Managing Change Within Your Team: Use The J Curve As A Tool For Success
Whenever a company is facing change, good communication skills are the skills necessary for effective management. They’re vital for any leader managing change with her team. Facilitative leadership skills, effective management skills, and understanding that team building in the workplace work together to bring you and your staff to success.
If your business, or a department within your business, is suffering from lack of teamwork, it is inevitable that a change is needed for your business to survive and be profitable.
Even though on the outside it may seem that all of the parts are working, it is probably evident to you that it is not working like a well-oiled machine. Companies become stagnant, lack of productivity prevails, employee morale suffers and eventually profits plummet. It’s time for a change!
But change is often met by employees with great resistance and usually with the mindset that they refuse to change because “everything is working just fine the way it is.” Or is it?
Explaining to your teams that change is something that is needed to help the entire company succeed is usually a difficult task for company leaders. And, if you’re the company owner, it’s sometimes even difficult to get the buy-in from your leaders. Few of us are comfortable when we hear that a change is in our future. We have created our own comfort zones and usually dig our heels in playing the blame game as to why the company is not as successful as it should be.
One of the greatest challenges you can experience as a business leader is having your teams agree that a change is necessary…..each and every person must participate for the change to be effective, complete and whole.
Jerald M. Jellison, Ph.D, points out in his book “Managing The Dynamics Of Change” some very innovative methods for getting team members to understand how allowing change within the work place can easily ramp up employee performance and result in higher morale and ultimately more profits for the company. “If you’ve managed during a merger, downsizing, reorganization, outsourcing, or tried to set up new processes and procedures, you know that the greatest challenge is dealing with the human dimensions of change,” Jellison writes.
Somewhere along the way, teams lose their focus. They lose the meaning of camaraderie and forget how much easier it is to work as a team rather than struggling individually. Teams balk at change because they think it means more work on their individual self. However, they tend to forget that working as a team can be more organized and members can focus on their individual strengths to help the team move forward toward success.
In Jellison’s book, “Managing the Dynamics Of Change” he shows us how change undergoes a five stage process by using the J Curve principle:
Stage 1: The Plateau
Stage 2: The Cliff
Stage 3: The Valley
Stage 4: The Ascent
Stage 5: The Mountaintop
Most team members fear change because they think since there is a possibility that something can go wrong…it will definitely go wrong…that’s part of the change. Things will get worse before it gets better. But, you must go through these steps to get to The Mountaintop of a successful business.
In Stage 1 of Change, The Plateau, team members will be made aware that change is inevitable and you are expecting their participation. You can expect much discontent and anguish during this time. But, most of all, because everyone is waiting on the change instead of helping make the change…nothing new will happen. For a short time, during The Plateau stage, you will find that really nothing seems different. You will see the same bad habits, the same employee cliques, the same lack of enthusiasm for change. Everyone is anticipating and fearful of The Cliff stage but everyone is avoiding being the first one to step off The Cliff!
Stage 2 is where everyone starts to feel the symptoms they had been anticipating and fearing…The Cliff…the place where productivity drops, morale seems to bottom out. Everyone is saying “I told you so. This will never work. Look how much worse things are!” Stage 2 is the level where team members start attempting to go back to the old way of doing things because it was easier and seemed to have a pattern of success for them. Old habits die hard and this is the stage you bury those old bad habits. Team members comfort level will drop as they try new processes, work with new tools, report to new supervisors…this is expected and a component of the process. The stress level seems almost too much to take to your team members. And then, Stage 3 begins to emerge!
In Stage 3 of Change, The Valley, team members begin to notice that even though job performance is still declining, the decline is not as rapid. The changes are still occurring, but everyone is beginning to adapt and the changes don’t seem so prolific…they are more tolerable of the new change! It is in this stage that team members begin to understand the new programs you’ve initiated, they begin to recognize that the change does not affect their comfort zone as much as they had expected. But most importantly, they realize that the change is really beginning to become easier, employee morale is improving and the team is beginning to work together toward the common goal. The Valley stage is where it is vital that you as the leader begin to praise your team. Let them know YOU see a difference and that things will continue to get better and easier. Full participation from the leader is required in this stage to make the team members realize their participation in this stage is beginning to pay off. Keep your team motivated in this stage and you will soon advance to The Ascent.
Stage 4 of Change The Ascent is when you and your team members begin to experience the pay off. You begin to notice a change for the better. In the J Curve, you begin to start climbing toward the top and everyone begins to notice the successes of the changes you have implemented. As performance improves, employee morale begins to climb the J Curve. You will begin to sense a feeling of teamwork between your employees again. They will begin to realize that the change has actually started to not only make their jobs easier as they work together in a more structured environment, but they will begin to display a sense of pride for their accomplishments. And, as team members begin to enjoy their new found job descriptions, they will also begin to herald the leader for bringing on the change for their successes. In my opinion, the best part of this stage is when the team members begin to promote the change themselves. Now you have a team working together for the success of the changes. Once they hit this level of change, you will begin to notice they will start talking about how beneficial the changes are to the entire team. That’s when you know you’re ready to progress to the next stage: The Mountaintop.
The Mountaintop is the fifth stage of change…the pinnacle of success. In Stage 5 the team members will begin to experiment with their own successes and be willing to stretch their imaginations for new ways to make the changes even more abundant. They will rejoice in how easy the changes have made their day-to-day life and wonder why they didn’t do this change earlier. Productivity will begin to surge and team members will be working together as one team with a new sense of excitement for building the company. Just as when you’ve reached the mountain top on a long, rigorous hike, once you make it to the top, nothing is more exhilarating than knowing you accomplished your goal. Stand at the top of the mountain alongside your team members and shout as your successes echo in the valleys below. You’ve earned it!
Change is inevitable in all companies whether it’s due to an economic downturn, company relocation, a new CEO, or a company sellout. But, if you follow the 5 Stages of Change and learn to manage the dynamics of change, as pointed out by Jerald M. Jellison, you will realize that change always has a workable solution. But you, the leader, must be willing to take the most uncomfortable steps and guide your team one step at a time from The Plateau to The Mountaintop.
About the Author: Jerry W. Williamson is the president of Teamworx Procuctions, http://www.teamworxproductions.com, a team building training company that focuses on helping companies retain excellent employees through practicing good team building practices. Jerry is a business consultant and professional speaker and he uses brain teasers and audience involement to help your employees increase your bottom line.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Managing Change Within Your Team: Use The J Curve As A Tool For Success
