Life Is Change

Change is a constant in life that we can count on. Recently, I had the opportunity to take a management training course from the University of Minnesota called The Successful Manager’s Leadership Program. In this program we discussed how to manage change versus getting run over by it.

Part of the management process is to know who opposes the change and why. Once you determine who they are, you need to know what motivates them: Do they need more information? Do they feel left out? Does it impact their day-to-day jobs? In other words, find out why they're opposed. The important parts to remember are that you really need to manage opposition to be successful, and you cannot change people’s minds overnight.

I like the idea of taking “baby steps” to move people. Just by moving your opposition from "opposed to the change" to "involved in it," you are making progress—and you can slowly win the battle. As you make changes, you always need to be aware of opposing forces. You can run them over if you have the authority, but all that does is create enemies within the organization. Or, you can assign them tasks and get them involved with the change. That produces some long-term results.

So, if you’re involved in proposing a big change, like suggesting everyone save paper and printing costs by looking at reports online, find out who opposes the change, and why, before you implement it. Try to manage the opposing points of view by demonstrating the benefits. Remember—in some cases, the best you can hope for is to get them involved. Don’t expect everyone to be 100 percent on your side.