You can’t stop change. So get ahead of it.

5Feb25
“Seven in 10 U.S. workers reported disruptive change within their organization in the last year” (Gallup, 2023). Anyone want to bet that this year will be higher?! The question is – who’s bold enough to invest in doing it right?

Change is messy. It’s disruptive. It comes with a lot of emotions (positive and negative ones). And to get to the other side with an engaged and productive organization, managers and leaders need to *lead* through it, by being in-front (visible and available), upfront (in what, how and when they communicate), and human (recognizing and respecting the plethora of emotions and concerns of their employees).

The skills needed to be good at leading through change don’t just drop into someone’s lap when they get promoted; we need to invest in our people managers and teach them these skills so they can show up and lead. (Yes, I know that sounds self-serving, but it doesn’t mean I’m wrong 😉 ) The toll that change has on managers and leaders frequently goes unacknowledged and managers are more likely to be burned out and disengaged than their teams (Gallup, 2023).

While the natural inclination may be to wait ‘til the changes have shaken out, or hold off investing in manager skills until budgets loosen a bit, the reality is that these things can’t wait.  You need to be bold, play the long game and understand the ROI that you’ll get from advancing the skills of your leaders today. Because sure as anything, another change is just around the corner.