By Motivational Speaker Connie Podesta & Syndicated Columnist Julie Escobar
Listen. We’re big fans of change. Connie’s a motivational speaker who travels the world, more often than not helping companies, organizations, associations and people ADAPT and leverage change. Julie was an early adopter of social media and in the speaking and training industry for years. We feel your pain. You’re disgruntled. Confused. Unsure. Ticked off even. It’s understandable. Change – well at least the way you just experienced it – is a tough pill to swallow. So let’s break it down.
Here are the four things to learn from Facebook’s quick change:
- It was unexpected. Things change, we know that. But successful leaders and organizations don’t spring things on people. They give fair warning. They give adaptation tools. They manage expectations and clearly spell out benefits. Not AFTER but before. They recognize “sneak attacks” don’t lend well to good graces. Heck, we know people who freak out if the people surprise them with the happy birthday song at the local restaurant! Sometimes a little new year’s eve-esque countdown isn’t a bad thing you know?
- No explanation. Yeah. Blindsiding people is never a good idea – worse than that is when they don’t understand why something is done. As a leader or organization – there should be a lot of looking before you leap. There should be some explanations as to why BIG changes – especially so many at once are vital to the end goals, beneficial to the people involved and hopefully – what’s next if anything.
- Lack of ownership. Normally in organizations if big changes are occurring there is some ownership to that. A little “statistics show,” “our research tells us,” “we’re making these changes because” information is forthcoming. Dazed and confused is not a good customer state of mind!
- Too much at once. You know, we’re doing the best that we can in most cases to just keep up with technology as a whole. Or for that matter – change in general. Today’s business person has what feels like a million different changes coming at them daily. From company changes to social media switches to family dynamics to over-the-top scheduling. Cut a little slack to the everyman or everywomen you deal with. Ease people into big changes so they can adapt without panic. Realize that for most of us – time is a precious commodity and there’s not a lot extra to learn “everything at once.”
In a way – Facebook did us a great favor. They help us to see two things. One, that change is necessary, vital and timely in an every changing world. Two, that how you position that change, roll it out and adapt to it says a lot about your organization, your skill level and your willingness to create new opportunities from what everyone else sees as ISSUES. What do you think? I’d love to hear – catch Connie on facebook or Julie on Facebook and tell us your thoughts! Better still, bookmark our sites for tons of up-to-the-minute content, fresh insights and new ideas. www.conniepodesta.com blog.prospectsplus.com.
No matter what change is making your head spin – we’ve got you covered!
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