So what now? How to thrive after change
(Even when you don't think you ever will again...)
Change is often framed as something to endure. Something we weather, adapt to, survive.
But what happens when the dust settles? When the all-hands stop, the comms plan wraps up, and the org chart reshuffle is done?
If you’ve read this far in my mini-series on leading change (go back and find all the parts here), then you’ll know we’ve covered a lot of practical leadership techniques and tools (including my fave, the Kotter model) for dealing with, and leading organisational change.
But as I said in the first entry in this series…
And it takes a toll. On everyone affected by the change AND on leaders too (especially if you’re leading a change you may also be directly affected by.)
Yet too often, leaders move straight onto the next big change or fire that needs putting out, without taking time to reflect, regroup, reset and rebuild.
And this means two things:
The people you are leading don’t get the chance to do this either - and they get whiplash from trying to keep pace with organisational change, impacting their motivation, engagement and productivity.
You - as a leader - are fatigued, possibly drained, yet have to find the reserves from somewhere to “go again” before you’ve had chance to assimilate your findings and feelings about the last big change.
So today’s final chapter in this series (stay tuned for next week, as I’ll be talking about another topic that I guarantee many of you are struggling with right now) is about that vital (and often overlooked) leadership phase:
What happens when the dust settles?
How can you emerge on the other side of organisational change, not just in “survival” mode, but ready to thrive in your career?