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Leading change the ‘micro’ way

Managing change is challenging and it’s always a good idea to be proactive about making change rather than waiting till you don’t have a choice. To tackle change proactively, you can pace it and get more out of it. This can be achieved through a micro-change approach which is simple with little pressure as follows:

Envision the destination: Many change initiatives are not successful because the change becomes the story rather than the outcome the change was initiated for in the first place. Plus, change doesn’t necessarily have to be organisation wide. It can be as simple as being about improving a key process. Identify what exactly isn’t working for you and the team; and agree what success will look like before you starting thinking about how the change process will work.

Be clear what your starting point is: Determining the starting place is as important as the destination. This makes clearer the current experience you are trying to change and where to focus attention as you work towards your destination. Be honest in articulating how things are working in the area you want the change, so that you can achieve real change. You may have some assumptions of what needs changing, but as a manager, who’s not on the frontline, think about some guiding questions to work with your team to get to the bottom of the real issues.

Make room for iteration: Change is hard enough to implement without adding the pressure of having to rush it. You’re obviously not going to go from starting point to destination with a perfect process and micro-change strategy will help you take it one day at a time. Start with generating ideas for delivering the change and hone it down to those that are most likely to deliver impact, but which are not complicated to implement. Ensure that each member involved in implementation carves out time at least weekly to do something that contributes to achieving the change agreed.

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