Change movement is one of the most looked out concepts in today’s corporate world. With everyone rushing towards excellence and running various projects in order to achieve continual and sustainable development, change management has become a very subtle and effective notion to bring transformation in the organization.
But wait! Can change management reach its fate just because of the concept and its processes?
The answer is NO! There is a key component in change management that plays a very peculiar and intrinsic role in building the paths that will lead the organization towards success.
RESPECT for people!
Change is the immutable law of life and along with inevitability; change also brings various unprecedented effects. Many times, it becomes very difficult for people to adopt the change and embrace it throughout the transformation journey.
Respect people and their opinions!
Whenever we talk about change, one thing we always underrate is ‘people’. It is always the involvement of people which decides the route of the entire change management process and steers it to its destination. A leader’s job is to come up with the strategies for what to do and how to do. Although it is people who actually implement the plans and mould them to adjust to the changed environment. Hence, it is very important to respect people in any kind of change management process.
Leading and managing change management processes in an organization is not an easy task. It all depends on the ability of the organization to adapt to the changes and move forward with it in sync with the change management and other relative processes.
Although before implementation of any change process, it should be consulted with the employees and resources that come from different backgrounds and with diverse cultures incorporated in their daily work style. Disagreements should be welcomed and insights should be gathered from the very bottom of the organizational structure. It is a time consuming yet an effective way of finding and comparing opinions and coming out with a more optimum solution. For example, if the organization wanted to implement tools like 5S, it should be discussed with the team before acting on it. If the team members are not sold, their opinions should be respected and the reason for their disagreement should be found out by the means of healthy discussion.
Investing in respect towards employees can have various consolidated collateral benefits as well. There are many global organizations that are actively embarking and encouraging practices that inculcate the basic tenets of respect in all its members. Many large companies who are very successful in the market already promote and talk globally about the concept of respect towards people and the positive impacts it has managed to generate in the workplace and among the workforce.
We need to respect people and empathize with them. Respecting people and their stances on various issues and topics is the first chapter in the change management process. This quality to respect people once incorporated stays with the member even after his paths are separated with the organizations. Change management can be envisioned and cultured in a smooth and holistic environment by respecting the people as we initiate the change management process.
Written & Compiled by Faber Kishlay & Faber Mayuri
