In today’s fast-paced and dynamic economic climate, embracing the need for change has become synonymous with success. For organisations to succeed in the environment and outperform its competition, it must adapt constantly to new demands and challenges thrown its way. It does so by making a variety of changes to its processes, structures and systems. Embracing this need for change comes in all shapes and sizes and can range from introducing a new policy to implementing new technologies or relocating the office.

When a decision to implement a change comes from the top, often the expectation is for change to be implemented straight away. When the intended change does not have a significant impact on our day-to-day routines and activities, we tend to forget that change is hard. When we perceive a change to be simple, we expect others to perceive it in the same way.

Change impacts individuals differently and it is individuals’ subjective perceptions of the power of change, the impact of the change and the benefit they will derive from the change that makes change and leading change difficult.

As change leaders, how do we ensure that we lead change that transforms the organisation and leads to its success?

To lead a team and an organisation, synonymous with success, innovation, and agility, through a multitude of changes, we must develop a mindset for chasing and embracing the need for change. As change leaders, we must not only be quick to identify where and when change is needed, but also learn how to effectively influence individuals in our teams and organisations to promote intended changes.

Change happens one individual at a time.

An organisation is simply a group of people working together in an organised way for a shared purpose (Cambridge Dictionary). If an organisation is merely a collection of individuals working towards a common goal, it would then make sense to use an individual-out approach to change rather than an organisation-in approach. In his book, It Starts with One, J. Stewart Black suggests in order to change the organisation one must first change the individuals and as change leaders it becomes inevitable, through each change that we lead, to first changes ourselves.

The key to unlocking change within ourselves is to understand what drives our behaviours. Just like a roadmap that guides us to a destination, we each have mental maps, formed by past experiences and perceptions of our current contexts, that guide our behaviours in the world of work. This naturally causes barriers when faced with change. These barriers prevent us from seeing the true need for change, taking action, and following through.

We often fail to see the true need for change when we are blinded by past successes. Our experiences and perceptions strengthen our mental maps and reinforces our belief that the current context and what works now is right, making a change unnecessary. To see the true need for change, we first need to understand why we need to change and secondly identify what we need to change about ourselves to make the change successful. In addition to realising and understanding the contrast between the current and future state, we must be confronted with inescapable, experiential, and repeated experiences.

Once we have seen the true need for change, we are able to help others see the need for change and lead ourselves and others through the change.

Our fear of the unknown, of not being in control, of being inadequate and of being outside our comfort zones can prevent us from moving to the future state. To move to the future state, we not only need to be clear on what needs to change, but also need to ensure that we have the capability to make the move, and fully understand the benefits of making the move.

We will fail to finish change or follow through the change process when we suffer from change fatigue or cannot see the progress that was made. To help us complete the transition, we need external reinforcement and motivation, such as overt recognition or traction points, and visible measures to encourage the move.

The power of change lies in how well, and how quickly, we can adapt to change, and how effectively we can influence others to accept and embrace the change.

The significance of change is influenced by an individual’s perception of the change. The willingness to change will increase when the individual’s perception of the context and consequence of change is changed.