Harvard Business Review’s Post

Acknowledging fears and discomfort is important, but leaders should also emphasise the value of discomfort in growth. Change is inherently uncomfortable, and organisations that shy away from this discomfort will miss out on key opportunities for development and innovation.

When navigating change, if you hear or know about fears based on past experiences, seize that moment to embrace them. Of course, it’s essential to manage your own fears beforehand; otherwise, you may be tempted to avoid the situation. Remember, ‘the only way to get through it is to go through it.’ Embrace the challenge and move forward. As a leader, this will not only make you more resilient but also earn the trust of your team through your transparency and honesty.

The correlation between telling colleagues what to expect and credibility can not be emphasized enough. Colleagues are capable of processing positive outcomes and negative information (presented with empathy). When we focus too much energy avoiding difficult conversations or topics we believe will be received negatively, we erode the trust we need to have with colleagues. In my experience, the effort it takes to rebuild trust and reputation far exceeds the effort required to mitigate negatively-perceived org change outcomes.

What companies fail to realize is that organizational changes cause a lot of disruption to the teams and the trust that they have in the company when it is not communicated correctly. The employees lose their motivation and ultimately can hurt the bottom line by leaving key roles or non-performance. The clients experience the change as well and could also lose trust in the company.  Clients should also be considered in communication as they may be directly affected by the changes. 

Spot on article.🎯And not only for the times of bigger changes, but for maintaining a healthy company culture in the everydays too. Also I can’t help but notice that we tend to talk a lot about the importance of empathy in the leaders-to-employees communication, and how to teach this skill to leaders, whereas it is often overlooked how essential it would be to directly train people in the frontline, who are not leaders, working on all levels, on how to be more empathetic with each other, and their leaders☝️. As how these “ordinary” employees make each other feel during their everyday interactions at work, plays a vital role in people wanting to work and create value for a company and be part of its community, or not. I believe empathy has two sides, giving it and receiving it. To all of us it feels good when we receive it (what’s more we expect it), we just often don’t know how to give it… Maybe the way to teach it is “from leader to employee”. Maybe not. It would be nice though to see more focus from companies on this aspect as well, as eventually practicing empathy comes down to human-to-human level, regardless of the (current) position in the hierarchy.

some useful strategies for leading organizational change with empathy, such as creating audience personas, interviewing employees, being transparent, acknowledging fears, and involving everyone. Here are some more points that could be added to the article: Empathy is not only a skill, but also a mindset that can be cultivated and practiced. Leaders can develop their empathy by listening actively, asking open-ended questions, expressing curiosity, and showing appreciation for others’ perspectives Empathy can also help leaders to overcome resistance and foster commitment to change. By understanding the emotional and rational drivers of people’s behavior, leaders can tailor their messages and actions to address their concerns and motivate them to embrace the change It can also enhance innovation and creativity in the organization. By empathizing with the needs and desires of customers, employees, and stakeholders, leaders can identify new opportunities and solutions that create value and impact It can also create a positive and supportive culture in the organization. By modeling empathy and encouraging it among their teams, leaders can build trust, collaboration, and psychological safety, which are essential for learning and growth.

Empathy comes more easily to some, but it’s possible to learn.Not all of us are born natural empaths.Our relationship with others determines our happiness &success in life.How we get along with coworkers, bosses, family, friends,& partner depends on our social skills, empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand & share the feelings& experiences of another, adds depth,appreciation, acknowledgment for others.Without empathy,we assume that everyone else’s needs, boundaries,& experiences are the same &this assumptions brings trouble. Leaders develop empathy by increasing their emotional intelligence, which provides& gives understanding empathy for building confidence,trust in others ,by staying positive.Also we focus on what we can control, by setting new goals& to stay connected to coworkers. Empathy enables exchange of ideas, better understanding of the subject,asking questions,to be inquisitive about everything& develop a natural curiosity. Active listening founded in empathy, facilitates to identify biases,prejudices,solve the problem &allows to see things from a different perspective. Mindfulness, cognitive training, learning the techniques of active listening, leading a healthy lifestyle help in developing empathy.

Excellent, I couldn’t agree more. The change-challenge with regards to people used to be called ‘fear of the unknown’. This fear is mainly based on lack of inclusion and clarity. If humans don’t know what is going on and are ‘ordered’ to change,they try to make sense of it and arrive at a lot of assumptions that become barriers to change, which is perfectly natural behaviour. There are very straight forward solutions which involve building resistance as an individual and as a business before/during and after the initiative and they include transparency/ clarity/ honesty and joint agreements. Preventing fear and irritation and building resistance is what enables change faster, more cost effective and without all the negative (e)motions…

Agree how information is communicated during change is more important than what is communicated. Know your audience and lead with empathy.