Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Resistance can sometimes be valuable. If you’ve implemented most of the previously mentioned steps and are still encountering difficulties, it might be time to “listen” to your stakeholders and understand their perspectives. There might be something you’re overlooking. Resistance to change can often provide invaluable feedback, prompting you to embrace a new direction or modify your strategy as needed. Resistance can provide insights that can enhance clarity of the change, strengthen the delivery of the change, and can help you slow down to better assess or reassess if you are headed in the right direction. When you know the ‘why’ of the resistance, you are half-way to managing the resistance to the change.

Beyond “training and informing”, when leading change in a remote environment, emotional intelligence and empathy are paramount. These skills can be used to stay attuned to stakeholder needs. The following tools can be used in remote work settings to aid emotional intelligence and empathy: 1. Communication tools like Slack & Teams to facilitate open and continuous communication 2. Video Conferencing tools like Zoom to maintain face-to-face interaction for picking up on non-verbal cues & fostering connection 3. Survey tools to encourage anonymous, honest & candid feedback to guide empathetic change leadership These tools can facilitate leading change in remote work environments, preserving the human element in change management.

Expanding on the concept of “building trust,” establishing a psychologically safe environment is essential. This helps the team members feel safe in sharing ideas and embracing failure as a learning opportunity. This approach empowers them to act without fear of repercussions, thus fostering agility, innovation and more. Empowering your team in this manner results in greater buy-in for the change.

Some additional ways to create a positive experience for employees include involving them in the process, collaborating with them, soliciting their input, and providing continuous feedback. Effective communication, which includes active listening, and applying empathy as a key change leadership skill are crucial. Do the change with them and not at them. It’s important to implement change with employees rather than imposing it on them using a command style approach.

Also consider using a SWOT analysis to evaluate whether your team is agile and responsive to leading change in today's fast-paced VUCA environment. Strengths: Identify and enhance attributes like: - Leading change - Quick adaptability - Collaboration - Customer-centric - Continuous improvement Weaknesses: Address team challenges such as: - Resistance to change - Communication overload/lack of - Training/skill gaps Opportunities: Harness advantages like: - Competitive positioning - Efficiency gains - Attracting & retaining talent Threats: Strategically manage risks including: - Change fatigue - Rapidly evolving technologies - Market volatility - Burnout SWOT can provide a framework to ensure your team is agile, innovative & responsive.

What we put attention on grows. Publicly thanking teams members in meetings and emails on both small and bigs wins. Small wins most especially on long projects or initiatives, as waiting for big wins may be far and in between. As well, celebrating small wins keeps and builds momentum. Also, one method i’ve used is recognizing a project team member of the month (with a coffee gift card) in a monthly newsletter/update. This kind of appreciation goes a long way. Especially if the department is mentioned, it fosters a sense of belonging among other members of that department to the project and change.