:

- What? Clearly communicate what changes are being made. Too many people in a leadership position don’t understand that knowing all of the “whats” makes it easier for people to put the change into motion. Some leaders choose not to disclose this information because of a fear that it will raise other, complicated or uncomfortable questions. Damaged trust in the project leadership can result because of this. Information given after the fact can create cynicism when other “whats” are introduced. These are often times interpreted as intentional “oh by the way” additions.

- Why? Always provide the reason why a change is being made. Not everyone will like it, agree it’s necessary or want to do it, but understanding why will help the change to take root. Speak with complete candor. Few people are good enough at using a turn of a phrase to state something out of context and not be found out. The old excuse of “that was your interpretation and not my intent” won’t hold up. Never mislead your staff. For example, intimating that a delayed start is due to an unexpected event when it was due to a planning oversight only damages your credibility. Just about anything can and will be fact checked.

- When? Everyone who will be affected, even peripherally, needs to know that the change is coming and when it will occur. Let people know of the timeline and objectives, and make sure they understand that the timing may be altered if unforeseen circumstances occur. This isn’t due to poor planning but rather the need to be adaptable and flexible. (Sometimes your project plan will need to be adjusted before the project begins). The questions and issues raised by people who are unaware of the timing – even if they accept the need for the change – will delay your project.

Think ahead. In the first post on this subject I talked about Change Resistance and how it magnifies change fatigue. Make sure you understand where resistance maybe encountered, the impact it could have and the way it could put your efforts at risk. Pre-empt these possibilities by evaluating what may be said or done and addressing that in your communications before it happens.

Demonstrate confident leadership. If people don’t feel you believe in the benefits of the change they certainly won’t. Acknowledge issues and provide the steps that will be taken to correct them.

Be open to comments. Remember that your staff has the line level view of the effectiveness of the change. They will be the first to identify issues because they’re the closest to the process. You need to rely on their feedback to truly know what’s happening. Don’t be quick to discount their comments as criticisms. Solicit their ideas and do not rely solely on the “experts.” They can tell you how things are designed to operate – in theory – and may be inclined to identify most issues as “operator error.” (This struggle between operations and technical people started long before the digital age.). The benefit of the doubt should always be first given to the line staff.

Exercise good judgement. There is no need to dogmatically stick to the original plan if it isn’t working. Be creative and adaptable when you encounter obstacles. Remember every plan is perfect until it’s put into motion because reality has a nasty habit of making a mess of the best plans. Remember the USMC motto “improvise, adapt and overcome.”

Change can be good if it has a clearly stated purpose, a defined outcome and a realistically aggressive timetable. Good leadership from planning through execution is necessary to avoid change fatigue and to position your organization to continue to access new opportunities. The real question is, do you provide the leadership necessary to guarantee success?

You can reach us at: contact@catherinemainsworth.net

Overcoming Change Fatigue in our Current Environment

At the end of the first post I said the next topic would be about ways to avoid Change Fatigue. However, I’m going to change that a bit and discuss ways to help mitigate the effects of the challenges we all now face.

Officials around the country are re-imposing restrictions on a variety of industries and institutions due to an increase in diagnosed COVID infections. The guidelines directing the response to the COVID environment continue to shift and are often contradictory. The uncertainty this creates is increasing the level of anxiety being felt by all of us.

Everyone I’ve been talking to are becoming more and more concerned about the impacts to their lives and livelihood. The interweaving of uncertainty about what the next change may bring and not knowing how long the COVID environment (the “new normal”) will last, is deepening and strengthening the level of change fatigue we’re all feeling. In simple terms we are all just feeling tired – very tired.

This mental state is rapidly becoming the biggest threat we’re facing since it saps our resilience and energy. Now more than ever we need to be creative and find innovative solutions. And we need energy to be creative. So how do we overcome (mitigate) the feelings of fatigue and begin to move forward?

Mitigation is defined as those actions taken to reduce the painfulness, seriousness or severity of a situation. The first step in a mitigation effort is to divert attention away from the pain aspect and focus on the fix. You need to remember that there is tremendous power in words. One of the easiest ways to downplay the painful aspects of a situation is to avoid statements that create a negative emotional context (e.g. the phrase “COVID environment” I used above instead of “COVID crisis”). You need to focus on whatever positive things you can find.

Second you need to quickly take actions that move you forward even if it’s simply a salvage effort. I have always been truly amazed by people who immediately begin to pick up the pieces after a disaster. These actions, no matter how small they may seem, move the focus from looking at the damage to looking forward to rebuilding what was lost.

However, getting your staff to move directly from a negative to a positive outlook is unrealistic. The same goes for you. The goal should be to get everyone moved from a negative to neutral viewpoint (“Yes it’s bad, but we can do this.”) You’re the leader and you need to get to the neutral point first before you can move the others there. Remember, you set the tone for the rest of your group. Your actions and attitude will determine the level of success that will be achieved.

In order to get to a neutral position, you need to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible. Knowing the facts, even if it’s bad news, is the first step in forward movement. Sometimes bad news is better than not knowing. Obtaining a realistic diagnosis of the situation helps you to understand it in objective terms. Identify the issues and divide them into three buckets: what can be overcome now; what can be overcome with help; and what cannot be overcome. Do your best to keep emotion out of this analysis and stay positive - as long as there’s a pulse there’s a chance.

Maintain revenue generation as best as you can and project what that looks like into the future. All revenue opportunities are good as long as they have a positive margin. Shift resources to higher margin services if possible. You might need to accept that the balance sheet will not show a profit for a while. Lighten the load as much as you can but try to keep what will be hard to replace. Cutting a low margin service or product may be tempting but try to ascertain what the mid and long-term impact will be. Does the service or product contribute to the purchase of other, high margin services or products? Does it constitute a consistent baseline revenue stream that you use to maintain a line of credit? And work hard to keep your employees, especially the most positive or knowledgeable or creative.

Create a graph of your revenue and expenses. Keep the first pass simple using historical figures. There is no need to calculate discounted revenue and fixed and variable costs at this point. You can do that if you need to get a more refined look at your situation. The scariest thing you’ll face is that spot on the chart where your cumulative expenses cross your revenue projections on an upward trajectory. You need to push that out as far as possible to outlast the potential duration of the COVID environment.

Take this information and chart your course in thirty-day segments. Get your staff to help.

Remember that one of the characteristics of change fatigue is the feeling of being powerless to affect anything about the situation. The more your staff contributes the more they become invested in the overall success. They go from feeling like an employee to seeing they are a partner in the rebuilding effort. At that point their focus will be on possible solutions not solely on the problems. You’ll need that cooperation to succeed.

Evaluate your priorities. You have proven your ability to run your business so don’t lose sight of that. The question is do you have the time to do that, continuously evaluate and react to the changing situation and develop the plans necessary to weather the storm? Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for support. We all need to pull together these days and we would welcome an opportunity to help you, even if it’s just to lend an ear.

You can reach us at: contact@catherinemainsworth.net

Change Fatigue if Coming to an Organization Near You!

Most people aren’t eager to have change injected into their lives. They can adapt to smaller changes without much discomfort. In the workplace a change that causes significant disruption to an established routine can be harmful to processes and productivity as well as people. The same is true for the effect of multiple, smaller changes.

It has long been known that stress is caused by planned or unplanned changes in our personal environment (home, society or workplace).The persistent accumulation of this stress often leads to a feeling of fatigue that can affect people mentally, physically or in both ways.

This is Change Fatigue.

Change Fatigue is a condition that has been increasingly studied over the past several decades. There are thousands of volumes, presentations and dissertations on the subject. And now more people are acknowledging that this is a reality in the workplace that must be managed and mitigated.

So how do you know if your organization is being affected by this condition? Here is a high-level view of what you should look for.

In order to diagnose the situation, you need to first understand that there is a difference between Change Fatigue and Change Resistance. Although they can overlap, they present in different ways. Change Fatigue is characterized by passivity – a resignation that the “inevitable” will occur. (This should not be confused with passive resistance since there is rarely any resistance associated with Change Fatigue).

Unfortunately, the absence of expressed discontent is less obvious to managers and leaders. It is often interpreted as silent support for the change. And this silence can be welcomed by managers since they feel it limits the need for change management efforts.

With Change Fatigue the feeling of being powerless to affect one’s environment creates a sense of ambivalence. The success of instituting a change is threatened as the ambivalence turns to apathy. This lack of motivation not only hinders the efforts to make the change happen, but also directly impacts all of the other routine activities for which the staff is responsible.

Change Resistance is characterized by actions that clearly demonstrate a dislike of the change. These actions are noticeable to the other staff members, leaders and managers alike. They usually begin in a non-verbal manner like eyerolling during a presentation or meeting; the shaking of a head to show disapproval of a statement or comment; and whispers or exchanged “knowing” looks. These actions can be disruptive and are clear indicators of a growing problem that should be quickly addressed. Unfortunately, many managers would prefer to avoid a possible confrontation and “power through” rather than address the issue head on.

If left unchecked the resistance to change can begin to manifest in the form of disruptive behaviors such as: actively criticizing the way change is being implemented to anyone who will listen; making opinion based negative statements that are presented as facts; posing questions in meetings that aren’t designed to get answers but are intended to be argumentative; or through direct confrontation. These negative actions will only serve to increase the fatigue others in the group may be feeling and further erode the probability of a positive outcome.

So how do we correct these conditions? The best way is to avoid them altogether, and how that can be done will be discussed next.